Background In recent times the insurance industry has seen rapid migration of clients among the different companies in search of better rates from the latest intermediary. Cancellation and surrenders of policies have marked this migration of clients. Clients are dependent on brokers for advice, thus making client loyalty dependent on the relationship between the intermediary and the client. In this model there is a gap in the relationship between client and company. Objectives The primary objective of this study is to elucidate the preconception that client loyalty is dependent on the relationship that an intermediary has with a client. The secondary objective of this study is to determine how clients' perceptions and attitudes lends itself to either clients remaining with, or leaving a particular insurer in favour of another. Methods Data was collected by means of a research questionnaire received from 50 respondents, made of clients from the Sanlam Broker Services database. Open ended questions and disconfirmation scales were used. One sample chi-square was used to test the hypotheses. Results Despite clients having received expected levels and better than expected levels of service from a company, clients still prefer to deal with an advisor. The factors that affect clients' decision to remain or migrate to another company are service, reputation, performance and rates. The most common factors for discontentment are poor service, misrepresentation, lack of confidentiality, and poor performance. It was also found that that there is a higher degree of awareness and membership among higher income earners than lower income earners. Conclusion It is recommended that more than demographic knowledge be accessed to keep clients loyal. Lifestyle studies need to be conducted and perhaps this information used to develop innovative marketing strategies. Partnerships with successful existing loyalty programmes also need to be explored as a client retention mechanism. Client loyalty cannot be explored in isolation. It must encompass the entire organization. There is ample evidence in the literature review to support this view. / Thesis (MBA)-University of Natal, Durban, 2002.

Sociala medier har på sistone vuxit till att bli ett mycket populärt verktyg för att kommunicera med folk världen över. Användandet av sociala nätverk har ökat explosionsartat de senaste åren och företag har insett att detta bjuder på en fantastisk möjlighet till att nå ut till kunder runt hela jorden, via ett nästintill gratis forum. På de olika kanalerna erbjuds företag de medel de behöver för att kunna kommunicera med sina kunder över nätet och på detta sätt interagera med kunderna på ett ställe där de redan finns. Utöver möjligheten att kommunicera med kunden kan företaget publicera redaktionellt innehåll med syftet att marknadsföra sin verksamhet och dess produkter. Fördelarna som kommer med marknadsföring via sociala medier är många, men det finns nackdelar som gör att man måste hantera sitt företags sociala nätverk med stor aktsamhet. Sociala medier är en plattform som är öppen för alla, där alla användare kan uttrycka sina egna tankar och åsikter. Tankar och åsikter som ett företag varken kan förutse eller kontrollera. I detta arbete har vi undersökt hur ett företag ska arbeta med sina sociala medier för att det ska ge ett positivt resultat för både kund och företag i fråga, vilka negativa effekter som kan uppstå genom att ett företag aktivt arbetar med sociala medier samt vad kunden tycker om företag som finns på sociala medier. / Social media has recently grown to be a very popular tool for communicating with people all over the world. The use of social networks has grown exponentially in recent years and companies have realized that this offers a fantastic opportunity to reach customers around the globe, via a virtually free forum. The different channels offer businesses the resources they need to communicate with their customers over the Internet, and thanks to this they can interact with customers in a place where they already exist. In addition to the ability to communicate with the customers, the company is now able to publish editorial content with the aim to market their business and its products. Benefits that come with marketing through social media are numerous, but there are drawbacks that make it necessary to manage the corporate social networks with great care. Social media is a platform that is open to all, where everybody can express their own thoughts and opinions. Thoughts and views as a company can not foresee nor control. In this essay, we have investigated how a company should work with their social media for it to give a positive result for both the customer and the company in question, the negative effects that may arise from a company actively involved in social media, and what customers think of companies that are on social media.

The well recognised and parsimonious Dirichlet model of buyer behaviour (Goodhardt, Ehrenberg and Chatfield 1984) has summarised a number of empirical generalisations about market structures and buyer behaviour. These generalisations have been described by Sharp, Wright and Goodhardt (2002) as: Differences in market share can be attributed largely to differences in market penetration A double jeopardy pattern emerges, with smaller brands having a lower average purchase frequency, share of category requirements, and proportion of sole buyers A brand’s customers buy from other brands more frequently Sole buyers tend to be very rare, and are also very light buyers Heavy buyers buy more brands and are very unlikely to be sole buyers Brands share their customers in proportion to their market share (Duplication of Purchase Law). Of these empirical generalisations, double jeopardy, polygamous loyalty and the duplication of purchase law are amongst the better known. They have been observed across an increasing number of product categories, countries and differing market conditions. This thesis considers whether the Dirichlet and its accompanying empirical generalisations also hold true for radio markets. Whilst Goodhardt, Ehrenberg and Collins (1975) and Barwise and Ehrenberg (1988) have considered television and its audiences there has been very little study into radio audience patterns. Perhaps this is because many researchers consider radio to be more like television than any other media. However, Lees (2003, 2006) has started to address the issues of radio market structures and radio audience patterns. This thesis adopts an empirical generalist approach showing the Dirichlet model of consumer behaviour and its associated empirical generalizations appear to apply to radio markets in that they: Show a high correlation between market share and the brand performance measures of: cumulative audience, average time spent listening, share of category requirements and exclusive audience Reflect the double jeopardy pattern with those stations that have a higher market share also having a higher penetration or cumulative audience and a higher average weekly time spent listening. Conversely those stations with a low market share having a lower cumulative audience and a lower average weekly time spent listening Show audience duplication between radio stations that varies according to each stations’ market cumulative audience, in accordance with the Duplication of Purchase Law Have the percentage of listeners loyal to one radio station reflecting the Dirichlet’s expectation of low exclusive audience. These exclusive listeners also reflect a double jeopardy pattern with the bigger stations having more exclusive listeners than the smaller stations. The most compelling result of this thesis is the apparent ability of the Dirichlet to describe a radio market place. Thus has managerial implications – especially to what extent a manager should take the patterns as ‘normal’ or seek to ‘buck the trend’. The conclusion is that radio station managers need to carefully manage their station working with the market rather than trying to ‘buck the trend’. This is likely to involve station managers actively promoting their stations to ensure that their station remains salient to its current listeners while also trying to increase its awareness amongst non listeners. This thesis has also made several contributions to knowledge about the Dirichlet. First, it has extended knowledge about the model to a new area – that of radio listening. Second, it has shown that while some radio listening seemingly violates some of the assumptions behind the model it is still robust enough to account for variations in multivariate count data in a manner that is parsimonious. Third, it has confirmed the known boundary condition that the Dirichlet does under-predict sole loyal purchase frequency. This thesis also calls for further research into both the Dirichlet model with further extensions to differentiated product categories; and into the question of radio audience measurement. It calls for the New Zealand Radio Broadcasters Association to commission a report into the effect of introducing portable people meters as a form of audience measurement.

Abstract The importance of customer retention has become a major theme in the literature since the 1990s when empirical studies showed that retaining 5% of customers could lead to an increase in profits ranging from 25% to 85%. However, customer retention does not appear to have moved from the theoretical into the practical world. Specifically, there were few empirical studies which focused on customer retention and none were identified in the New Zealand accommodation sector. The travel and tourism industry contributes approximately 9% to New Zealand’s GDP, and 10% of all spending by travellers and tourists is in the accommodation sector. Impacts, such as seasonality, characterise the accommodation sector and many establishments have occupancy rates which can fluctuate from 90% to 30% in the off-season. With average annual occupancy rates for New Zealand hotels and motels hovering around 55%, retention is a strategy that owners and managers could implement in order to increase occupancy and profits. In this study the research question was based on a review of the literature and the a priori knowledge and experience of the researcher. To ensure the research question framing this study was answered in the most exhaustive and comprehensive manner a seven step research process based on work by Bourgeois (1979) was followed. Data was gathered using both deductive and inductive methods in order to nullify the two main research problems raised by Bourgeois (1979). First, that theories are cast at a high level which is removed from reality and second that empirical studies often result in just a description of the data. In the deductive phase of this study a survey was mailed to New Zealand accommodation establishments that provided accommodation and meals, and had a liquor licence. The main focus of this survey was to learn what owners and managers understood about guest retention and to answer the first research objective. It was discovered that New Zealand accommodation managers: actively work to retain their guests; know the value of guest retention; understand the links between guest satisfaction, loyalty and retention; understand the specific reasons behind guest defections; understand the importance service recovery; and understand how loyalty schemes lead to guest retention. The second phase was a case study involving three accommodation establishments. These findings added depth to the study and allowed for new knowledge to be extrapolated from the findings. It was discovered that in two establishments the focus was guest satisfaction and building relationships with customers. Whilst the resort hotel did have a strategy to encourage lapsed business to return this wasn’t measured or monitored. Thus the second research objective was answered. In the penultimate chapter an amended profit chain has been proposed which included ‘Building Customer Relationships’ as the link between satisfaction and profitability. This is based on the finding that the case establishments saw retention as a proxy for satisfaction and, therefore, focused on satisfying guests and building personal relationships as methods of guest retention. The research question framing this study can be answered by saying that the strategies used by owners and managers in New Zealand accommodation establishments to manage guest retention tend to be related to guest satisfaction and building personal relationships. However, this is not because they do not understand guest retention but see it as part of the bigger picture involving the building of relationships with guests.

Abstract The importance of customer retention has become a major theme in the literature since the 1990s when empirical studies showed that retaining 5% of customers could lead to an increase in profits ranging from 25% to 85%. However, customer retention does not appear to have moved from the theoretical into the practical world. Specifically, there were few empirical studies which focused on customer retention and none were identified in the New Zealand accommodation sector. The travel and tourism industry contributes approximately 9% to New Zealand’s GDP, and 10% of all spending by travellers and tourists is in the accommodation sector. Impacts, such as seasonality, characterise the accommodation sector and many establishments have occupancy rates which can fluctuate from 90% to 30% in the off-season. With average annual occupancy rates for New Zealand hotels and motels hovering around 55%, retention is a strategy that owners and managers could implement in order to increase occupancy and profits. In this study the research question was based on a review of the literature and the a priori knowledge and experience of the researcher. To ensure the research question framing this study was answered in the most exhaustive and comprehensive manner a seven step research process based on work by Bourgeois (1979) was followed. Data was gathered using both deductive and inductive methods in order to nullify the two main research problems raised by Bourgeois (1979). First, that theories are cast at a high level which is removed from reality and second that empirical studies often result in just a description of the data. In the deductive phase of this study a survey was mailed to New Zealand accommodation establishments that provided accommodation and meals, and had a liquor licence. The main focus of this survey was to learn what owners and managers understood about guest retention and to answer the first research objective. It was discovered that New Zealand accommodation managers: actively work to retain their guests; know the value of guest retention; understand the links between guest satisfaction, loyalty and retention; understand the specific reasons behind guest defections; understand the importance service recovery; and understand how loyalty schemes lead to guest retention. The second phase was a case study involving three accommodation establishments. These findings added depth to the study and allowed for new knowledge to be extrapolated from the findings. It was discovered that in two establishments the focus was guest satisfaction and building relationships with customers. Whilst the resort hotel did have a strategy to encourage lapsed business to return this wasn’t measured or monitored. Thus the second research objective was answered. In the penultimate chapter an amended profit chain has been proposed which included ‘Building Customer Relationships’ as the link between satisfaction and profitability. This is based on the finding that the case establishments saw retention as a proxy for satisfaction and, therefore, focused on satisfying guests and building personal relationships as methods of guest retention. The research question framing this study can be answered by saying that the strategies used by owners and managers in New Zealand accommodation establishments to manage guest retention tend to be related to guest satisfaction and building personal relationships. However, this is not because they do not understand guest retention but see it as part of the bigger picture involving the building of relationships with guests.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Florida State University, 2006. / Advisor: J. Joseph Cronin Jr., Florida State University, College of Business, Dept. of Marketing. Title and description from dissertation home page (viewed Sept. 27, 2006). Document formatted into pages; contains xi, 209 pages. Includes bibliographical references.

With the significant shifts and upheaval in the marketplace due to digitalisation, and evolving customer behaviour, it is becoming increasingly imperative for businesses to build and maintain strong connections with their customers. This new business setting causes major implications for companies’ formulation of strategies. Therefore, this thesis aims to map out points-of-parity and points-of-difference with regards to how two companies leverage customer emotion, customer engagement and customer loyalty in order to achieve growth, which is defined as the stages of customer acquisition, customer development and customer retention. In addition, the purpose is to explore advocacy and its role for igniting further growth. The study is conducted in the form of a comparative case study of two digital B2C companies: the media company Freeda and the food delivery service Deliveroo. The Framework for Customer Growth and the Cycle of Advocacy-Ignited Growth guide the analysis. The main findings include that companies’ core propositions determine their emotional strategy as well as personalisation being considered the most significant aspect of customer engagement. Moreover, the role of advocacy can be taken on by various stakeholders and is not limited solely to customers.

With the growth of self-service technologies in retail stores and services, service failure of the technology is seemingly inevitable. This has lead to the question of how these failures influence customers, specifically their satisfaction and loyalty. Customer satisfaction and loyalty drives businesses forward and gives them the competitive advantage. The aim of this bachelor thesis is to explore if joint recovery has outcomes in customer satsifaction and loyalty in retail self service technologies. Service recovery is an important factor when discussing self-service technology use in buisnesses and therefore this research aims to help further the knowledge and insights on this. The research questions therefore revolve around different aspects that affect customer satifaction and loyalty during service failure with SSTs (self-service technology). In order to fulfil the purpose and aim of this study, there has been a specific methodology chosen and explained that has been taken from the different theories chosen and prior peer-reviewed literature. The methodology revolves around the survey methodology and involves different research approaches and methods. The results of the study demonstrate that joint recovery has benefits in customer satisfaction and loyalty. Additionally, the study shows that organizations use of procedural justice will have an impact on customer satisfaction after service failure in retail self service technologies. Results also show that influencing factors for customers to participate in recovery are money and to improve the situation. New findings show that normal attribution behavior switches in retail self-service due to reccuring failure. These are the basis of the conclusions drawn from the research.

This master thesis deals with the topic of customer relationship management in a company, where one of the main objectives of this work was the proposal to implement a CRM system. Implementation of the CRM system was proposed for company (Union co-operative association) Co-op Ceske Budejovice.

Denna undersökning handlar om hur användandet av CRM-system (Customer Relationship Management) påverkar företag och dess kundrelationer. Forskningen om detta visar att CRM-system kan ge stora fördelar för både kunderna, företaget och relationerna där emellan. Men det finns många delar som påverkar hur mycket ett CRM-system förändrar relationerna mellan företag och deras kunder. Resultatet från denna undersökning kan vara av intresse för företag som går i tankarna att skaffa ett CRM-system eller förnya det som dem redan har. Vilket leder fram till vår problemfråga: Hur påverkar CRM-system företag och dess kundrelationer? Syftet med uppsatsen är att beskriva och analysera hur ett CRM-system påverkar företag och dess kundrelationer. Undersökningen baseras på en teoriram som ger en inblick i vad relationer är och vilken betydelse kundrelationer har för företag, även behandlas CRM-system och dess effekter på företag. Den insamlade teorin utmynnar i en undersökningsmodell som utgår ifrån ett CRM-system och visar hur det enligt teoriramen kan påverka ett företag och dess kundrelationer. Denna modell används som grund för insamlandet av vårt empiriska underlag. Studien inleddes med litteraturstudier som sedan resulterade i en undersökningsmodell. Det utfördes sex intervjuer på fyra företag som använder sig av CRM-system. Därefter utfördes med hjälp av undersökningsmodellen en analysering av intervjusvaren och en sammanställning av resultat och slutsatser. I uppsatsen konstateras det att de undersökta företagen inte använder CRM-systemens fulla potential. Utan att en centraliserad databas är en av de viktigaste komponenterna i CRM-system i företags arbete mot bättre kundrelationer. Undersökning utmynnar i en lista över de faktorer vi anser vara av vikt för ett företag som vill veta hur ett CRM-system kan påverka företag och dess kundrelationer. Om ett företag använder sitt CRM-system på rätt sätt kan de både få bättre kundservice, individualiserade tjänster, förbättrad informationshantering och ökad kundlojalitet vilka samtliga bidrar till bättre kundrelationer och ger företag konkurrensfördelar / This research is about how the usage of a CRM-system (Customer Relationship Management) affects companies and its customer relations. Other researches show that CRM-systems can give big advantages for both the customers, companies and the relations in-between. But there are many issues that affect how much a CRM-system change the relations between companies and its customers. The result from this research could be of interest for a company which is thinking about implementing a CRM-system or improve one they already use. Which leads us to our research question: How does CRM-system affect companies and their customer relations? The purpose of this thesis is to describe and analyze how a CRM-system affects companies and their customer relations. The research is based on a theory framework that gives an insight into what relations are and of what significance customer relations have for a company, also CRM-systems is discussed and their effects on companies. The collected theory concludes with a research model that begins with a CRM-system and shows how it according to the theory framework could affect a company and its customer relations. This model is used as the foundation in the collection of the empirical information. The study began with a literature study that resulted in a research model. We performed six interviews at four companies that use CRM-systems. Then with help from the research model we analyzed the answers from the interview and created the result and conclusions. In the thesis it’s established that the examined companies don’t use the CRM-systems full potential. A centralized database is one of the most important CRM-system components in a company’s strive for better customer relations. The research concludes with a list of the factors we consider being of weight for a company that wants to know how a CRM-system could affect companies and their customer relations. If a company use its CRM-system in the right way they can get both better customer service, individualized services, improved information management and increased customer loyalty which all contributes to better customer relations and gives companies competitive advantages.