<p>The purpose of this thesis is to analyze how Stockholm based travel agencies understand and use relationship marketing and how it is perceived by customers.</p><p>Relationship marketing is defined by Grönroos as a building of relationships with customers to achieve mutual benefits. Four main objectives of relationship marketing were used to contextualise the term: service quality, personalisation, differentiation, and communica-tion.In order to answer the purpose, the authors have chosen to interview three travel agen-cies that focus on offering tailor made travel for different target groups. Sampling was used to find these travel agencies, as the total number of travel agencies in the Stock-holm area is too large to interview. Also, customers who have travelled with two of the travel agencies were interviewed. Further, several theoretical frameworks are presented in order to provide the reader with a view of relationship marketing, and were used in the design and the questions asked both companies and customers.</p><p>From the interviews with the companies it was found that all of them have different views of what relationship marketing is, and that they have different ways of imple-menting it. The views of relationship marketing differ from building a strong brand im-age to managing actual relationships with customers.</p><p>The main efforts of relationship marketing that the companies are involved in are delivering personalized travel and high service quality to customers.It was found in the interviews with customers that their view on what makes good ser-vice is similar to that of company views. What is most important to customers is that the perceived quality matches, or exceeds, the experienced one. There are several things that companies can do to attract and retain customers including having rewards clubs, sending out a moderate amount of newsletters, and providing a personal seller for customers.</p>

No description available.

Given that companies such as Proctor & Gamble are saying that they expect to get more than half of their ideas from outside the organization, there is a surprising lack of published research on how to encourage more of those ideas to reach organizations. Within the service climate, a focus on customer orientation and customer engagement has been linked to helping organizations remain competitive. Encompassing all of the non-transactional customer behaviours that can affect an organization, discussions of customer engagement often include things such as word of mouth, advocacy, and co-creation, yet they often do not mention customer feedback. Word of mouth can only extend an organization’s promotional budget, whereas customer feedback, another piece of the customer engagement puzzle, has the power to impact innovation and improvements within an organization. As such, this study contributes to the understanding of the antecedents of customer feedback. A model is put forth combining the technology acceptance model, knowledge management, customer complaint behaviour, and the theory of planned behaviour, showing that the intention to provide feedback is affected by customer characteristics (attitude towards feedback, subjective norms), perceptions of the feedback process (perceived ease of feedback process, perceived usefulness of feedback), and organization perceptions (customer orientation and affective commitment). Altruism, gender, and perceived rewards associated with the feedback process did not affect the intention to provide feedback. / 2013-07

<p>The aim of this study is to illustrate, adapt and develop methods of survival analysis in analysing and estimating customer survival time in subscription-based businesses. Two particular objectives are studied. The rst objective is to redene the existing survival analysis techniques in business terms and to discuss their uses in order to understand various issues related to the customer-rm relationship.</p>

In today's globalised market, quality and productivity are essential for the survival and growth of any organisation. For service companies, the encounters between customers and company employees are a critical component of this service quality. These factors depend on the successful attraction and retention of customers. The customer has therefore become the focus for any successful business. Business success depends on organisat ions understanding and meeting customers ' expectations and demands. This study measures the dimensions of service encounters as perceived by customers of Vodacom Lesotho. The current level of service encounter quality and satisfact ion is measured for Vodacom Lesotho customers who use the company's contact centres (popularly known as Vodashops). The study reveals that customers are very keen to be involved in service improvement programs . Empirical testing identified that although the quality of network coverage is not part of the service encounter, it is very important in the customer satisfaction with the service encounter . This study has developed the following recommendations that will ensure the improvement of service encounters at Vodacom Lesotho: • Vodacom Lesotho needs to involve customers in their service design processes . • Front-line employees should be hired on their abilities to perform customer service encounters and they should continuously receive relevant training . • Customers need to be educated about the services offered by Vodacom Lesotho. The results of this study have supported the objectives of this study and it can be concluded that Vodacom Lesotho needs to improve service quality to ensure customer satisfaction . / Thesis (MBA)-University of Natal, 2003.

With the several changes taking place in the retail, wholesale, manufacturing and academic sectors of pharmacy, the practice of pharmacy is becoming a challenging one in South Africa. As a result of this, it is important to prove to the government as well as to other health care professionals that pharmacy can do more than deliver a supply function. This would involve the pharmacist becoming more committed to the quality of service and value (irrespective of the sector), and in so doing raise the overall standard of the profession. This research involves a survey amongst 100 customers who live in the Pinetown area. It investigates service quality in a retail pharmacy by using the SERVQUAL instrument as a measuring tool. It involved assessing respondents expectations and perceptions of service quality in retail pharmacy. The respondents indicated that understanding patient needs, assurance, reliability, efficiency, tangibles, attention and staff presentation were important factors that they expected from service of any retail pharmacy. With respect to the service provided by Pinelands pharmacy, respondent perceptions of service quality included patient individualisation, pharmacy staff competence, efficiency, staff presentation and convenient operating hours, aesthetic appeal and a modern pharmacy. / Thesis (MBA)-University of Natal, Durban, 2003.

One of the major challenges facing service businesses today is the rapidly changing and highly competitive nature of service industries. As a result, customer expectations are also rising quickly. Increased competition in this regard has resulted in fitness facilities in particular aiming to improve their services in order for these businesses to differentiate themselves from their competitors. By improving their services, fitness facilities can better satisfy the needs of their members. Therefore, fitness facilities need to identify those service elements which are important to their members in order to satisfy members' service needs by improving the quality of services delivered. The primary objective of the study is to determine whether customers of fitness facilities in the North West Province are satisfied with the services that are provided by these facilities. The research study on fitness facilities was based on descriptive research in order to allow for the identification of service elements that are important to members of fitness facilities. During the course of the study, secondary data was used for the literature review in order to investigate the research problem through the use of publications such as books and reliable academic and research articles. A quantitative research design was used in the form of self–administered questionnaires with a view to determine the level of customer satisfaction as well as the desires, perceptions and expectations of members regarding fitness facilities. Pre–testing of the questionnaire was also performed during this study to ensure that the collection and analysis of data would proceed as smoothly as possible. Self–administered questionnaires were distributed to members of fitness facilities from the 17th of May to the 26th of May 2010 by three fieldworkers in the cities of Potchefstroom and Klerksdorp in the North West Province. A convenience sampling method was used, which implied that respondents who were readily available and willing to complete the questionnaire at selected fitness facilities were selected for participation in the study. Furthermore, an exploratory factor analysis was used to identify those service elements which are important to members of fitness facilities. Ten factors were identified, namely personnel professionalism, equipment condition, membership possibilities, fitness programmes, convenience issues, medical assistance, cleanliness, information availability, membership preferences and the opportunity to exercise in another town. The results indicated that differences exist in terms of respondents' gender, levels of education as well as differences between various age groups and the ten identified importance factors. Results also showed that customer satisfaction can influence customer behaviour, as satisfied customers would recommend the fitness facility to others and want to have a long–term relationship with the fitness facility. It is recommended that fitness facilities need to focus on those service elements that members view as important when planning and maintaining their service offerings. Furthermore, fitness facilities need to realise that all their members do not view the importance of service elements in the same way, and therefore they should deliver services specifically tailored to various age groups, levels of education and gender. Recommendations for future research include that a similar study can be conducted for individual fitness facilities, because fitness facilities are unique and have different capabilities to deliver services. When conducting a study for each individual fitness facility, a relevant comparison can be made between the services that the specific fitness facility offers and what the members of that fitness facility really want or view as important. Specific strategies can then be recommended to the individual fitness facility with a view to improve their service offering and concomitantly increase their member satisfaction. / Thesis (M.Com. (Marketing Management))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2011.

One of the major challenges facing service businesses today is the rapidly changing and highly competitive nature of service industries. As a result, customer expectations are also rising quickly. Increased competition in this regard has resulted in fitness facilities in particular aiming to improve their services in order for these businesses to differentiate themselves from their competitors. By improving their services, fitness facilities can better satisfy the needs of their members. Therefore, fitness facilities need to identify those service elements which are important to their members in order to satisfy members' service needs by improving the quality of services delivered. The primary objective of the study is to determine whether customers of fitness facilities in the North West Province are satisfied with the services that are provided by these facilities. The research study on fitness facilities was based on descriptive research in order to allow for the identification of service elements that are important to members of fitness facilities. During the course of the study, secondary data was used for the literature review in order to investigate the research problem through the use of publications such as books and reliable academic and research articles. A quantitative research design was used in the form of self–administered questionnaires with a view to determine the level of customer satisfaction as well as the desires, perceptions and expectations of members regarding fitness facilities. Pre–testing of the questionnaire was also performed during this study to ensure that the collection and analysis of data would proceed as smoothly as possible. Self–administered questionnaires were distributed to members of fitness facilities from the 17th of May to the 26th of May 2010 by three fieldworkers in the cities of Potchefstroom and Klerksdorp in the North West Province. A convenience sampling method was used, which implied that respondents who were readily available and willing to complete the questionnaire at selected fitness facilities were selected for participation in the study. Furthermore, an exploratory factor analysis was used to identify those service elements which are important to members of fitness facilities. Ten factors were identified, namely personnel professionalism, equipment condition, membership possibilities, fitness programmes, convenience issues, medical assistance, cleanliness, information availability, membership preferences and the opportunity to exercise in another town. The results indicated that differences exist in terms of respondents' gender, levels of education as well as differences between various age groups and the ten identified importance factors. Results also showed that customer satisfaction can influence customer behaviour, as satisfied customers would recommend the fitness facility to others and want to have a long–term relationship with the fitness facility. It is recommended that fitness facilities need to focus on those service elements that members view as important when planning and maintaining their service offerings. Furthermore, fitness facilities need to realise that all their members do not view the importance of service elements in the same way, and therefore they should deliver services specifically tailored to various age groups, levels of education and gender. Recommendations for future research include that a similar study can be conducted for individual fitness facilities, because fitness facilities are unique and have different capabilities to deliver services. When conducting a study for each individual fitness facility, a relevant comparison can be made between the services that the specific fitness facility offers and what the members of that fitness facility really want or view as important. Specific strategies can then be recommended to the individual fitness facility with a view to improve their service offering and concomitantly increase their member satisfaction. / Thesis (M.Com. (Marketing Management))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2011.

This qualitative, case-based study examined how managers conceptualise customer value and translate customer learning into customer value creating processes. The study considered a sample of high and low performing firms operating in non-dynamic and dynamic market environments to investigate market and firm-level effects. It was found regardless of whether a firm operates in a non-dynamic or dynamic market environment, managers approach customer value as a time dependent and tridimensionally construct. In order to operationalise customer value, managers need to constantly consider: 1. The attributes or benefits that are embedded in or customers can associate with the firm’s products and services, 2. The consequences achieved by customers when using or being provided with the firm’s products and services, and 3. The goals and purposes which are achieved by customers after they use or received the firm’s products and services. In other words, in order to create optimal levels of customer value, managers must be able to map the configuration of activities that need to be undertaken at the firm to the configuration of commercial and assurance-based benefits customers want to have delivered to them through the firm’s products and services at different points in time. They must then be able to map these activities and benefits to the combination of resources that can realise them. This includes the combination of dynamic capabilities which the firm uses to develop products and services that can help customers cope with change and have their idiosyncratic problems addressed. However, it was found that firms that operate in dynamic market environments tend to invest in and develop more structured and ordered approaches to customer learning than the firms that operate in non-dynamic market environments. They also rely more on bottom-up/top down decision-making processes to develop the firm’s customer value delivery strategy than firms that operate in non-dynamic market environments. Firms that operate in non-dynamic market environments tend to use top-down decisionmaking processes and are more likely to lever off their strategic planning processes to develop their customer value delivery strategy than firms that operate in dynamic market environments. Consistent with these findings and the RBV literature, it was found that the high performing firms were better at creating value for their target customers across three customer value dimensions. Their managers were also better at identifying when it was in everyone’s best interests to differentiate between customer groups, and integrate and link critical customer learning and decision-making processes. This includes processes that promote strategic and operational forms of customer learning, and continual customer value learning and performance tracking. In summary, the study demonstrated that heterogeneous firm performance can be explained by the way managers at different firms are able to conceptualise customer value, how they develop their customer value delivery strategies, and their differing abilities to integrate key customer value learning and decision-making processes. Moreover, it demonstrated that a firm is more likely to sustain a competitive advantage and be persistently high performing if it develops a core customer value learning and customer value delivery competency. / Thesis (Ph.D.) -- University of Adelaide, Business School, 2009

This qualitative, case-based study examined how managers conceptualise customer value and translate customer learning into customer value creating processes. The study considered a sample of high and low performing firms operating in non-dynamic and dynamic market environments to investigate market and firm-level effects. It was found regardless of whether a firm operates in a non-dynamic or dynamic market environment, managers approach customer value as a time dependent and tridimensionally construct. In order to operationalise customer value, managers need to constantly consider: 1. The attributes or benefits that are embedded in or customers can associate with the firm’s products and services, 2. The consequences achieved by customers when using or being provided with the firm’s products and services, and 3. The goals and purposes which are achieved by customers after they use or received the firm’s products and services. In other words, in order to create optimal levels of customer value, managers must be able to map the configuration of activities that need to be undertaken at the firm to the configuration of commercial and assurance-based benefits customers want to have delivered to them through the firm’s products and services at different points in time. They must then be able to map these activities and benefits to the combination of resources that can realise them. This includes the combination of dynamic capabilities which the firm uses to develop products and services that can help customers cope with change and have their idiosyncratic problems addressed. However, it was found that firms that operate in dynamic market environments tend to invest in and develop more structured and ordered approaches to customer learning than the firms that operate in non-dynamic market environments. They also rely more on bottom-up/top down decision-making processes to develop the firm’s customer value delivery strategy than firms that operate in non-dynamic market environments. Firms that operate in non-dynamic market environments tend to use top-down decisionmaking processes and are more likely to lever off their strategic planning processes to develop their customer value delivery strategy than firms that operate in dynamic market environments. Consistent with these findings and the RBV literature, it was found that the high performing firms were better at creating value for their target customers across three customer value dimensions. Their managers were also better at identifying when it was in everyone’s best interests to differentiate between customer groups, and integrate and link critical customer learning and decision-making processes. This includes processes that promote strategic and operational forms of customer learning, and continual customer value learning and performance tracking. In summary, the study demonstrated that heterogeneous firm performance can be explained by the way managers at different firms are able to conceptualise customer value, how they develop their customer value delivery strategies, and their differing abilities to integrate key customer value learning and decision-making processes. Moreover, it demonstrated that a firm is more likely to sustain a competitive advantage and be persistently high performing if it develops a core customer value learning and customer value delivery competency. / Thesis (Ph.D.) -- University of Adelaide, Business School, 2009