Organisations are increasingly under pressure to meet financial and other objectives in dynamic and competitive markets, that are being driven more by services than by products. Marketing as a function needs to become more accountable with respect to the marketing investments that are made and the returns generated from these programmes, and hence to increase shareholder value. Intangible assets are comprising a growing proportion of this shareholder value, to the extent that 75% of the value of the organisation is currently made up of intangibles such as Human Equity, Brand Equity and Customer Equity. Thus the marketer needs to build the marketing-based intangible assets of Brand Equity, the inherent value of the brand, and Customer Equity, the sum of the lifetime values to the organisation of its current and future customers. To be able to monitor and manage marketing’s contribution, these assets need to be measured, and the effectiveness of marketing programmes needs to be determined ideally in financial terms, e.g. ROMI – Return on Marketing Investment. The purpose of this research study was to develop and test a framework of Customer Equity in the financial services sector, to guide marketing spend so that shareholder value is built by leveraging the marketing intangibles. Consequently, the objectives were to develop a model of Customer Equity, to calculate Customer Lifetime Value of customers in a segment, to determine the value drivers and the elasticity relation of Customer Equity, and finally to provide guidelines to organisations to improve their Customer Equity. The first area of research was in the field of Marketing metrics, the set of measures that helps organisations to understand their marketing performance. The recommendation for organisations is to develop a marketing dashboard, or range of key marketing indicators, which would include short-term performance measures, e.g. market share or customer satisfaction, as well as long-term planning measures, e.g. Brand Equity and Customer Lifetime Value. Brand Equity was then reviewed as a valuable intangible asset. Various models have been developed to explain the different sources, components and outcomes of ii Brand Equity, as it is a multidimensional construct. The measurement and valuation of Brand Equity was also researched, and its link to shareholder value. Customer Equity, an alternative market-based intangible asset that can be a driver of shareholder value, was also reviewed. The conclusion from a review of the models is that there are two schools: the Blattberg, Gupta and colleagues school, which tends to focus on internal analysis as typically used in direct marketing applications; and the Rust and colleagues school, which tends to focus externally on the customer and the competition. Both schools have something to contribute: the internal school, on accurate understanding of Customer Lifetime Value, and the external school, on the relative importance of the drivers of Customer Equity. This research also makes a contribution to the Brand Equity / Customer Equity debate, analysing similarities and differences, and developing a model to explain the trade-off between the two concepts. A combination of the two schools was used to develop a model of Customer Equity, including supply side inputs (for accurate CLTV calculations) and demand side inputs (for determining drivers and their elasticities). Using input from the databases of a financial institution, Customer Lifetime Value and Customer Equity for customers in the SME market sector were calculated. A convenience sample of 251 SME’s was interviewed on the demand side using a structured questionnaire, to develop data on the drivers of their importance and the relative performance of banks. A statistical model was then developed, using Principal Components Regression (PCR) analysis, to determine the drivers of Customer Equity, the factors influencing these and the relative sensitivities. A key contribution of this research was the development of the Probability of Defection as a measure of the dependent variable in the multiple regression. The model was tested by determining the ROI of two marketing programmes from the financial institution, to guide their marketing spend. Finally, a Customer Equity Management Process was developed to assist organisations in implementing a Customer Equity focus. / Prof. Chris Jooste

M.Comm.

Despite the extensive research undertaken in the subject area of services marketing, much is still unknown to service providers of specific services in terms of firm-client relationships and how customer retention rates can be increased. This study attempts to address this limitation. The study revolves around the relationship marketing and customer retention of banks in South Africa, Canada and the United Kingdom (UK). Service firms, including banks, are vitally important to the economy of any country as they contribute to its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) (for example a 74 percent contribution in South Africa) and its employment rate. However, to survive in a complex, competitive business environment, service firms are required to focus on their clients’ needs. Banks can focus on their relationships with clients and measure their institutions’ success by considering their customer retention rates. When considering firm-client relationships and customer retention rates, it is important to gather and link the viewpoints of both clients and managers in order to ensure that firms perform according to clients’ needs. In order to establish the influence of selected variables on the relationship marketing and customer retention of banks, from the perspectives of both banking clients and managers, an empirical investigation was conducted. The primary aim of this study was to quantify significant relationships among selected variables; therefore the positivistic research paradigm was used. In addition, in designing the measuring instruments for the empirical investigation, the phenomenological paradigm was used. Thus, in order to use multiple sources of data, the strategy of methodological triangulation was adopted for this study. The samples consisted of banking clients and bank managers in South Africa, Canada and the UK. The empirical investigation conducted among banking clients revealed that significant positive relationships exist between six of the seven identified independent variables, namely communication, personalisation, empowerment, ethics, fees and technology, and banks’ relationship marketing. These relationships imply that, according to banking clients, if each of these aspects in banks improves, bank-client relationships would improve. The empirical investigation conducted among bank managers showed that managers only regard communication and fees as influencers of relationship marketing in banks. This result clearly indicated a difference in the viewpoints of banking clients and bank managers. In addition, the empirical investigation revealed that relationship marketing positively influences the customer retention of banks. This relationship implies that if a bank successfully maintains relationships with its clients, the bank’s customer retention rates will increase. Additionally, the empirical investigation revealed that the population group, education level and country of residence of banking client respondents exerted an influence on the perceptions clients have regarding banks’ relationship marketing and customer retention levels. If banking clients are African or are not educated with a qualification beyond secondary school level or are from Canada, they consider the relationship marketing of a bank to be more important and are more likely to be retained by banks. Generally, the study indicated that Canadian banking clients are more positive regarding the empowerment strategies and personalisation efforts of Canadian banks than South Africans are about those of South African banks. In addition, banking clients in the UK are more satisfied with the communication, fees and use of technology of UK banks than South Africans are about these aspects in South African banks. The study indicated that strategies to improve banks’ communication, personalisation, empowerment, ethics, fees and technology should be implemented by banks in ways to positively influence their relationship marketing and ultimately their customer retention. Strategies relating to each of these areas, successfully implemented by banks in Canada and the UK, are recommended to South African banks. In effect, these strategies will contribute to retail banks’ success, the competiveness in the banking industry, banking client benefits as well as the economic stability and prosperity of South Africa.

The statement that the stable and developed world known to us no longer exists seems to be particularly relevant to the way in which organisations conduct their business and reposition themselves in the communication age. Organisations, as the context within which public relations functions, are threatened by increased competition and changes in key elements of market relationships as a result of global information technology developments and the mobility of organisations and people. The emergence of new information technology has lead to fundamental shifts in the relationships between corporations, individuals and society. An historical overview of the developing stages of public relations in terms of the dominant business approach and dominant public relations approach points to a definite relation to and subsequent influence of changing business paradigms in the practice of public relations. How business perceives communication is believed to impact significantly on the public relations philosophy, the public relations model and the definition of public relations. The fact that public relations has been a part of organisational life which, in turn, forms part of a larger environmental system explains this interdependency/relationship between dominant business approaches and dominant public relations approaches. The emergence of a new model of business is typical of the changes in the business environment and the impact on the context of public relations. Although public relations has evolved from one-way imbalanced communication to two-way balanced communication and professional recognition, it is evident that the paradigm shift in the business environment demands yet another paradigm shift in public relations. Increased interactivity and the need for customised communication form the heart of this paradigm shift and a new approach to public relations, namely an integrated communication approach, has been proposed as a solution to these demands posed by the changing face of business. Such an integrated approach has as its main focus the integration of all the activities of the organisation. It is maintained that this trend towards integration calls for consistency of communication activities of the organisation and co-ordination of its communication strategies. It is evident that the technology already in use by marketing for relationship management can be applied successfully in public relations. New technology impacts firstly on the practice and profession of public relations at a strategic level in aspects such as disintermediation, democratisation of communication access, levelling of organisational structures and the need for customised communication (personalised communication), and secondly on the application opportunities at technical level. Although various business applications of available technologies are applied in various disciplines and at different levels in the organisation, the value for public relations lies in the application of these technologies for the facilitation of communication with key constituents. The ultimate objective is building and maintaining beneficial relationships, and support given to business processes. The organisation will, among other things, require the public relations practitioner to be aware of new communication media and technology and to use it. This points to a new role for public relations in terms of the adaptability of this profession to changes in the new media environment and shifts in economic, social and business paradigms and it is maintained that the future of public relations depends on the acceptance of this role. This study followed a qualitative approach. The first step was a detailed literature study resulting in a number of postulates which were tested by means of an empirical investigation. The focus of this study falls on the investigation into factors driving the new paradigm shift in business, as context within which public relations functions, and the subsequent impact on the practice of public relations. It has provided new insights into technology usage in South Africa and the changes technology has brought about in this profession. / Prof. Sonja Verwey

The value of the organisation’s credibility, reputation and interaction with customers equates to its relationship capital. Relationship capital defines the aptitude of an organisation to establish relationships in order to share information, knowledge, ideas, opportunities, contacts and referrals. However, the organisations as well as its personnel play a critical role in relational exchange and the quality of the relationship that is built with the customer. A strong positive relationship links relationship quality to suppliers, contact personnel and buyer’s loyalty by focussing on both the organisation and the individual commitments in a B2B relationship. The study seeks to determine the importance of organisational commitment and individual commitment in improving relationship quality within the Life Science industry. This is achieved by focusing on the individual antecedents that form individual commitment, consisting of antecedents such as communication, similarity, interaction frequency and the seller’s expertise. Similarly, it determines the buyer’s commitment to the organisation which consists of antecedents such as dependence on seller, relationship age and relationship benefits.The findings offer important insight of relationships between buyers and sellers in the B2B markets. The results indicate that relationship quality can be increased by simultaneously focussing on individual and organisational antecedents. The individual antecedents that significantly influence relationships in the Life Science industry are the seller’s expertise followed by interaction frequency. Similarly, the organisational antecedents are the relationship age followed by relationship benefits. Overall, the age of the relationship followed by seller’s expertise, interaction frequency and relationship benefits are the most effective relationship-building strategies across all elements of a relationship within this particular industry.This research provides both an academic contribution to the relationship marketing field as well as a practical implication for managers and executives within organisations. The main contribution for academic purposes involves both confirmation and distinctions from hypothesised relationships. The dissimilarities found in this study speak to the importance of the industry setting in which these relationships exits. Furthermore, this study suggests the integration of two bodies of literature: individual and organisational commitment. This research is of specific value to managers who are responsible for increasing relationship capital within their organisations. Simultaneous focus on these antecedents will allow managers to improve their relationship quality with the customer which would assist in retaining the customer on a long-term basis. / Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2012. / Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) / unrestricted

In convention market, one of the fastest growing sectors in hospitality industry, meeting planners play an important role to select a destination for their event. Therefore, a good relationship with them can be a competitive advantage for a convention destination considering a fierce competition among the destinations. The objective of this study is to develop an empirically valid relationship marketing (RM) model that would verify the antecedents, mediators, and consequence of the relationship between the destination marketing organization (DMO) and meeting planners. This study found three antecedents (i.e., customer orientation, familiarity, and reputation) of the RM mediating constructs that consist of satisfaction, trust, and commitment as well as consequence (i.e. behavioral intention) led by the RM mediators based on review of the literature. Therefore, the hypothesized relationships 1) between the antecedents and the mediators, 2) between the mediators, 3) and 3) between the mediators and the consequence in the model were tested by using structural equation modeling (SEM) with LISREL results. Eight out of eleven hypotheses were supported by the examination of path coefficients while 33 observed indicators were confirmed in the measurement model through confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). The SEM results showed the significant relationships that lead to meaningful implications in both industry and academia while this study is not immune to limitations that can be the starting points of recommendations for future studies

No description available.

No / Purpose ¿ The purpose of this paper is to consider whether successful subsidised arts organisations are more likely to apply a relationship rather than transactional marketing approach to overcome the tendency of not-for-profit organisations generally, and subsidised arts organisations particularly, to use marketing for short-term, tactical purposes. Design/methodology/approach ¿ Research was undertaken to identify whether ¿successful¿ subsidised performing arts organisations were indeed more strategic in their focus, whether they had applied a relationship marketing approach and whether such an approach had been influential in the development of their ¿success¿. Preliminary research led to the production of a conceptual framework that identifies major partnerships and specific stakeholder types that need to be considered by a subsidised performing arts organisation if an effective relationship marketing approach is to be developed. This was used as the basis for subsequent research involving a multiple case study approach studying two ¿successful¿ theatres and one ¿unsuccessful¿ theatre in depth. The strengths of relationship between the various key stakeholder roles and artistic directors within the three theatres were analysed. Findings ¿ Although this research is limited to a case study analysis of three theatres, it does seem to provide evidence to suggest that building strong relationships with stakeholders other than end users can be advantageous to subsidised performing arts organisations. Practical implications ¿ It is likely that this approach could be successful for the subsidised arts generally and indeed for all those organisations in the not-for-profit sector where those who pay do not necessarily receive the service. Originality/value ¿ This article provides a discussion on successful subsidised arts organisations.

Web 2.0 applications facilitate various adaptations of blogs on many different areas. Bloggers who have blog publications and financially depend on the blog are referred to as professional bloggers in this study. As blogging becomes a social trend, a phenomenon, and more – a profession, there should be a rule or a guideline, and relationship marketing is suggested by the author. Guided by relationship marketing, with the definition extracted from various literatures, the study is based on the structure of Christopher, Payne & Ballantyne (1991) – the relationship marketing ladder of customer loyalty. The purposes of the study are to examine the importance of interaction in the blogger-blog reader relationships, and most significantly, to test if relationship marketing can fit-into the blogosphere. Adopting a two-phase, sequential mixed method, this study applied both qualitative and qualitative research tools. In the first phase, a pretest survey was conducted to serve as the base for further research. In the second phase, focus group discussions were carried out to explore more insights of blogs, blogging, and the target bloggers, Wan Wan & Queen, from blog readers’ perspective. At last, a final-found survey was conducted to collect more data for testing the hypotheses and feasibility of the research framework. To conclude, interaction is indispensible in managing blogs. Interactions and blog readers’ expectations toward the blog influence their satisfaction with the blog, and further affect the development of loyalty to spread word-of-mouth. The suggestions for further research including studying from different perspective, adopting longer time span, collecting a larger sample, categorizing bloggers, and implementing behavioral research for business use. / Web 2.0 applications facilitate various adaptations of blogs on many different areas. Bloggers who have blog publications and financially depend on the blog are referred to as professional bloggers in this study. As blogging becomes a social trend, a phenomenon, and more – a profession, there should be a rule or a guideline, and relationship marketing is suggested by the author. Guided by relationship marketing, with the definition extracted from various literatures, the study is based on the structure of Christopher, Payne & Ballantyne (1991) – the relationship marketing ladder of customer loyalty. The purposes of the study are to examine the importance of interaction in the blogger-blog reader relationships, and most significantly, to test if relationship marketing can fit-into the blogosphere. Adopting a two-phase, sequential mixed method, this study applied both qualitative and qualitative research tools. In the first phase, a pretest survey was conducted to serve as the base for further research. In the second phase, focus group discussions were carried out to explore more insights of blogs, blogging, and the target bloggers, Wan Wan & Queen, from blog readers’ perspective. At last, a final-found survey was conducted to collect more data for testing the hypotheses and feasibility of the research framework. To conclude, interaction is indispensible in managing blogs. Interactions and blog readers’ expectations toward the blog influence their satisfaction with the blog, and further affect the development of loyalty to spread word-of-mouth. The suggestions for further research including studying from different perspective, adopting longer time span, collecting a larger sample, categorizing bloggers, and implementing behavioral research for business use.

Submitted by Silvana Teresinha Dornelles Studzinski (sstudzinski) on 2015-05-14T13:54:01Z No. of bitstreams: 1 JerlianeCruvinelMenezes.pdf: 925710 bytes, checksum: 7c04b5a4127684cb1e27e0332ccd36cd (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2015-05-14T13:54:01Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 JerlianeCruvinelMenezes.pdf: 925710 bytes, checksum: 7c04b5a4127684cb1e27e0332ccd36cd (MD5) Previous issue date: 2010 / IESRIVER - Instituto de Ensino Superior de Rio Verde / O estudo de estratégias de marketing de relacionamento, orientadas para micro e pequenas empresas do setor de comércio e de serviços, pode contribuir como área de investigação devido ao forte papel que desempenham no canal de distribuição e na economia do país. Apesar de não ser um fenômeno novo, percebe-se uma escassez de estudos teóricos com abordagem do marketing de relacionamento desenvolvida no âmbito do comércio varejista e, ainda, julga-se que a maioria das micro e pequenas empresas deste segmento desconhecem a importância do marketing de relacionamento. O tipo de comércio no qual as farmácias e drogarias operam possui algumas peculiaridades em relação aos demais ramos do varejo. Elas, além de serem responsáveis pela distribuição e abastecimento de medicamentos e produtos de higiene e beleza para a população, têm responsabilidade com a saúde pública. É importante salientar que essa atividade comercial coloca à disposição da sociedade basicamente produtos padronizados, ou seja, não há grandes possibilidades de diferenciação. O marketing de relacionamento é, antes de tudo, uma perspectiva de como a empresa pode se relacionar com seus clientes e outras partes interessadas de modo a causar impacto sobre como o negócio é desenvolvido e os clientes são gerenciados. É importante salientar que a estratégia de marketing também tem um papel significativo na criação de uma vantagem competitiva. Diante desse contexto, para atingir o objetivo proposto, identificar como o marketing de relacionamento pode gerar vantagem competitiva para pequenos varejistas do setor farmacêutico na cidade de Goiânia-Goiás, optou-se por realizar uma pesquisa de caráter exploratório, utilizando-se do método qualitativo apoiado em um estudo de casos múltiplos. A partir do levantamento do número de farmácias cadastradas pela Vigilância Sanitária de Goiânia, foram selecionadas por acessibilidade, dezoito drogarias independentes e quatro drogarias pertencentes a redes de farmácias. O método de análise empregado nestes resultados de estudo foi o da análise de conteúdo. Para as entrevistas, utilizou-se um roteiro semiestruturado, fundamentado no referencial teórico e nos modelos de marketing de relacionamento, em seguida seis categorias de análise foram escolhidas de acordo com os objetivos da pesquisa: estratégia; estratégia de marketing; marketing de relacionamento; confiança e comprometimento, satisfação, valor, lealdade; estratégia de marketing de relacionamento e serviços. Os resultados analisados foram divididos em três fases: a primeira referente às drogarias de pequeno porte. A segunda, concernente às drogarias de grande porte. Por último, uma comparação entre os dois resultados analíticos. Pôde-se constatar que diante da competitividade do mercado, principalmente em setores fragmentados, o marketing de relacionamento pode representar um diferencial competitivo importante, através da criação de valor para os clientes, ampliação de serviços de forma customizada e do estabelecimento de relacionamentos sustentáveis entre as partes interessadas no processo de troca. Portanto, o uso correto das ferramentas do marketing de relacionamento é essencial para a sobrevivência das micro e pequenas empresas, pois trata-se de uma alternativa eficaz para minimizar o impacto da guerra de preços determinada pelas grandes empresas ao agregar maior valor na oferta de serviços. / The study of the strategies of relationship marketing targeted to micro and small companies in the sectors of trade and services can add value as a research area because of their strong roles in the distribution and the economy of the country. Besides not being a new phenomenon, a lack of theoretical studies is observed concerning the approach on the relationship marketing developed in the retail trade, and also it is thought that most micro and small companies in this segment are unaware of the importance of the marketing relationship. The type of trade in which pharmacies and drugstores operate has some peculiarities in relation to other branches of retailing. They, besides being responsible for distribution and supply of medicines and hygiene and cosmetic products for the population, have responsibility on public health. It is important to emphasize that this commercial activity offers the company basically standardized products, that is, there aren’t many possibilities for differentiation. The relationship marketing is, above all, a perspective of how the company can connect to customers and other interested people in order to make an impact on how business is developed and customers are managed. It is also hig hlight that the marketing strategy also has a significant role in creating a competitive advantage. Given this context, in order to achieve the proposed objective, identify how relationship marketing can generate competitive advantage for small retailers in the pharmaceutical industry in the city of Goiânia - Goiás, we opted for an exploratory research, using the qualitative method supported in a study of multiple cases. From the survey of the number of pharmacies registered by the Health Surveillance of Goiânia, eighteen independent drug stores and four drug stores belonging to four pharmacy chains were selected by accessibility. The analysis method employed in the results of this study was the content analysis. Forthe interviews, a semi-structured script was used, based on theoretical referential and relationship marketing models, following this, six categories of analysis were chosen according to there search objectives: strategy, marketing strategy, relationship marketing, trust and commitment, satisfaction, value, loyalty, relationship marketing strategy and services. The results analyzed were divided into three phases: the first regarding the small drugstores. The second, concerning the large drugstores. Finally, a comparison between the two analytical results. It could be observed that given the competitiveness of the market, especially in fragmented sectors, the relationship marketing can represent a competitive and important differential by creating value for customers, expansion of services in a customized way and of the establishment of sustainable relationships between people interested in the exchange process. Therefore, the correct use of tools of relationship marketing is vital to the survival of micro and small companies, since it is an effective alternative to minimize the impact of war on prices determined by big ompanies, adding greater value in the services provided services.