Dagens företag lever i en alltmer komplicerad och komplex omvärld där bilden av dem skapas genom ständig samverkan mellan vad de egentligen gör och hur det förklaras vilket i sin tur skapar bilden av företaget. I Jönköpingsregionen finns det ett flertal kommunikations-, PR- och reklambyråer, definitionerna är många, men i stort erbjuder de liknande tjänster. För att kunna differentiera sig gentemot konkurrenter har positionering blivit ett allt viktigare ledningsinstrument, konsumentens bild av företaget är den avgörande faktorn mellan misslyckande och framgång och i sin tur överlevnad. Utvecklingen har medfört att nyckeln till framgång ligger i företagets förmåga att värdera och kommunicera sin interna och externa identitet i relation till sin önskade profil och inte som tidigare genom kvalité eller produktöverlägsenhet. Konsumenternas uppfattning och känsla för företaget blir den avgörande faktorn vid valet av samarbetspartner, ett finansiellt värde kan i sin tur tillskrivas varumärkesidentiteten när den bidrar till att skapa en positiv och fördelaktig bild av företagets tjänster och produkter. Dokumentationen består av en studie som redovisar hur kommunikationsbyråer i Jönköpingsregionen strategiskt arbetar med sina varumärken och hur det i sin tur uppfattas och tolkas av kunderna. Syftet är i korthet att redovisa vilka budskap som företagen vill representera och i sin tur förmedla till sina kunder för att sedan jämföra profilen med den uppfattade imagen från kunderna. Resultatet visar att ett strategisk uppbyggt varumärke inte behöver vara synonymt med framgång. I vår undersökning visade det sig att profil och image inte nödvändigtvis behöver stämma överens för att skapa ett starkt och konkurrenskraftigt varumärke. Vidare visar undersökningen att byråernas kärnvärden är av en så pass generell art att de inte kan särskilja byråerna ur ett konkurrensperspektiv. Undersökningen visar även att kunderna skapar relationer med personerna inom byrån och inte med byrån i sig, därigenom blir byrån som varumärke sårbart då deras konkurrensfördel bara ligger i deras potentialitet att anställa kompetent personal. / To live as you learn - a study about positioning of communication firms in the region of Jönköping Companies of today live in a more intricate and complex world then ever before, where the cooperate identity is created from a combination of what they in reality carry out and how this in turn is explained. In the region of Jönköping there is a wide collection of different PR, advertising and communication firms, all with different designations, but with similar services. To be able to differentiate themselves towards their competitors, positioning has become a crucial instrument, and the perceived image of the company has turn out to be one of the most vital factors of survival that determines whether the companies are successful or not. Through this the key to success today lies within the company’s ability to value and communicate their inner and external identity in relation to their sought profile and not through for example quality or technical superiority, the consumers emotions and over all awareness has become the most important differential feature when choosing and creating relations. The financial value can in turn only be ascribed to the brands identity when it contributes in creating a positive and advantageous image of the companies’ products and services. Our study consists of a presentation of the strategic brand management of a selected number of communication firms in the region of Jönköping, and how this in turn is perceived and interpreted by their clients. Our objective is in short to present what main messages the firms wants to communicate and how these in turn are perceived by their clients, after which a comparison is made between the conveyed profile and the perceived image. Our results show that a strategically managed brand isn’t synonymous whit success. Our study also implies that profile and image not necessarily need to coherer to create a strong and competitive brand. The study also shows that in our case the core values of the firms are of such a general nature that they can’t distinguish the bureaus from a competitive perspective. To summarize our result show that clients create relations with the employees within the firms and not with the firms themselves, this leaves the firm as a brand, vulnerable when their competitive advantages only lies within the firm’s potential to attract qualified employees.

Uppsatsens titel ”Work is theatre and every business is a stage” – en studie i möjliggörandet av relationer med hjälp av event marketing Seminariedatum 2008-06-05 Ämne/kurs Kandidatuppsats i marknadsföring, 15 p Författare Sophie Ohlsson och Dina Sabrkesh Handledare Ingemar Haglund Nyckelord Event marketing, relationer, relationsmarknadsföring, evenemang, event. Problemområde Konsumenter idag vill inte dagligen pumpas med nya budskap utan de har blivit mer medvetna och söker efter ett värde från företaget och dess produkter utöver det brukliga. För att tillgodose detta har företagen börjat inrikta sin marknadsföring alltmer mot att försöka skapa interaktion, gemenskap och relation med sin målgrupp och ett effektivt sätt att göra det på är just genom event marketing. Genom dessa möten kan företag skapa och bibehålla relationen till sina kunder samt öka medvetenheten kring varumärket. Ett starkt varumärke bidrar till att möjliggöra relationer då ett välkänt varumärke skapar trygghet hos konsumenten. Syfte Syftet med uppsatsen är att beskriva processen kring planerandet och genomförandet av ett event. Detta för att på så sätt närmare kunna beskriva hur man med hjälp av event marketing kan möjliggöra relationer bland nuvarande och före detta studenter inom ett utbildningsprogram. Metod För att uppfylla syftet med uppsatsen har ett enskilt fall studerats. Fallet, som är ett event, var inte bara något som observerades utan också planerades och genomfördes. För att tränga igenom ytan på problemet och skapa förståelse för vad som specifikt sker i en viss situation har uppsatsen utgått från en fallstudieansats. En fallstudie är av kvalitativ karaktär där ett eller flera fall studeras under ett tillfälle eller över tiden. Den kvalitativa karaktären hjälper till att beskriva den sociala verkligheten vad gäller händelser, människor och handlingar. Slutsats Vid planering och genomförande av ett event är det av stor betydelse att planeringsprocessen genomförs noggrant och att arrangören är strukturerad och välorganiserad. För att möjliggöra relationer vid eventet är det viktigt att det finns en röd tråd mellan upplevelsen, mötet och budskapet som tilltalar den utvalda målgruppen. Vidare bör deltagarna ha en gemensam nämnare förutom eventet då det underlättar konversationer. Det är också viktigt att arrangören och deltagarna har ett stort engagemang. I de fall där relationer skapas eller bibehålls kan det leda till att programmet stärks. Relationer med näringslivet kan innebära praktikplatser vilket är ett attraktivt marknadsföringsargument vid rekrytering av nya studenter. Vidare kan relationer leda till färre avhopp samt en ökad spridning av positiv word of mouth.

近年來台灣醫藥環境面臨重大變革，如全民健保開辦、醫藥分業實施、藥品進口自由化及藥品零售業務國際化，加上消費者教育水準之提高，在此種種因素影響下，藥局經營必須改變體質才能面對新環境、新挑戰。此外，隨著經濟環境的改善，民眾對於健康醫療相關的支出比例亦持續增加。藥局經營模式已不知不覺產生變化，由量的減少到質的提升、由被動轉為主動、由以「生病為中心」的商品組合到「健康為中心」的商品組合、由單打獨鬥到策略聯盟、由專業分工到資源整合都考驗著藥師的經營能力。 綜合上述可以發現在整體大環境改變下，傳統社區藥局經營模式已無法滿足顧客之需求，加上顧客對健康養身觀念意識之抬頭，社區藥局已逐漸定位為主動替顧客健康照護之把關者，而非僅僅是有病才拿藥之消極互動模式。尤其對長期慢性病友而言，社區藥局如何透過慢性病處方箋與醫院長期合作照護病友，以使病友用最有效率、最近距離、最少時間取得最正確安全之藥事服務，以提升附加價值；擺脫低價策略擴大市場需求，將成為社區藥局需審慎思考之新經營策略。 有鑒於此，本研究透過服務科學建立「新型態社區藥局服務創新模型與連鎖加盟經營」，以期在醫院與病友間成為有效之溝通橋樑並提升顧客健康照護之價值。接著，轉型第二階段將延續新商業模式，利用關係行銷建立「全國慢性病會員慢箋照護E-Pharmacy創新服務計畫」，協助個案公司將與其相關性之各產業資源相結合，形成牢不可破之關係行銷網，以期轉型發展成具有持續競爭力之永續經營企業，以因應產業之快速變化。 / Medical and pharmaceutical industries in Taiwan have been facing revolutionary transformations in recent years. These include the launch of National Health Insurance, dispensing separation (DS), import liberation, retail internationalization, and the elevation of consumer education levels. Under the impacts of these factors, drug store businesses have had to change accordingly to adapt to the new environment and respond to new challenges. Furthermore, with the improved financial condition of people, the proportion of budgets spent on medical- and healthcare-related services is steadily rising. The business model of a drug store has also changed. It has moved from quantity-focused management concepts to quality-focused ones, from passive-based services to active-based ones, from “illness-centered” products to “health-centered” ones, from a solitary pursuit to strategic alliances, and from division of professional work to integration of resources. The transformation poses a great challenge to the management capabilities of pharmacists. In short, under global changes and the raising of public awareness of health and health care, traditional community drug stores are far from meeting the demands of customers. From the passive business model of waiting for sick customers to walk in for their medications, community drug stores have gradually transformed to become actively involved in restoring and enhancing the health of their customers. By maintaining long-term cooperation with the hospitals that prescribe medications to their customers, community drug stores can especially help chronic patients by providing them the most efficient, shortest distance, correct and safe pharmaceutical services within the shortest time. Drug store owners should take this new business strategy into serious consideration as it allows them to offer value-added services to customers, abandon a low-pricing strategy, and expand market demand. In view of the above-mentioned, this study has set up a “New Form of Community Drug Store with Innovative Service Model and Franchise Chain Business Model” via Service Science, Management and Engineering (SSME), and which aims to build an effective communication bridge between the hospital and the patient and enhance the value of healthcare services given to customers. The second phase of transformation is an extension of the new business model. In the second phase, relationship marketing is adopted to establish a “National Innovative Service Program of E-pharmacy for Chronic Patients” to assist the company in the study to integrate corresponding resources from different industries and form a strong relationship marketing network. With this program, it is hoped that the drug stores can transform and develop into sustainable ventures with sustainable competitive edges to respond to the rapid changes in the industry.

Title: Volvo Trucks' Customer Value Proposition Authors: Ekaterina Storubleva, Gregor Milosch, Christian Neumann Tutor: Erik Hunter Date: May 2009 Keywords: Volvo Truck Corporation, truck industry, customer value, value drivers, retail strategy, communication, relationship marketing Purpose: The purpose of this thesis is to evaluate the general composition of Volvo Trucks' customer value proposition in Europe and to examine possible ways of enhancing it using Volvo's retailing strategy as a tool. Background: The concept of customer value gains more and more importance in modern companies. Firms have to truly understand what their customers expect in order to provide the right products for them.Truck manufacturing is a very cyclical industry, which is why in times of crisis, when trade volumes go down, they need to excel even more in order to maintain good business relations with their customers. Volvo Trucks, one of the world's leading truck producers, has adopted a special retailing strategy, in which it owns strategically important dealerships, in order to improve customer understanding and consequently customer value. This paper discusses in how far they succeed at this. Method: The authors followed a triangular approach, combining quantitative and qualitative research. The quantitative part was covered by a communication chain study and a value driver study, both developed by the authors. In the qualitative part, each participant answered ten open questions, which were then used for internal consistency checks and contributed additional thoughts. Conclusion: The Volvo Truck Corporation (VTC), by adapting its retail strategy, realized the importance of establishing long-term customer relationships and generating adequate intelligence about customer needs. The company not only incorporated influential elements of relationship marketing but also strives for sustainable improvements in customer-perceived value. However, some conflicts between the stakeholder groups involved have been discovered. The corporation's core values were found to be in line with customer preferences. In essence, it is crucial for Volvo Trucks to implement the ideas of relationship marketing, establish superior communication channels, and to promote a common understanding of customer value.

Purpose The purpose of this thesis is to investigate to what extent Rolls Royce in Kristinehamn manages to fulfil their customer needings. By identifying gaps between offerings and needings, the authors will give recommendations on how Rolls Royce can increase their customers' satisfaction by providing them with what they need.   Method A qualitative research is used in the form of in-depth face-to-face- and telephone interviews. Eight such interviews have been conducted in this thesis; three interviews with representatives from Rolls Royce and five interviews with representatives from three of their customers.   Findings Many gaps have been found in the analysis of the empirical study. The most frequently discovered gaps are that; Rolls Royce should have better control over their sub-suppliers and Rolls Royce should agree on higher penalty fees for delay or poor quality. Further gaps have been found in which activities the customer wants to be relieved or enabled of.   Recommendations A figure of customer specific recommendations have been compiled through the findings. From this figure, general recommendations have been discovered that can, to some extent, represent all of Rolls Royce's customers.

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Nyckelord: Charterbranschen, Lojalitet, Involvering, Interaktion, Relationsmarknadsföring, Kommunikation, Bakgrund: Kundernas förändrade efterfrågan har tillsammans med den ökade konkurrensen från Internetbaserade bolag gjort det allt svårare för traditionella charterbolag att överleva på marknaden.   Problemformulering: Vilka faktorer ger kunden incitament att förbli lojala gentemot charterbolagen Syfte: Syftet är att genom en kvalitativ ansats analysera och utvärdera charterbolagens förutsättningar för att skapa lojala kunder. Metod: Uppsatsen utgår från en abduktiv ansats. Författarna använder sig av en kvalitativ undersökningsmetod för att generera en djupare förståelse av det fenomen som undersöks. Teorier: Uppsatsen använder sig av; Tjänstemarknadsföringstriangeln, Mervärdesteorin, Involveringsteorin, Kundlojalitet, Kanomodellen, Lojalitetsnivåer, Kundnöjdhetsskapande Interaktion, Kundlojalitetsbelöningar. Empiri: Empirin består av primärdata inhämtad via djupintervjuer med konsumenter samt representant för företaget. Resulta/Analys: Företaget anser att de utgår från ett kundperspektiv då de skapar sina kunderbjudanden samtidigt som kunderna upplever att företagets erbjudanden inte är det som efterfrågas. Företaget menar dessutom att de utgår från ett relationsbyggande perspektiv trots att de i huvudsak arbetar med engångsförsäljning. Slutsats: Företaget måste erbjuda en större flexibilitet vid bokning av en semesterresa där varje kund erbjuds en skräddarsydd lösning utifrån sina unika önskemål. / Background: The customers change in demand, together with the increased competition from Internet based companies, had made it more difficult for the traditional charter companies to survive.   Problem definition: Which factors gives the customer incentive to remain loyal towards the charter companies Purpose: The purpose is to, through a qualitative approach, analyze and evaluate the charter companies’ conditions to create loyal customers.   Method: The essay is based on an abductive approach. The authors use a qualitative survey method to generate a deeper understanding of the investigated phenomena. Theories: The essay uses; The services marketing triangle, Value theory, Involvement theory, Customer loyalty, Kanomodel, Loyalty levels, Customer satisfaction theory, Customer loyalty awards.  Empiric: The empiric consists of raw data obtained through interviews with consumers and a company representative. Results/Analysis: The Company believes that they work from a customer oriented perspective as they create their customer offers, while the customers feel that the offers don’t correlates with their demands. Furthermore the company claims that they work with relationship marketing even though their main focus is one-time sell. Conclusion: The Company must offer a greater flexibility when booking a holiday trip in which every customer is offered a tailored solution based on their unique preferences.

This essay describes the Swedish furniture business and its strong competition between domestic and foreign producers. As the demand on higher development speed grows stronger, alongside a fierce competition between the companies, long lasting and unique qualities such as customer relations and strong brand names become crucial. Nowadays many furniture producers chose to sell their products through retailers and they therefore miss out on invaluable direct contact with their customers. Consequently, this means that they lack the perquisite to build relations or more importantly, to communicate their brand. To illustrate the problem a case study and a survey have been carried out. The study compares the strategic marketing works between producers who have own concept stores and those who uses retailers. In addition to this the customer’s image perception has also been examined. The theories are based on Branding, relationship marketing and Event Marketing. The result of the study is supported by an analysis of the theories and the studies. It indicated that the producers with own concept stores have better prerequisite to build relations and to communicate with their customers than those who use retailers. The conclusion is that the work with branding and relations is a way for the Swedish furniture producers to strengthen their image and to give their customers an added value. The added value will in the long run lead to loyal customers and a positive reputation. / I bakgrunden framgår att möbelbranschen kantas av stor konkurrens både mellan inhemska och utländska producenter. Kraven på ökad utvecklingstakt i kombination med intensiv konkurrens gör att uthålliga och unika konkurrensmedel som varumärken och relationer söks. Då många möbelproducenter har sin försäljning via återförsäljare saknar de direktkontakt med kunderna och har inte förutsättningar för att skapa relationer eller att kommunicera sitt varumärke. För att belysa problemet har en flerfallsstudie och en surveyundersökning gjorts. Undersökningarna jämför arbetet med den strategiska marknadsföringen hos svenska möbelproducenter med konceptbutiker och de som använder sig av återförsäljare. Dessutom undersöks kunders imageuppfattning av företagen. Teoridelen grundas på teorier om varumärke, Branding, relationsmarknadsföring och Event Marketing. Resultatet baseras på en analys av teorierna och undersökningarna. Studiens resultat tyder på att företag med egna konceptbutiker har bättre förutsättningar för att skapa relationer och kommunicera med sina kunder än de som använder sig av återförsäljare. Slutsatsen är att arbetet med varumärke och relationer är ett sätt för svenska möbelproducenter att stärka sin image och ge sina kunder ett mervärde. Mervärdet kommer på sikt att leda till lojala kunder och ett positivt rykte.

Business-to-business relationships within sustained monopolies, such as those within Defence Procurement, have received limited attention by Management Researchers. This is unusual because under these market circumstances typically there appear to be few incentives to achieve mutually beneficial outcomes despite their strategic policy importance. The purpose of this thesis is therefore, to determine the influential relationship factors between the UK Ministry of Defence and its Industrial partners within a predominantly monopolistic Defence Procurement business. The approach adopted for this research project is exploratory and inter-subject area. It uses quantitative and supportive qualitative data to examine the problem through an economic model using Supply Chain Management, Relationship Marketing and Transaction Cost Economics. A self-selected census of 54 business relationships is carried out from both the buyer and supplier perspectives through staff questionnaires and team leader semi-structured interviews. The findings from this research show, contrary to the expectation of the theoretical model, a positive relationship success situation with a spectrum of both positive and negative behavioural factors present. However, a significant adversarial influence is a suite of issues that are endemic to the business in question such as old products, obsolescence, staff and organisational upheavals, poor end-customer visibility and lack of investment in modern procedures and systems. Within the monopoly environment these accentuate managers’ frustrations due to lack of freedom of action. The primary contribution of this research is therefore, an increased understanding of the business-to-business relationship dynamics within long-term, closely coupled, collaborative, business-to-business arrangements as exemplified by UK Defence and the results are likely to be of interest to both academics and managers.

The discipline of marketing is evolving from a product centric paradigm where all value is invested in the product by the supplier and it is exchanged for a market determined price by means of an arm’s length transaction, to a service centric paradigm where value is co-created by customer and supplier through complex relationships in which the rewards are determined through negotiation. This study recognizes that in practice a supplier will and ought to continue to have some customer relationships that are transactional and others that involve higher levels of value co-creation. A five point continuum of relationships from transactional to strategic alliance is defined. Dyadic data in which customer and supplier are asked to evaluate the same relationship from their respective points of view are analyzed resulting in a portfolio of a supplier’s relationships that include each of the five levels. Three structured equation models are validated: first, the customer’s assessment of the level of relationship as a function of new, behaviorally anchored measures; second, the supplier’s assessment as a function of new, behaviorally anchored measures of investment; third, the differences between customer and supplier assessments as a function of differences in ratings of new, behaviorally anchored measures. Additionally, segmentation of the customer base is identified based on the level of assessment of the current and desired future level of relationship. Servicing processes are defined to enable the supplier to match the right offerings to each level of customer thereby optimizing their investment in their customer portfolio.