Building and maintaining business relationships is becoming increasingly important as organisations seek to improve their competitive advantage by entering long-term relationships with strategic business partners. It is suggested that the quality of the relationship determines the likelihood of maintaining an ongoing relationship between buyers and sellers. Research in the area of business-to-business relationship quality is still in its infancy with limited agreement of the dimensions of relationship quality or even the definition of relationship quality in a business-to-business context. The aim of this Interpretivist study, set in the financial services industry in Australia, was to develop an understanding of what participants in a dyadic business relationship perceive to be the attributes of a high quality relationship. Methodologically the research took a case study approach to the collection of primary data through the use of open-ended depth interviews. Epistemologically the research derived categories and concepts from the social actors engaged in the mutually constructed social reality of the business relationship dyad. This formed the basis for understanding the quality concept by describing relationship-based activities and meanings. The findings indicate that some dimensions of relationship quality are identified dyadically whereas other dimensions are buyer or seller specific. Some dimensions of relationship quality suggested by the literature emerged from the data generated for this study, while others were previously unidentified, including good product, reciprocity, face-to-face contact, problem resolution, efficiency of service, staff consistency, business support and hierarchy of contacts. The findings suggest four implications for professional practice: the need for face-to-face contact; the importance of establishing a hierarchy of contacts across the business relationship; the suggestion that relationship quality is a continuum rather than a destination; and the suggestion that problem resolution may be a catalyst for relationship strength.

Abstract The purpose of this thesis is to undertake theory development and testing particular to re-purchase intention in an experiential service context, specifically the cultural performing arts. Services researchers suggest implementing a multi-disciplinary approach to research that uses theories and methods from several of the management fields will advance the domain of services research. This thesis aims to contribute to the field of service research by drawing from methods and theories offered in both service operations and services marketing fields. To date, service research has been preoccupied primarily with consumer behaviour aspects of services marketing such as satisfaction but underestimates the importance of constructs such as re-purchase intention and the subsequent implications for strategy formulation and implementation. Further to this, the current approach to services research has overlooked the nexus between marketing and operations and the importance of the implementation of strategy to achieve objectives. It is argued that failing to integrate service operations both practically and theoretically into the re-purchase intentions research framework confines its potential effectiveness. In addition, the lack of specific service context application has been identified as a significant oversight in previous services research. Construct measurements and findings have been difficult to replicate across contexts and contextual examination of constructs and relationships has been suggested as a solution. One such context deserving of attention is that of the experiential services, specifically the performing arts. Therefore, using measures and theories developed specifically for this context, this thesis will offer a more comprehensive approach to re-purchase intention research in a performing arts setting. This thesis adopts a mixed method approach by implementing a series of three integrated studies, which amalgamates both operations and marketing fields. This thesis aims to identify the aspects of a performing arts encounter that are relevant to the customer by conducting a two-staged set of qualitative interviews. This process is based on the operations technique Service Transaction Analysis (STA). First, consultant consumers and organisational personnel were used to formulate a consensus definition of a typical performing arts experience and, second, 26 in-depth interviews were conducted with potential future consumers of the performing arts based on this description of the offering. These two studies, coupled with extant literature, informed the research instrument designed for the main survey. This instrument was conducted on 273 potential future consumers of the performing arts. Qualitative work undertaken in Study 1 identifies the service experience description. Study 2 highlights the service management and marketing issues relating to re-purchase intention especially focusing on value, customer satisfaction, show experience and service quality and discloses a set of specific issues incorporated into the wording of the survey instrument. Study 3 measures and tests the key constructs of service quality, show experience, value, satisfaction and the significance of the hypothesised pathways to re-purchase intention. The proposed model is then analysed using the AMOS 5.0 Structural Equation Modelling package. This thesis is structured in the journal paper format with each of the chapters representing each of the five journal papers. In addition, an introductory and concluding chapter are appended with the concluding chapter providing an in-depth discussion of the contributions of this thesis. The papers are based on the progressive results of the research program and offer an integrated set of findings and discussions. The papers are not mutually exclusive but interrelated to comprehensively illuminate the central research theme of the thesis and discuss many aspects of marketing and operations significant to re-purchase intention. The entire thesis is drawn from the data set generated from the three integrated studies developed to address the overall research theme. The central research theme is to investigate the nature of re-purchase intention in an experiential setting using marketing and operations theories as platforms of analysis. Interestingly, the tested model of this thesis found empirically that the subjective and experiential aspects of the service, such as the emotional and artistic quality of the show, did not have a significant and direct relationship with re-purchase intention. This finding is of interest, in particular, to scholars of experiential consumption and marketing practitioners offering these types of services. Previous research has supported the desire to fulfil experiential needs as driving the initial purchase. Conversely, this finding suggests that the desire to visit again is driven by utility and value. As customer maintenance and repeat patronage are of utmost importance to practice, this is an exciting development. Offering further support, the tested model found service quality and show experience were mediated by value to satisfaction, with satisfaction inturn mediating the relationship between value and re-purchase intention. Collectively, these findings have lead to several developments and contributions for both scholarship and practice. The contributions to knowledge of this thesis highlight five main theoretical contributions and four main managerial implications. These encompass: · Advancing the ‘service management trinity’, specifically strengthening the importance of the relationship between service marketing and service operations. · Advancing service management theory by understanding the service offering more intricately and the importance of service description. · Clarifying the roles of experiential and utilitarian attributes of the service experience in an experiential setting extending knowledge related to re-purchase intention. · Particularizing and measuring the construct of re-purchase intention to the performing arts and clarifying the predictors of this construct in the context of experiential performing arts. . · Testing and clarifying the relationships of value and satisfaction to re-purchase intention extending the understanding of re-purchase intention in this field and elaborating the approach and understanding of this construct for future research. This thesis further contributes to knowledge by offering several managerial contributions. These incorporate: · Market segmentation and targeting strategies as critical for performing arts management. · Operations service design and creation strategies in the performing arts by including important aspects of the service experience as highlighted by customer driven research. · Specific recommendation for streamlining delivery through standardised mass customisation. · Offering value frameworks for creating value in service delivery and targeting customer perceptions of superior value. This extending the understanding of the customer perceived value equation. By contributing to the field of service management and advancing enquiry in the field of services marketing and service operations, this thesis offers a new perspective and practical approach to service marketing context analysis making a valuable contribution to scholarship. This approach is based on improving organisational performance in experiential services specifically by applying operations and marketing theory from a customer-perspective. By doing this, findings inform organisations of ways to better meet the needs and wants of consumers through design, delivery and marketing. Moreover, the findings assist researchers in further advancing the field of services research. This research positions the future research program to focus on continuing the advancement of service management by examining the higher order constructs of service quality and show experience and examining the impact of additional customer motivations such as emotional goal attainment and involvement in experiential settings.

abstract: Customers today, are active participants in service experiences. They are more informed about product choices, their preferences and tend to actively influence customer and firm related outcomes. However, differences across customers become a significant challenge for firms trying to ensure that all customers have a `delightful' consumption experience. This dissertation studies customers as active participants in service experiences and considers three dimensions of customer participation -- in-role performance; extra-role performance-citizenship and elective behavior; and information sharing -- as its focal dependent variables. This study is grounded in services marketing, customer co-production and motivation literatures. The theoretical model proposes that customer behaviors are goal-directed and different consumers will have different reactions to the service quality because they have different assessments of progress towards their goals and (consequently) different levels of participation during the service experience. Customer role clarity and participation behavior will also influence the service experience and firm outcomes. A multi-step process was adopted to test the conceptual model, beginning with qualitative and quantitative pretests; followed by 2 studies (one cross-sectional and other longitudinal in nature). Results prove that customer participation behaviors are influenced by service quality directly and through the mediated path of progress towards goals. Assessment of progress towards goals directly influences customer participation behaviors cross-sectionally. Service quality from one service interaction influences customer in-role performance and information sharing in subsequent service interactions. Information sharing influences service quality in subsequent service interactions. Role-clarity influences in-role and extra-role performance cross-sectionally and influences these behaviors longitudinally only in the early stages of the customer-firm relationship. Due to multi-collinearity, the moderating effect of customer goals on assessment of progress towards goals could not be tested. The study findings contribute to the understanding of customer participation behaviors in service interactions for both academics and managers. It contributes to the literature by examining consumption during the service interaction; considering customers as active participants; explaining differences in customer participation; integrating a forward-looking component (assessment of progress towards goals) and a retrospective component (perceptions of service quality) to explain customer participation behaviors over time; defining and building measures for customer participation behavior. / Dissertation/Thesis / Ph.D. Business Administration 2011

Despite numerous research studies on the antecedents of customer citizenship behavior (CCB; activities that customers voluntarily perform to help the firm and other customers, customers' role identity transitions remain unexplored as a possible antecedent in services marketing research. Previous research in customer co-production has shown that CCB increases service quality, customer satisfaction, and customer loyalty. Therefore, understanding why some customers may perform higher levels of CCB than others is important. Using role salience theory, this dissertation contributes to the CCB literature by investigating the influence of customers' role identity transitions (i.e., gaining role identities vs. losing role identities) on CCB. Furthermore, it attempts to explain these effects by examining two mediating processes. First, increased life stress is proposed as a consequence of customers’ role identity transitions. Second, drawing from psychological stress and coping theory, it is proposed that customers employ distinct coping functions (i.e., problem-focused vs. emotion-focused coping) to reduce the effect of life stress they experienced. Lastly, this dissertation predicts that CCB is a way for customers to cope with their life stress. Using structural equation modeling, this dissertation provides support for the proposition that customers who experience role identity transitions are more likely to perform CCB than customers who do not. The results also support the proposition that customers who experience role identity transitions tend to have increased life stress and that customers who lose their role identities tend to have more life stress than those who gain role identities. Contrary to the proposition, customers were found to use emotion-focused coping rather than problem-focused coping when faced with both types of role identity transitions. As predicted, CCB is shown as a way for customers to cope with life stress resulting from role identity transitions.

[pt] A presente dissertação Fashionismo às avessas: expressão da precarização do trabalho nos bastidores da moda tem como principal objetivo analisar as expressões da precarização do trabalho na indústria da moda, na cidade do Rio de Janeiro, RJ. O tema é abordado a partir da crise do capitalismo e suas estratégias de superação, com destaque para seus rebatimentos no mundo do trabalho, em particular o mundo da moda (fashion). As estratégias adotadas pelo capitalismo, de forma geral, e pela indústria da moda, no que concerne aos interesses mais específicos deste estudo, afetam profundamente a classe trabalhadora e se desdobram em importantes alterações na proteção social do trabalho. A pesquisa desenvolvida versou sobre a superexploração do trabalho e as diversas formas de trabalho precário, tomando como campo empírico o polo da moda da cidade do Rio de Janeiro, onde foi possível observar o trabalho feminino como umas das suas maiores expressões, além de condições e relações de trabalho degradantes. O estudo não pretendeu fazer um resgate histórico sobre o desenvolvimento da moda ou defini-la de forma precisa, mas, sim, entendê-la, especialmente no ramo da produção de vestuário, como um sistema que ganha força em um determinado período histórico, onde trabalho e consumo, no âmbito da sociedade capitalista, são fundamentais para a sua manutenção. Com base nessa contextualização, a pesquisa buscou desvelar como os/as trabalhadores/as de confecções e/ou os que trabalham para confecções e facções que prestam serviços às marcas de vestuário, portanto, sujeitos essenciais na produção das peças comercializadas por renomadas grifes, não estão incluídos no mundo do glamour criado por esse ramo, ou seja, o verso que vem a público. Ao contrário, esses/as trabalhadores/as não participam deste mundo e sofrem com condições aviltantes de trabalho e de vida, ou seja, o avesso (reverso) do fashionismo. Dessa forma, a atenção não esteve voltada para a moda, mas para a indústria da moda e, junto a ela, para as expressões da precarização do trabalho no Brasil atual. / [en] The present dissertation Reversed fashionism: expression of the precariousness of work behind the scenes of fashion has as main objective to analyze the expressions of the precariousness of work in the fashion industry, in the city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The theme is approached from the crisis of capitalism and its strategies of overcoming, with highlight to its refutations in the world of work, in particular the world of fashion. The strategies adopted by capitalism in general and by the fashion industry as far as the more specific interests of this study are concerned profoundly affect the working class and unfold in important changes in the social protection of labor. The research developed was about the overexploitation of work and the various forms of precarious work, taking as an empirical field the fashion center of the city of Rio de Janeiro, where it was possible to observe female work as one of its greatest expressions, besides conditions and degrading labor relations. The study did not intend to make a historical rescue on the development of fashion or define it precisely, but rather to understand it, especially in the field of clothing production, as a system that gains strength in a certain historical period, where labor and consumption, within the framework of capitalist society, are fundamental for its maintenance. Based on this contextualization, the research sought to reveal how clothing workers and / or those working for garments and factions that provide services to clothing brands, therefore, essential subjects in the production of the pieces marketed by renowned brands, are not included in the world of glamor created by this branch, that is, the verse that comes to the public. On the contrary, these workers do not participate in this world and suffer from degrading conditions of work and life, that is, the reverse (reverse) of fashionism. Thus, the focus was not on fashion, but on the fashion industry and, along with it, on the expressions of the precariousness of work in Brazil today.

Made available in DSpace on 2015-04-16T14:48:49Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 arquivototal.pdf: 952153 bytes, checksum: 22e24b52db336b6b2e3ac3a6a4f050cc (MD5) Previous issue date: 2007-07-02 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior - CAPES / In globalized world, where the competition quickly grows in all sectors of the economy, it was too important to know what yours customers desire and think. Today the consumers, generally, they are more demanding, and to satisfy them, fully, although is a necessary point it is not easy. The satisfaction research can be seen as a system of analysis of information that catches the opinions of the customer through the evaluation organization performance or, specifically, of its products and services and that they assist the companies to identify new chances and monitor yours performance Therefore, the studies about consumer satisfaction, it is today each time more excellent, as much in the academic scope, as in the enterprise. The main objective of this study was to measure the level of customers satisfaction in the gymnastics academies, of size medium located in the city João Pessoa/PB. To reach the considered objectives, the adopted methodology divided the research in two stages: first, a searches qualitative, and, after that, a searches quantitative. The gotten results in this study had demonstrated that the gymnastics academies come obtaining to satisfy the biggest part of its customers, in relation to many aspects but that they exist, still, some vulnerable points that need to be improved, so that the full satisfaction of same the e is reached, consequently, its together retention to the academy. Analyzing, separately, the level of customers satisfaction of the academies of gymnastics searched, is concluded, still, that each one of them has its peculiarities, with points of prominence and others that they need to be changed so, to take care fully of to the necessities, the academies need to make investments that must be directed for the points in which they present deficiencies and the expectations of the customers. / Num mundo globalizado, onde a concorrência cresce rapidamente em todos os setores da economia, tornou-se vital para qualquer empresa saber o que os seus clientes desejam e pensam. Hoje os consumidores, de um modo geral, estão cada vez mais exigentes, e satisfazê-los, plenamente, apesar de ser uma meta necessária não é fácil. As pesquisas de satisfação podem ser vistas como um sistema de análise de informações que capta as opiniões do cliente através da avaliação do desempenho da organização ou, especificamente, de seus produtos e serviços, e que auxiliam as empresas a identificarem novas oportunidades e a monitorarem o seu desempenho. Por isso, os estudos sobre a satisfação do consumidor são hoje cada vez mais relevantes, tanto no âmbito acadêmico, quanto no empresarial. O principal objetivo desse estudo foi medir o nível de satisfação dos clientes das academias de ginástica, de médio porte, localizadas na cidade de João Pessoa/PB. Para alcançar os objetivos propostos, a metodologia adotada dividiu a pesquisa em duas etapas: primeiramente, uma pesquisa qualitativa, e, em seguida, uma pesquisa quantitativa. Os resultados obtidos nesse estudo demonstraram que as academias de ginástica vêm conseguindo satisfazer a maior parte de seus clientes, em relação a muitos aspectos, mas que existem, ainda, alguns pontos vulneráveis que precisam ser melhorados, para que seja alcançada a plena satisfação dos mesmos e, conseqüentemente, a sua retenção junto à academia. Analisando, separadamente, o nível de satisfação dos clientes das academias de ginástica pesquisadas, conclui-se, ainda, que cada uma delas tem suas peculiaridades, com pontos de destaque e outros que precisam ser reformulados. Assim, para atender plenamente às necessidades e as expectativas dos clientes, as academias necessitam fazer investimentos que devem ser direcionados para os pontos nos quais elas apresentam deficiências.

The thema of this diploma work is {\clqq}A policy market of the travel movementservices at the regional level``. The selected region, which I chaose, is region "Lipensko" - the part of Šumava. The work is separate to five main chapters. The first theretical part explains primary questions of tourism. In next chapter I direct to first inform with this region. Follows a part, in which I describe this region from tourism point of view. I deal with prezent requirements for tourism in this region. I analyse the duality and reach of tourism services, mainly accommodation services, commissaryman services, transport services and additional services. I executed questionnaire inquiry for intent this chapter. There is developed analysis SWOT too. In the end of this chapter I plane solutions, which could get better situacion for tourism services and so hold standard on relatively high attendance this region. Marketing policy in chapter synthesis concentrate on the improvement services especially in the housing and commissaryman arrangements. Further were suggested recommendation and possibilities of the new forms tourism services. This ideological suggestions constitute expansion of services of provincial travel movement, services of religious travel movement, congressional services, sociality {--} cultural services, animation services, educational services, security services, wellnes and communal services.

O mercado de idosos tem ganhado cada vez mais expressividade no contexto de consumo contemporâneo. Sendo assim, as empresas de serviços que atendem esse público-alvo devem desenvolver atividades de marketing específicas para alcançar este segmento de consumidores. Este trabalho teve como objetivo identificar quais são as atividades de marketing desenvolvidas e aplicadas por empresas de serviços que têm como público-alvo o mercado de idosos, mais especificamente moradias especializadas em idosos, e verificar se essas empresas seguem as propostas da literatura. Para atingir este objetivo, realizou-se uma profunda revisão da literatura sobre marketing de serviços e o mercado de idosos. Foi realizada, em seguida, uma pesquisa exploratória e qualitativa, que utilizou como método de pesquisa o estudo de casos múltiplos. Para a consolidação da pesquisa empírica, três empresas de serviço que atendem especificamente o público idoso - moradias especializadas - foram estudadas. Analisaram-se as atividades de marketing de serviços desenvolvidas por elas sob a luz da teoria de segmentação, posicionamento e composto de marketing para serviços - produto, processos, pessoas, preço, promoção, praça e evidências físicas. Foi possível concluir que as atividades de marketing de serviços não são elaboradas de forma estruturada, mas sim com base no feeling e na experiência de seus gestores, e que as empresas não possuem um direcionamento competitivo em relação ao desenvolvimento de suas atividades de marketing de serviços. No entanto, percebeu-se que algumas dessas atividades, ainda que desenvolvidas de forma intuitiva, em diversos aspectos corroboram a proposta da literatura. / The elderly market has increasingly gained expression in the context of the contemporary consumer. In consequence, the service companies, which meet the intended target audience, should develop marketing activities in order to reach this segment of consumers. The objective of this study is aimed to identify what the developed and applied marketing activities are by the service companies who possess the elderly market as a target audience, specifically housing specialized for the elderly, and verify if these companies follow the proposals established in the literature. In order to achieve this objective, a profound revision of the literature in regards to marketing services and the elderly market was performed. Subsequently, an exploratory and qualitative survey was completed, which utilized the study of multiple cases as a research method. For the consolidation of the empirical survey, three service companies, which specifically serve the elderly population - specialized housing - were studied. It analyzed the activities of marketing services developed by them in the light of theory of segmentation, positioning and marketing composition for services - product, process, people, price, promotion, place and physical evidence. It was possible to conclude that the activities of marketing services are not elaborated in a structured form, and they follow the feeling and experience of their managers; consequently, the companies do not possess a competitive direction in relation to the development of their activities of marketing services. Nonetheless, it was possible to realize that some of these activities, even developed intuitively, in diverse aspects, corroborate the proposal of the literature.

O setor de serviços no Brasil vem crescendo desde a década de 80 e mostra-se como o setor da economia mais importante em países desenvolvidos. O estudo do marketing de serviços nos Estados Unidos e Europa para esse setor ganhou importância desde então, no entanto estudos realizados por acadêmicos brasileiros ainda são escassos. O objetivo desta dissertação foi estudar o gerenciamento das variáveis de decisão de marketing em serviços de demanda não desejada do ponto de vista conceitual e prático. Para tanto, realizou-se extensa fundamentação teórica sobre o gerenciamento de marketing de serviços, mais especificamente sobre as variáveis de decisão produto, preço, distribuição e comunicação, finalizando essa parte com uma análise critica dos serviços de demanda não desejada. Do ponto de vista prático, realizou-se uma pesquisa de cunho exploratório, utilizando o método do estudo de caso, com o intuito de gerar novas idéias sobre o tema. A pesquisa de campo compreendeu o estudo de duas empresas do setor de seguros, que geraram novas idéias sobre o tema central desta dissertação. As análises obtidas dos casos mostraram que as empresas têm consciência da natureza dos serviços que vendem. Na variável preço não é uma variável de diferenciação, já que os preços são extremamente regulamentados no mercado de seguros. A distribuição é feita de maneira semelhante nas duas organizações estudadas, ou seja, por parceiros de negócio e corretores, que tem o papel de vendas. Treinamentos e campanhas de incentivo absorvem a maior parte dos investimentos das empresas. Por fim, identificou-se que as empresas pesquisadas utilizam elementos de comunicação que ampliam a receptividade do consumidor, além de utilizarem as relações públicas e patrocínios como principais ferramentas de comunicação. / The services industry in Brazil has been growing since the 80´s and is the most important industry in most developed economies. The study of services marketing in the United States and Europe has been becoming increasingly important ever since, however studies by Brazilian researchers are still scarce. The aim of this dissertation is to study the management of decision variables in marketing for negative demand services, both in a conceptual and practical perspective. With that purpose in mind, an extensive theoretical review about services marketing management was carried out, focusing particularly on decision variables related to price, product, distribution and communication and concluding with a critical analysis of negative demand services. From a practical perspective, an exploratory research using case studies was done. Thus, the field research comprised the study of two insurance companies and resulted in fresh ideas on the central subject of this dissertation. The resulting case analyses have shown that both studied companies are aware of the nature of the services they sell. The price variable is not a differentiation variable, since prices in the insurance industry are subjected to regulations. Distribution is similar on both companies and is executed by business partners and brokers that have in fact the sales role. In-house sales training and reward campaigns account for the majority of the investment expenses of the companies. Finally, it was evidenced that the studied companies use communication elements that increase consumers´ receptiveness to their products and employ public relations and sponsorships as their main communication tools.

Este estudo analisa a prática de segmentação, diferenciação e posicionamento de organizações de serviços, do ramo de agências de comunicação, do Estado de Santa Catarina. Os objetivos específicos do trabalho foram: identificar as estratégias recomendadas de segmentação, diferenciação e posicionamento por autores, pesquisadores e especialistas em marketing para as organizações de serviços; identificar a prática de segmentação, diferenciação e posicionamento de agências de comunicação; apontar ações de melhorias para a prática de segmentação, diferenciação e posicionamento das agências de comunicação estudadas. A coleta de dados primários foi realizada através de pesquisa tipo exploratória, de natureza qualitativa e de abordagem direta. O método de coleta usado foi entrevista pessoal, individual, de interação face-a-face, em profundidade, no ambiente natural do entrevistado e aplicada de forma fracionada. O instrumento de coleta utilizado foi roteiro de entrevista semi-estruturado, com perguntas abertas, específicas e de mensuração nominal e ordinal. A amostra foi constituída por oito das principais agências de comunicação do estado, selecionadas pelo método não probabilístico e por julgamento. Os resultados mostram que a maioria das agências de comunicação estudadas aplica estratégias de segmentação de mercado, diferenciação competitiva e posicionamento de marca ou serviços, mas carece de métodos e técnicas mais planejados, estruturados, deliberados e formalizados e de esforço maior na implementação dessas estratégias, para a obtenção de melhorias no desempenho do marketing da organização. / This study analyzes the practice of segmentation, differentiation and positioning of service organizations as they are currently used by communication agencies of the State of Santa Catarina. The specific objectives were to identify the recommended strategies of segmentation, differentiation and positioning by the authors, researchers and specialists in marketing for services organizations; to identify the practice of segmentation, differentiation and positioning of communication agencies; to indicate the means of improving practice of segmentation, differentiation and positioning for the communication agencies studied. The primary data collection was executed applying the exploratory research technique of a qualitative nature and using a direct approach. The method of collecting data employed was that of an in-depth, individual, personal interview, using face-to-face interaction, in the working environment of the interviewee and applied in a protracted way. The instrument for collecting the data employed was a semi-structured interview script, with open questions, specific questions and nominal and ordinal measurement. The sample was composed of eight of the most important communication agencies of the state, selected via the non-probabilistic method and by judgment. The results show that the majority of the communication agencies studied apply strategies of market segmentation, competitive differentiation and brand positioning. However, they lack more structured methods and techniques which are better planned, conceived and formalized, as well as a greater effort in implementing these strategies, in order for the marketing department of the organization to perform more efficiently.