Aim: The aim of this study is to examine and compare the importance of services and products in grocery store and to study the effects of services and products on customer retention. Method: This study is quantitative and data is collected by conducting a survey. Primary data is collected through questionnaires by visiting the stores in two cities of Sweden, namely Bollnäs and Gävle. In order to study the importance of service and products, importance scale is used in the questionnaire. Comparative analysis is used to analyze the data. Results & Conclusions: The results show that customers are more concerned about the quality of products rather than quality of services. Further, it is found that among all service elements, personal interaction is considered more important whereas, among products elements, quality of products has most influence on customer decisions. After the comparison of services and products, we found out that product quality influences customer retention to a greater extent. Suggestions for future research: Research always continues and could be followed up with more perception dimensions either from customers’ perspectives or from managerial perspectives. Future research can be conducted to study managerial perception of service and product quality. Furthermore, future research can be conducted to find out other factors that determine customer retention. Customers from multiple stores and larger cities can also be the theme for future researches. Contribution of the study: This study helps retail business to build strong customer base by focusing first on quality of products and then services. Further this helps firms to know how customer’s decision making is affected. Firms with limited resources can first focus on product improvement then on services.

Purpose of the Study To study how Apoteket AB can retain its customers after the government decision to implement de-regulation in Swedish pharmaceutical market. Apoteket AB was the only state-owned pharmacy for more than 38 years but now they are in competition with other pharmacy operators including supermarkets and gas stations. The main purpose of this study is to find out those vital factors which are important to customers in selecting pharmacy operators for buying prescription and non-prescription products. Approach The study begins by reviewing the Swedish pharmaceutical market and parliament decision of de-regulation about Apoteket AB monopoly. The literature then reviews the PESTEL framework, Porter model, customer relationship management and 7 P’s of marketing mix. We use Umeå university library for gathering material for our literature review. After that the authors reviewed different pharmacy operators and potential entrants in the Swedish pharmacy market. For this case study the authors have gathered the data through customer survey and semi-structured interview. The data was collected in Umeå (Sweden) with the help of questionnaire. We have collected the data with the help of convenience sampling technique at different locations in Umeå. Interview was conducted with Apoteket AB brand manager to understand their point of view about our research question. SPSS was used for analyzing the quantitative data, mainly descriptive statistic and Mann-Whitney U test were used for this purpose. Finally all the information’s were carefully analyzed by comparing with theories before drawing the final conclusion. Findings Four important aspects of customer’s retention were found; which are more community pharmacies, extended opening hours, low prices of over the counter products and added value to individual customers. Our respondents also show great confidence over the Apoteket AB personnel (Pharmacists). On the other hand we have also found that people appreciate the removal of Apoteket AB monopoly. Furthermore, we have found that after the implementation of de-regulation in Swedish pharmacy market over the counter (OTC) products have shown a 20% growth. The reason behind this growth may be the easy excess to such products and extended opening hours of supermarkets. The authors have also observed that people are willing to buy prescription products from other operators.

Abstract The market environment of Mobile Phone Industry has had rapid change in the past decade. It is almost same important to gain the loyalty of existing customers as to gain the new customers in the current competitive environment. For many companies in this industry, Customer Relationship Management has been become a significant issue in their strategies. This research is based on the concept of Customer Relationship Management. The purposes of this research are to probe the performance of Customer Retention Programs and the churn reason in mobile phone industry. The research datum were collected from TAT Corp.(TransAsia Telecommunications) including Customer Retention Programs as ¡§Second Honeymoon Program¡¨, ¡§New Second Honeymoon Program¡¨ and ¡§Talking Reward Program¡¨ and a survey from the customers who had been deactivated in February and March of the year 2002. The analysis of the retention programs show significantly relevant on AGE, GENDER, CUSTOMER LEVELS, TENURE, and RATE PLAN factors. The inspection results of survey datum in the churn reasons are explained individually. The suggestions are made after discussing the policies and strategies of TAT Corp.

Abstract To probe deeply into the Customer Relationship Management strategy and operation flow of life Insurance. - ex. Nan Shan life Insurance Co, LTD. Due to the well development of information technology (IT) during the recent years, the clearance of the contents and knowledge as well as the price offered of life insurance caused the dramatic competition in this industry. The commodity of life insurance is only an intangible contract , it has to be relied on the operation combining with company image, reputation and the trust from customers for long term. Also they are the promise and responsibility to their clients. The marketing of life insurance is different from the other industries , it is an intangible deal. Owing to the variation of the whole environment comes the drastic competition, life insurance is the buyer¡¦s market oriented instead of seller¡¦s . It says the cost to create a new account is about 6 times or even 5 less or 10 more to maintain an old customer. Therefore, this industry has to pay more attention on the current accounts on hand and try to attract new clients to be owned gradually. To look for a break through as the task of the greatest urgency at present is to make good use of Customer Concept, which is to take good care of the CRM, to enhance customers¡¦ loyalty and satisfaction as to keep our clients and wish them also to introduce new accounts for us. Therefore, CRM is the most important part of life insurance. Previousely most of the customers¡¦ data base is incomplete. Now it is the e century, we can take the advantage by using the IT service to do a good CRM one to one deeply as to cope with the competition. To look into the 21th century, now the form of customer group is varied, the market is also different, they reform the market direction of life insurance industry as well¡Xfrom the commodity oriented to the customer base. Besides, the insurants now expect the value of commodity and service much more than before and also very sensitive to them. They would like the custom made offer, voluntarily to participate in the offer, they no longer accept the offer passively. Consequentially, we have to make the design-in service and one-to-one commodity as our new marketing strategy. Following is the planning on CRM case study¡XHow to cite the 4 big steps of Pepper & Roger¡¦s Model and 5W to probe the execution of tactic and operation flow, meanwhile, to learn and to execute the 4 conceptions of Customer Process Cycle Model to achieve the company strategy target of this CRM case. The findings through this research are : 1. Nan Shan Life Insurance Co, LTD. especially stress the function and operation of Call Center and result in the significant achievements. It is the most important area and elite of CRM. 2. By the CRM system integration and collecting the customers¡¦ information from time to time, the system can understand the customer¡¦s value and update it. Moreover, with the concept and technique of CRM Data warehouse and Data mining, it can record and analysize the customer¡¦s behavior mode then look for the target market as to correct the strategy of service and marketing in time(to carry out the project marketing) 3. In regards to the customer segment, according to the items of those information that Nan Shan Life Insurance Co, LTD. searching and collecting, it is not easy to make out the customer value-based and only can segment the customers by Need-based. Moreover, it is uneasy to find out the value of effective segment customer for company, but, it can rely on customer¡¦s demand to look for suitable service and commodity to your customers. 4. As human is the main motive for interaction between insurance and customer, sales rep. is acting a key role in this business. The CRM system of Nan Shan Life Insurance Co, LTD. requests the rep. to have the deal done by using the e-tooling and IT. They are pretty successful in the efficiency. 5. The skeleton of IT in CRM is very intact, which provides extensive channels for data surfing. Do pay the attention on insurant¡¦s servicing articles and convenience, direct contact with customers and do the best to find the chance to contact your customers. There are so many ways to communicate effectively with the customers by science and technology, no space-time limitation on communication: ¡]1¡^ www.nanshanlife.com.tw ¡]2¡^ E-mail ¡]3¡^ Telephone (Call center) ¡]4¡^ Cellular phone news flash ¡]5¡^ Sales representatives ¡]6¡^ Mail or DM 6. The construction of e-tooling in Nan Shan life Insurance Co, LTD. is perfect. It is also excellent on providing the design-in commodity and servicing. There have been 10 marketing projects presented within one year, they are all P/S after the analysis from customer segment. However, the training for the outside field sales reps. has to be re-inforced because there were too many projects presented within a short period of time, they can not comprehend completely duly and fail to become CI and CK then it will change the customers¡¦ purchasing habit. 7. The customer¡¦s information will not be complete collected in case the rep. is not practicable in the operation of CRM. The following proposals are brought up after the research: ¡]1¡^ To share the company current situation and various information with the insurant via e-mail or internet, such as the operation of investment. To deem your customers as the stock shareholders or partners, you will get the trust from your accounts. On the other hand, they will also be proud that they are the insurant of Nanshan. Life Insurance. ¡]2¡^ Recommend to use ES From 2002, the reps. prefer to deal with the investment insurance policy. If the education system can combine with the ES to do the financial planning, you will be a financial specialist soon. ¡]3¡^ Rep. is the interface to communicate with customers, while, there is always no good performance on those activities for projected commodity with the less bonus. It can link up with the campaign of balance score card to evaluate the performance and give the pressure on rep. to achieve the execution efficiency and target of CRM. ¡]4¡^ Nan Shan Life Insurance Co, LTD. does not only have a very good performance on the 4 steps of CRM flow but also can be pattern for those companies in the same business who would like to achieve company target by the way of CRM. It can be even perfect if they can consider their own company culture, background and market demand then modify a bit to be their own.

<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>

Com a crescente representatividade do setor de serviços na economia mundial, se torna cada vez mais necessária a pesquisa e a implementação de modelos que abordem as singularidades dos serviços em relação aos outros setores da economia. O presente trabalho tem por objetivo aplicar um plano de ações voltado à estratégia de retenção de clientes, identificando e abordando os componentes a serem implementados, pelo qual se obtenha uma vantagem competitiva sustentável no longo prazo, por meio de um atendimento diferenciado e pelo fortalecimento de uma cultura de serviços baseada no relacionamento com clientes e colaboradores. O plano de ações proposto está sendo implementado em uma empresa de medicina de grupo com atuação local, e por isso, além de se basear em vasta fundamentação teórica, foram consideradas as características da empresa e do mercado onde atua. Com os resultados advindos da validação parcial do plano de ações, uma vez que ainda faltam etapas a avançar, pode-se concluir que os primeiros passos em direção à retenção de clientes foram alcançados. / With the growing importance of the section of services in world-wide economy, research and the implementation of models that approach the uniqueness of the services in relation to the other sections of economy become more and more necessary. This dissertation aims at applying a plan of actions directed to the customer retention strategy by identifying and approaching the components to be implemented, through which a sustainable competitive advantage is obtained in the long term, by means of a differentiated assistance and by the strengthening of a culture of services based on the relationship with customers and collaborators. The plan of actions proposed is being implemented in a local company of group health care and, due to this, besides being based on an ample theoretical foundation, the company’s characteristics and the market where it operates, have also been taken into consideration. Considering the results that came upon the partial validation of the model, and the fact that there are still other stages to be accomplished, it is possible to conclude that the first steps towards to the retention of customers have been reached.

Com a crescente representatividade do setor de serviços na economia mundial, se torna cada vez mais necessária a pesquisa e a implementação de modelos que abordem as singularidades dos serviços em relação aos outros setores da economia. O presente trabalho tem por objetivo aplicar um plano de ações voltado à estratégia de retenção de clientes, identificando e abordando os componentes a serem implementados, pelo qual se obtenha uma vantagem competitiva sustentável no longo prazo, por meio de um atendimento diferenciado e pelo fortalecimento de uma cultura de serviços baseada no relacionamento com clientes e colaboradores. O plano de ações proposto está sendo implementado em uma empresa de medicina de grupo com atuação local, e por isso, além de se basear em vasta fundamentação teórica, foram consideradas as características da empresa e do mercado onde atua. Com os resultados advindos da validação parcial do plano de ações, uma vez que ainda faltam etapas a avançar, pode-se concluir que os primeiros passos em direção à retenção de clientes foram alcançados. / With the growing importance of the section of services in world-wide economy, research and the implementation of models that approach the uniqueness of the services in relation to the other sections of economy become more and more necessary. This dissertation aims at applying a plan of actions directed to the customer retention strategy by identifying and approaching the components to be implemented, through which a sustainable competitive advantage is obtained in the long term, by means of a differentiated assistance and by the strengthening of a culture of services based on the relationship with customers and collaborators. The plan of actions proposed is being implemented in a local company of group health care and, due to this, besides being based on an ample theoretical foundation, the company’s characteristics and the market where it operates, have also been taken into consideration. Considering the results that came upon the partial validation of the model, and the fact that there are still other stages to be accomplished, it is possible to conclude that the first steps towards to the retention of customers have been reached.

Com a crescente representatividade do setor de serviços na economia mundial, se torna cada vez mais necessária a pesquisa e a implementação de modelos que abordem as singularidades dos serviços em relação aos outros setores da economia. O presente trabalho tem por objetivo aplicar um plano de ações voltado à estratégia de retenção de clientes, identificando e abordando os componentes a serem implementados, pelo qual se obtenha uma vantagem competitiva sustentável no longo prazo, por meio de um atendimento diferenciado e pelo fortalecimento de uma cultura de serviços baseada no relacionamento com clientes e colaboradores. O plano de ações proposto está sendo implementado em uma empresa de medicina de grupo com atuação local, e por isso, além de se basear em vasta fundamentação teórica, foram consideradas as características da empresa e do mercado onde atua. Com os resultados advindos da validação parcial do plano de ações, uma vez que ainda faltam etapas a avançar, pode-se concluir que os primeiros passos em direção à retenção de clientes foram alcançados. / With the growing importance of the section of services in world-wide economy, research and the implementation of models that approach the uniqueness of the services in relation to the other sections of economy become more and more necessary. This dissertation aims at applying a plan of actions directed to the customer retention strategy by identifying and approaching the components to be implemented, through which a sustainable competitive advantage is obtained in the long term, by means of a differentiated assistance and by the strengthening of a culture of services based on the relationship with customers and collaborators. The plan of actions proposed is being implemented in a local company of group health care and, due to this, besides being based on an ample theoretical foundation, the company’s characteristics and the market where it operates, have also been taken into consideration. Considering the results that came upon the partial validation of the model, and the fact that there are still other stages to be accomplished, it is possible to conclude that the first steps towards to the retention of customers have been reached.

The main goal of the diploma thesis is the description and comparison of existing methods for calculating the customer lifetime value at a firm. Second, minor goal is based on the comparison to choose a suitable method of calculation for an application in a real business unit. The used methodology contains detailed research of available foreign academic literature. Building on that a comparison of the methods based on selected criteria is conducted. Results of a questionnaire survey are used in the last chapter to provide specific sugestions for the possible marketing applications of CLV approach and calculation in a specific business unit.

Background: With apparel and clothing being one of the most highly consumed products for everyday life, businesses within the fashion industry have much demand. In order to gain leverage in a competitive market, many retailers have different strategies and loyalty programmes have been an attractive way for customer relationship management.    Purpose: The purpose of this thesis is to provide additional understanding of fast-fashion retailers’ consumer behaviour, while focusing on their perceptions towards loyalty programmes as an influencing purchasing factor. This study can be beneficial for fast-fashion retailer businesses seeking to improve their loyalty programmes for the development of customer retention.  Method: The study is conducted with a qualitative research design through conducting 16 interviews, with deductive reasonings to understand the phenomenon. The theoretical framework is interpretivism, which allows exploratory type of research to explore the paper’s purpose. For findings and analysis, thematic analysis was adopted to allow flexibility in the modification of data collection and research design.  Conclusion: This study’s findings and analysis identified three main themes linked to customer’s perception towards loyalty programmes: shopping criteria, benefit perception, and behavioural impulse. This suggests that customers do not regard loyalty programmes as an influential factor in their purchasing decision, but rather a second thought. By doing so, the purpose of loyalty programmes is hindered, resulting in repetitive purchasing behaviour being affected as well.