Thesis (MBA)--Stellenbosch University, 2012. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The medical scheme industry of South Africa has been exposed to fundamental changes during
the last decade. We have been witness to various amalgamations and scheme closures as a result
of financial pressure and changes to legislation. Never before has it been more important for
medical scheme administrators to become more customer focused and find solutions for medical
schemes to stay viable into the future.
Relationship marketing, a widely acknowledged concept, has been recognised as an appropriate
tool to manage relationships and improve customer loyalty over a long-term period. A number of
studies have investigated the viability of relationship marketing strategies across different
industries. No such studies have however been performed for the medical scheme industry of
South Africa. The study therefore aims to investigate how loyalty between medical schemes and
their respective administrators is currently maintained. It further aims to determine if the medical
scheme industry would benefit from relationship marketing initiatives to encourage long-term
loyalty.
An in-depth literature study was performed. The underlying aspects under investigation include
relationship marketing, customer relationship management (CRM) and customer loyalty. It is thus
important to investigate the influence of these three components on the strength of relationships
and customer retention. The second phase of the study consisted of in-depth semi-structured
interviews with various scheme representatives from the industry. This study is based on an
exploratory case and the qualitative data was analysed using pattern finding techniques and
qualitative content analysis.
The study investigated the factors that have an impact on loyalty in the medical scheme industry. It
was determined that relationships between administrators and medical schemes are multilevel and
although relationship marketing literature indicates that key account managers are essential for the
successful use of relationship based strategies, it was evident that expertise needs to extend
beyond only those in key customer management positions.
It is evident from the findings of this study that the medical scheme industry of South Africa could
benefit hugely from correctly implemented and well researched relationship marketing strategies.
This study may therefore be useful to the medical scheme industry in that it provides insight into
relationship marketing in the South African context.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:sun/oai:scholar.sun.ac.za:10019.1/21432 |
| Date | 03 1900 |
| Creators | Calmeyer, Sean |
| Contributors | Herbst, F., Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences. Graduate School of Business. |
| Publisher | Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | en_ZA |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
| Rights | Stellenbosch University |
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