Marketing 2

Marketing Strategy & Plans

Organisational Approach to Customer Relationship Management (CRM)

In Customer Relationship Management (CRM), understanding the balance between low and high customer centricity is essential for developing effective marketing strategies. Companies can adopt two main characteristics in their approach: product-driven, which focuses primarily on catering to mass markets and optimizing pricing, and market-driven, which places a stronger emphasis on understanding customer needs, preferences, and values.Furthermore, a significant shift from process-oriented approaches to outcome-oriented ones highlights the necessity of prioritizing customer outcomes, fostering effective teamwork, and aligning internal activities with the expectations and experiences of customers.

CPV Within the Marketing World

Recognizing the sequential steps involved in delivering customer value is crucial for ensuring alignment with market expectations. This process encompasses the Value Delivering Process, which consists of several key stages:

1. Discovering value through market research to identify customer needs and preferences, employing techniques such as surveys, focus groups, and ethnographic studies for deep insights.

2. Developing suitable offerings that cater to these identified needs, involving product design, feature selection, and pricing strategies that resonate with target demographics.

3. Effectively delivering and providing value through channels that reach the intended audience, including considerations of distribution strategies (direct vs. indirect), logistics, and sales processes.

4. Communicating this value to customers via informative marketing messaging, including advertising, public relations, and digital partnerships, to ensure clarity and engagement.The customer relationship management process plays a vital role in continuously engaging and managing customer interactions for long-term satisfaction. By leveraging CRM, organizations can enhance their understanding of customer behavior and preferences, allowing for tailored marketing efforts that resonate more powerfully with target audiences.

Case Study: United Airlines

The case of United Airlines serves as a significant example of how poor customer service can have detrimental effects on a company's reputation and lead to widespread customer dissatisfaction.This underscores the critical importance of effectively managing customer perceptions and maintaining high service quality. To recover customer goodwill, crucial strategies include:

1. Establishing hotlines for complaints and inquiries, facilitating immediate communication with the organization and showing commitment to customer concerns.

2. Providing prompt, empathetic responses to issues raised, acknowledging customer frustrations and addressing them with an understanding approach.

3. Focusing on swift resolution of complaints to restore trust and rebuild customer loyalty, implementing a system that prioritizes urgent cases and follows up post-resolution to ensure satisfaction.Moreover, implementing training programs for staff focusing on customer service excellence can turn negative experiences into positive outcomes, ultimately improving overall brand perception. These programs can include role-playing scenarios, conflict resolution training, and empowerment strategies that enable employees to make customer-centric decisions.

CRM Overview

The primary objectives of CRM include the identification, attraction, and retention of profitable customers, alongside maintaining detailed information about customer interactions to enhance relationship building. Key determinants that influence CRM efficacy include:

1. Customer loyalty, significantly impacting purchase behavior, with strategies focused on rewards, recognition, and community building to foster long-lasting relationships.

2. Expectations, formed by past experiences with the brand, highlight the importance of feedback loops and continuous monitoring of customer sentiment.

3. Quality, ensuring customer needs are met through innovative product features and consistent service excellence. The CRM process involves segmenting customer types—ranging from inactive or former clients to active advocates and partners—and measuring customer satisfaction through various qualitative and quantitative techniques, including regular surveys, Net Promoter Scores (NPS), and customer satisfaction (CSAT) tools, followed by actionable analytics to inform marketing strategies.

Market Perspectives

The landscape of marketing has undergone a significant transition from a Sellers’ Market—where the focus was primarily on production capabilities—to a Buyers’ Market, which emphasizes customer preferences and behaviors. This evolution compares effective changes in market dynamics from 1985 to 2000. Key concepts in modern marketing include:

1. Production Concept, which prioritizes production efficiency, often leading to economies of scale but requiring close monitoring of demand.

2. Selling Concept, which centers on aggressive selling techniques, highlighting the importance of strong sales strategies and marketing promotions to stimulate demand.

3. Marketing Concept, which aligns closely with customer needs and desires, focusing on delivering products that fulfill specific market segments.

4. Holistic Marketing Concept, which encompasses an integrated approach to marketing efforts that consider all aspects of the customer journey, including emotional, social, and experiential factors that influence purchasing decisions.

Corporate Strategic Planning

Corporate strategic planning unfolds across four organizational levels:

1. The Corporate Level, where the broad mission is established, vision defined, and resources allocated during strategic reviews.

2. The Divisional Level, where specific strategies are designed for different business units, taking into account market conditions, competitive analysis, and internal capabilities.

3. The Business Unit Level, which involves formulating marketing plans aimed at achieving specific, measurable goals aligned with wider corporate objectives.

4. The Product Level, focusing on tactical implementation of strategies that align with overall corporate objectives, including product life cycle considerations and market entry strategies.This multi-tiered approach ensures that all marketing activities and business strategies are coherent and aligned with the overarching goals of the organization.

SWOT and PESTEL Analysis

A SWOT analysis is critical for strategic decision-making, involving the evaluation of internal strengths and weaknesses against external opportunities and threats.Strengths and weaknesses should be evaluated with a focus on resources, capabilities, and performance metrics.Additionally, a PESTEL analysis examines external environmental factors that can influence operations, including Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Environmental, and Legal factors.Conducting these analyses allows organizations to gain valuable insights into their market position and informs strategic planning efforts, fostering an agile response to changing market dynamics.

Conclusion

A comprehensive marketing plan should include key components such as the Executive Summary, Situation Analysis, Marketing Strategy, Financial Projections, and Implementation Controls.Furthermore, it is essential to include a disclaimer regarding content ownership and the necessity for explicit authorization for the use of proprietary information, ensuring compliance and the protection of intellectual property. A successful plan not only outlines actionable strategies but also anticipates future marketing trends and potential challenges, preparing the business to adapt swiftly.