The challenge that companies have to face today in their markets is particularly complicated. In fact, in the last decades many changes have made it more difficult to remain competitive on the market(s), such as market globalization, digital revolution, emergence of the Internet and e-commerce, increased competition and increased customer demand for progressively customized products/services that are "suitable" to their needs and tastes. These are just some of the major changes that have partly altered the way some companies do business, some of which have necessarily started an internationalization process to enrich and/or increase the competitiveness of their approach and/or initiated partnerships with other companies/organizations to jointly develop new solutions to offer to the market, carrying out innovation and research efforts in a collaborative and synergistic way. Another particular important solution is the strengthening of the relationship with stakeholders, in particular, with customers, in order to deepen the level of knowledge of the latter and allow the design and implementation of differentiated and valuable solutions. It is in this context that relational marketing was established. Relational marketing refers to "all marketing activities directed towards establishing, developing and maintaining successful relational exchanges" (Morgan, Hunt, 1994, p.22). The Company-Customer relationship is of particular importance in the context of relationship marketing. The strengthening and enhancement of this relationship is now made easier, thanks to the use of technology and the Internet. However, it requires the adoption of a preliminary strategic orientation at the centre of which is placed the customer and his ultimate satisfaction and an adequate internal organization of human resources, processes and several business functions. Furthermore, the attention of companies must not be confined to the achievement of high levels of customer satisfaction since, even if they are essential, they do not guarantee the achievement of certain profitability targets. What is clear today, is that companies need to know their customers in depth, not only regarding their tastes, preferences and needs, but also regarding their contribution to the generation of business value. This is essential to set different marketing actions that are calibrated based on the importance of the customer, current and prospective. These actions should enable the initiatives undertaken to achieve high levels of effectiveness and efficiency and an improvement in profits and market performance, also visible at the Enterprise Value level The purpose of this book is to clarify the transition from the paradigm of transactional marketing to that of relational marketing, focusing on a particular type of relationship, that between the Company and Customers. To strengthen this relationship over time and make it particularly attractive and useful to both parties, the use of Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems is becoming more popular with strategic management of customer relationships, involving the appropriate use of technology (Frow and Payne 2009, Berry 1983), and recently, the social CRM with the growing popularity and use of the Internet. These topics will also be examined in depth, given their particular usefulness in the process of creating, improving and strengthening the relationship between the company and the customer. Finally, in the third and last chapter, the link between Customer satisfaction, Customer loyalty, Customer value and Enterprise Value will be clarified. In fact, initiatives aimed at positively impacting customer loyalty require, in our opinion, to be included within the "package of actions" aimed at increasing corporate value over time. Being the latter the ultimate goal of profit oriented companies, we understand the strategic importance they assume, albeit within a complex and articulated strategic and operational plan at the centre of which the customer and his utmost satisfaction are placed over time.
The value of the customer relationship
angelini antonella
2018-01-01
Abstract
The challenge that companies have to face today in their markets is particularly complicated. In fact, in the last decades many changes have made it more difficult to remain competitive on the market(s), such as market globalization, digital revolution, emergence of the Internet and e-commerce, increased competition and increased customer demand for progressively customized products/services that are "suitable" to their needs and tastes. These are just some of the major changes that have partly altered the way some companies do business, some of which have necessarily started an internationalization process to enrich and/or increase the competitiveness of their approach and/or initiated partnerships with other companies/organizations to jointly develop new solutions to offer to the market, carrying out innovation and research efforts in a collaborative and synergistic way. Another particular important solution is the strengthening of the relationship with stakeholders, in particular, with customers, in order to deepen the level of knowledge of the latter and allow the design and implementation of differentiated and valuable solutions. It is in this context that relational marketing was established. Relational marketing refers to "all marketing activities directed towards establishing, developing and maintaining successful relational exchanges" (Morgan, Hunt, 1994, p.22). The Company-Customer relationship is of particular importance in the context of relationship marketing. The strengthening and enhancement of this relationship is now made easier, thanks to the use of technology and the Internet. However, it requires the adoption of a preliminary strategic orientation at the centre of which is placed the customer and his ultimate satisfaction and an adequate internal organization of human resources, processes and several business functions. Furthermore, the attention of companies must not be confined to the achievement of high levels of customer satisfaction since, even if they are essential, they do not guarantee the achievement of certain profitability targets. What is clear today, is that companies need to know their customers in depth, not only regarding their tastes, preferences and needs, but also regarding their contribution to the generation of business value. This is essential to set different marketing actions that are calibrated based on the importance of the customer, current and prospective. These actions should enable the initiatives undertaken to achieve high levels of effectiveness and efficiency and an improvement in profits and market performance, also visible at the Enterprise Value level The purpose of this book is to clarify the transition from the paradigm of transactional marketing to that of relational marketing, focusing on a particular type of relationship, that between the Company and Customers. To strengthen this relationship over time and make it particularly attractive and useful to both parties, the use of Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems is becoming more popular with strategic management of customer relationships, involving the appropriate use of technology (Frow and Payne 2009, Berry 1983), and recently, the social CRM with the growing popularity and use of the Internet. These topics will also be examined in depth, given their particular usefulness in the process of creating, improving and strengthening the relationship between the company and the customer. Finally, in the third and last chapter, the link between Customer satisfaction, Customer loyalty, Customer value and Enterprise Value will be clarified. In fact, initiatives aimed at positively impacting customer loyalty require, in our opinion, to be included within the "package of actions" aimed at increasing corporate value over time. Being the latter the ultimate goal of profit oriented companies, we understand the strategic importance they assume, albeit within a complex and articulated strategic and operational plan at the centre of which the customer and his utmost satisfaction are placed over time.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
