Abstract
Continuing to fulfill the requirements and needs of today's customer is a perplexing job for all the corporations. There have been a number of strategies developed to engage with customers, but few considerations have been paid to string them together in generating well-developed relationships. For of this reason companies are moving towards customer relationship management (CRM) to execute reliable strategies in engaging with customers. CRM emphasizes aiding companies thoroughly to manage the procedures involved in upholding good relationships with customers. This chapter discussed various strategies and examined case studies that adopted different techniques to engage with customers.
TopStages Of Relationships
DeVito (1993) described that development of relationship is a lengthy procedure it does not occur all of sudden. Behavioral scientist usually uses the six-stage model to define the growth of relationships.
Figure 1. Six-Stage Model of Relationship
This is the first stage of relationship. Here persons meet for the first time, the first response is to evaluate other individual and then choose whether to engross or not to engross, and this choice is within very less period and intentional in nature. The difficulty happens when persons do not alter their early impressions, even when there is proof to the contrary. In such a circumstance, engagement finishes there and no relationship grows.
Involvement
This is the stage when persons involve more with one another, creating a light link of friendship, persons try to share information about them and engross in deeper discussions. This stage might result into a test trying to ascertain whether the other individual is ready to go to other level or do not want to move to the next level or might leave things as they are and might not be worried about evolving the relationship further to the next stage.
Intimacy
Relationship becomes deeper and more committed at this stage. At this level, personal commitment takes place, and connection can be felt amongst persons, and the time and exertion that the person is ready to put into this liaison. This might outcome into numerous results such as getting married or individuals publicly stating that they are good friends. Even after this stage, persons might be concerned about or might have apprehension like concern for security, concern for contentment, apprehension for excitement about safeguarding the relationship or fulfillment.
Key Terms in this Chapter
Relationship Marketing: It is to uphold a healthy relationship with existing clients instead of creating new ones. Moreover, relationship marketing builds and maintains a base of faithful customers who are beneficial for the company.
Reliability-Based Pricing Scheme: Customers are charged on the base of amount of trustworthiness customers’ have towards companies. A customer who buy recurrently is charged lesser prices in comparison to the other group of customers.
Customer Service Helpdesk: It aids the organization in systematizing the customer support procedures that assist the company to provide supreme quality service to their clients.
Call Centers: It aids in mechanizing the operations of incoming and outgoing calls created between organization and its customers.
Sales Force Automation: This technological tool as a “competitive imperative” that provides “competitive parity.” Useful in mechanizing and enhancing sales procedures to reduce the sales cycle and upsurge turnover.
Customer Relationship Management: Management tactic that seeks to generate, improve and enrich relationships with prudently targeted customers in order to get maximum customer value, business profitability and therefore stockholders’ value.
Differentiated Product and Services: Diversity of offers with diverse price and brands are offered to encounter the requirement of numerous customers.
Buying Behavior Pattern: Factors that might affect the buying behavior of customers need to be examined.
Electronic Point of Sale (EPOS): A technological tool that provides the quantity of appropriate and precise info likewise sales rate, stock levels, price and margin, customers’ demographics, socio-economic and lifestyle features of the customers.
Relationship: Is the association amid two or more persons or groups and their contribution with each other, particularly how they act and feel towards each other and interconnect.
Competitors Strategy: Companies consider the strategy of competitors because the buying pattern of the customers is reliant on the contrast, which customers make between the companies.
Intangible Benefits for Satisfaction: An intangible benefit contains aspects likewise: showing courteousness to the customer when he visits, attending prudently to what customer has to say, being efficient in offering service, etc.
Changing Need of Customers: Corporations’ efforts to match customer desires with the company’s requirements in a view of various aspects such as goals, demand, options, values, and behavior.