Introduction

Relationship marketing objectives can be formulated as follows: to identify and establish, maintain and strengthen, and if necessary terminate, relationships with customers and other stakeholders (the circle of people interested in working in the company) with profit - so that the goals of all those involved are achieved parties; and this was done through the mutual exchange of promises and their fulfillment. Unlike traditional marketing, relationship marketing:
  1) aims to create a new value for customers, and then share its benefits with him;
  2) recognizes for customers the key role of both buyers and those who determine what kind of value they would like to receive;
  3) optimizes processes, communications, technologies and staff work to maintain customer value;
  4) continuously tries to cooperate between buyers and sellers;
  5) recognizes the value of the “customer life cycle” of customers;
  6) seeks to build chains of relationships within the organization - in the interests of creating value demanded by consumers, as well as with other organizations, including suppliers, distribution channels, intermediaries and shareholders.

One of the differences between relationship marketing and traditional marketing is the expansion of the main orientation of the company beyond the seller-buyer dyad and covers the organization’s relationship with other groups, such as suppliers, internal customers and other external organizations.

Customer relationship

Relationship marketing, in contrast to traditional marketing, considers the priority not to capture the abstract consumer and not to manipulate the consumer in the interests of short-term benefits. In contrast, relationship marketing focuses not on what to get from the consumer, but on what can be done for the consumer to ensure satisfaction. The goal of relationship marketing is to treat the consumer as a respected partner that the company appreciates, identify his needs and seek loyalty from him through quality attentive service. The modern approach is dictated by the following conditions: the transition to the buyer's market, which is much more knowledgeable about market conditions, and on a global scale; the appearance on the market of an increasing number of undifferentiated products and services; the services provided by the company to the consumer are often more important and acceptable than the product itself.

One of the prerequisites for the emergence of relationship marketing is the development of the service sector. The specific characteristics of services are traditionally considered intangibility, inseparability, variability, non-preservation and non-property. Despite the differences in product and service, an increasing number of authors question the fact that a clear boundary can be drawn between the product and service. In addition to the service sector, “service” in marketing is manifested in the phrase “customer service”, implying that as a result of contact between the seller and the buyer, additional value arises, the benefit of maintaining a relationship. From this point of view, relationship marketing considers two concepts: “service industry” and ““ customer service ”. The concept of relationships is made up of a series of episodes, and specific interactions between clients and employees of the company that are particularly satisfying or not satisfying customers should be considered critical. Service orientation pushes the need for a shift in managerial thinking - from emphasizing the value of a transaction to developing and improving the value of relationships.

Many authors of relationship marketing work visualize its benefits using the concept of “customer relationship life cycle,” or “profit chain.” The comprehensive model of “return on relationships” includes the following components:

1. Quality of service in the client’s view: a client’s conscious assessment of the service, which he judges on a number of episodes, comparing the level of services provided with generally accepted or own standards;
2. Value in the client's presentation: the quality of service is compared by the consumer with the victims who are required in return for receiving it;
3. Victims to which the client agrees for the sake of the relationship: this means everything that is required of the consumer to maintain relations with the supplier within the entire set of episodes: the money he puts out for the product, the effort he spends getting to the place where he finds himself services. At the same time, the consumer compares these “victims” with those that would require communication with an alternative supplier, guided by generally accepted or their own standards;
4. Commitment: the intentions of the parties to interact and their attitude to the idea of \u200b\u200binteracting with each other; the high value attached by the parties to the relationship has a positive effect on commitment;
5. Customer satisfaction: logical and emotional assessment by the consumer of the level of service based on his personal experience, which he gained during all episodes of his relationship with the supplier;
6. Relationships between the supplier and the client: barriers that prevent the client from leaving, linking him to the provider and ensuring the maintenance of the relationship. There are several types of connections: legal, economic, technological, geographical, temporary, social, cultural, ideological, cognitive and psychological;
7. Alternatives: alternative providers of the same services known to the consumer as the provider;
8. Relationship Strength: Measured by both purchasing behavior and communication. Loyalty (i.e., repeated calls), which is also based on customer commitment to this supplier, indicates a stronger relationship. The relationships that arise between the service provider and the client also affect the behavior of the latter;
9. Critical episodes: episodes of service critical to continuing the relationship. An episode can be regarded as critical if the values \u200b\u200bexchanged between the parties make up a relatively large share of the resources available to them, and based on the experience gained during this episode;
10. Patronage: the share of cash spent by the client in this market and attributable to this supplier;
11. Long-term relationship: the time during which the relationship lasts;
12. The essence of the episodes: the types of episodes and the number of episodes of each type occurring between the client and the provider during the relationship;
13. Relationship income: total revenue received from relationships with the client during the financial year;
14. Relationship profitability: income from relationships minus the costs of relationships;
15. Relationship Costs: The total costs incurred to secure a relationship with a client during a fiscal year.

As you can see, the many difficulties on the path of cooperation between the supplier and the client are beyond the control of most supplier companies and cannot be quantified. Even “unprecedented service” does not guarantee that it will certainly keep the consumer. Therefore, considering all aspects of the activity, as well as profit and return on relationships with consumers, the company must decide whether the relationship is acceptable and whether it is worth continuing or abandoning it.

Internal relationship

The quality of the company’s relationship with its customers is determined, to a large extent, by how well employees who work directly with customers treat them. Where the interaction of the client with the employee of the supplier is carried out directly, without intermediaries, the internal moral climate of the supplier significantly affects the degree of customer satisfaction and their retention, although it is difficult to trace the direct causal relationship between these factors. At the same time, if in the service sector a company, as a rule, contacts with its customers through its own employees, then production companies use either intermediaries or technology (for example, a hotline telephone) for relations with customers.

Comparing and analyzing the theoretical foundations of internal marketing, we can conclude that internal marketing helps to improve the organization focused on the client, helps to improve communication, develop responsibility, responsiveness and unity of aspiration in employees. “The fundamental goal of internal marketing is to develop an understanding of the organization’s internal and external client and remove functional barriers to organizational effectiveness.”

Units of any organization always, to one degree or another, interact, depending on how these interactions occur, the results of the relationship both to the service product and to its “delivery” depend. Internal marketing focuses on three activities of the organization, which contribute to increasing the value of its product: innovation, process efficiency and customer support. It is associated with the retention of sensitive and attentive to the client employees in the company, improvement of the practice of empowering employees to best meet the needs of the client. The concept of internal partnership implies that if the company management expects an outstanding level of customer service from its employees, it should be prepared to do a lot for the employees.

The decisive factor on the path to business success is increasingly becoming the presence of people with the necessary skills, “intellectual capital”, consisting of individual and structural capital. Individual capital, in this case, is understood as the qualities, knowledge and skills of workers, their motivation and the totality of relationships in the internal and external environment. Structural capital - embedded knowledge, inseparable from the environment in which they are applied and developed, they include organizational culture, the organization’s work system, contacts, image and the totality of efforts aimed at maintaining the brand.

Organization is a social construct that is formed from a combination of people and their activities, thoughts, emotions and other intangible elements. Therefore, it is now generally accepted that the organizational climate and organizational culture form the basis on which the long-term marketing effectiveness of the company is built. Organizational climate and organizational culture can be manifested in the attitude of the company towards employees and the attitude of employees towards organizational changes. As organizational changes, it is proposed to empower employees and provide them with information previously available only to top management.

It should not be forgotten that the expansion of the powers of ordinary employees in contact with customers can have both positive and negative sides. The relationship marketing program should “be seen as the company's circulatory system, which permeates all hierarchical levels, departments, functions and assets, and ultimately mobilizes the company's efforts to simultaneously offer and receive value at all levels. Marketing, management, production, financial function and human resource management should be those vital bodies that help the organization to develop, give birth and maintain a constant circulation of an inexhaustible flow of value between the company's respected customers.

Vertical relationship

External relations of the organization are developing in the vertical and horizontal directions. Vertical relationships unite all or several parts of the supply chain - component suppliers, manufacturers, intermediaries. Horizontal relationships arise between organizations that occupy the same position in the distribution channel (including competing ones) and seek cooperation to achieve mutual benefits.

“Partnership with a supplier” in the broad sense means any bilateral relationship between the individual links in a vertical supply chain. Partnership with the supplier is the flip side of the partnership with the client, therefore it refers to the general aspects of the relationship between partners, most often, such relationships are formed in the industrial goods sector (B2B, business to business). Quite a long time ago, marketing concepts used in this sector were applied and were known: personal relations between employees and the director or owner, mutual obligations between traders. Throughout the twentieth century, the relationship between suppliers and consumers in the sector has not remained unchanged. So, in the age of the “golden age of marketing”, from the mid-50s to the mid-70s, the supplier of branded products had market power, it was he who financed the development of individual brands, which allowed him to conduct means and methods of distribution. In the second half of the twentieth century, the balance of market power began to shift toward retailers. During this period, information regarding the volume of production and the volume of sales was considered a trade secret, so distrust of the supplier or customer was normal. The situation changed somewhat only when vertical integration began to take on a massive character through the mixing or absorption of neighboring companies in the distribution chain. Unfortunately, almost 90% of the acquisitions did not bring the expected return, only at the end of the twentieth century it became clear that the theoretical benefits that the corporation tried to achieve by coordinating the elements of the distribution chain can be obtained by other, more effective means, for example, outsourcing and partnership .

Partnership is the relationship between the organization - the supplier and the organization - the client, assuming that both parties recognize them as partners, and the main goal of both parties is to share the benefits of increasing the efficiency and productivity of joint obligations undertaken in the framework of the relationship. Partnership benefits include: lower transaction costs; guarantee of uninterrupted supply; improved coordination of supplier and customer actions; more reliable barriers that prevent outsiders from entering the market.

Cooperation of this type between buyers and sellers can take many forms, for example, establishing long-term contractual obligations, disclosing confidential information, adapting production, delivery and purchase processes to the requirements and needs of both the seller and the buyer. The meaning and purpose of the partnership is to increase the efficiency of the system of creating added value. Choosing a partnership strategy, you should carefully weigh all the benefits and costs of cooperation with this partner, taking into account the fact that the partnership can have both positive and negative sides. In relationships that are not updated and not rethought, social contacts between employees turn into friendly ties, and at a certain moment, the undemanding and willingness to forgive each other oversights turns into an economic inefficiency of partnership.

Horizontal relationship

Horizontal cooperation involves the relationship between competitors, as well as between commercial organizations and complementary players, i.e. partners who are in a hierarchical position at the same level. Horizontal partnerships have become widespread in recent decades, and these types of relationships significantly change the face of the competitive situation and add complexity to interorganizational relationships. Horizontal relationships are characteristic almost exclusively for the B2B sector, "business to business." To describe the relationship in this sector, the terms communication and cooperation are used.

Relationships are personal relationships between individuals, using formal and informal channels of cooperation that company owners and managers strive to build with each other in order to obtain the necessary information and knowledge that would allow them to optimize the effectiveness of their organization. Personal relations between employees of different companies can play a significant role in the activities of some companies, as they can be quite close and long. On the other hand, do not forget that legislation can also suppress such official ties in order to prevent market manipulation.

Collaboration is a more formalized type of relationship, because its subjects are organizations. Most often, these are contractual relations, official meetings, development of general directions, forms and methods of cooperation. Cooperation is often used by companies to compete in international markets, and can take the following forms: alliances, alliances, joint ventures, partnerships, joint research and development, cross-licensing, co-branding, co-marketing, etc. Cooperation, however, should not be confused with altruism or believe that it can put an end to competition. In some sectors, the expansion of cooperation has led to a significant increase in competition, moving it from the level of individual companies to the level of alliances, which are struggling for market share. Cooperation can be divided into two types: industry cooperation and external cooperation. Industry cooperation - cooperation between companies competing in the same sector of the market. The purpose of this type of cooperation: ensuring the efficiency and productivity of distribution channels, providing services and other forms of support, ensuring the growth and dominance of the market sector.

External cooperation is carried out by companies belonging to different industries. Companies bring into the relationship their specific skills, competencies and assets. Such cooperation is aimed at taking advantage of a new market sector or at differentiating an existing market sector. It is believed that the greatest potential for the growth of intersectoral cooperation is in the “new business sectors”, especially those associated with breakthroughs in the technological field.

In addition to the above-mentioned relations of cooperation and personal relations of commercial organizations, there are other relations, which include relations with local, national and supranational legislative bodies; with national and international agencies; with pressure groups - organized forces lobbying for certain public interests.

Conclusion

The life cycle of the development of relationships is a path from the following stages: formation - experimentation - identification - constant updating or breaking, each of which has its own goals and objectives. Such relationships create a certain interdependence of partners, which to a certain extent limits the ability to withdraw from cooperation, and this creates certain difficulties for them. In addition, it should be noted that the model does not reflect all possible options for the development of relations, which can develop both in a zigzag fashion and stop at any stage, without reaching the stage when the boundaries of organizations are eroded.

The tendency to develop partnerships is caused by increased competition, difficulties in gaining new consumers, the significance of each individual contact with the consumer as a “critical episode” in the development of relationships. This concept devotes a significant role to internal marketing, i.e. the interaction of the organization with its employees and, ultimately, the attitude of the organization’s employees to its customers. The organization’s relationship with suppliers, competitors, public and state organizations is determined by personal (informal) relationships and interaction and cooperation, the creation of formal alliances, unions, partnerships, joint ventures and joint research and development. The development of partnerships between all groups of influence (stakeholders) is necessary to choose the right direction for the development of the organization and ensure its effective implementation.

There are four main types of marketing relationships. The first two are market relations between suppliers and consumers. They form the basis of relationship marketing and have an external orientation. The first type includes the classic market relations supplier-consumer, supplier-consumer-competitor and the physical distribution network of goods and services. These types of relationships are discussed in this chapter and chapter 15. The second type refers to a special type of market relationship, for example, when customers are members of a brand support program or consumers are working with service providers. These relationships will be covered in the direct marketing and service marketing chapters.

In the supplier-consumer relationship systems, third-party product certification is also beginning to be envisaged. At the same time, quality requirements in contracts became more serious, and guarantees of their fulfillment became more responsible.

Modern foreign trends in the development of supplier-consumer relationships are characterized by several directions. On the one hand, the specialization of companies is growing, leading to the transfer of the manufacture of many component products to suppliers. Companies try to focus on what they can do better than others. On the other hand, the processes of integration of suppliers and consumers are developing. The latter are not satisfied with the role of customers and seek to penetrate the processes of creating and manufacturing components and materials to be sure of their quality.

Particular attention in the project is given to the development of contractual relations in enterprises. The contract allows you to more clearly and concretely relate the results of the work of the contractor to his payment. When developing a system of contractual relationships, first of all, the supplier – consumer – customer – performer relationships are established within the enterprise. Their technological and organizational ties are provided for in the design of the division of labor at the enterprise level, are fixed by a system of mutual claims and are fixed in contract agreements. The project of contractual relations is specified in the design decisions at the workshop level. The approximate composition of design solutions at the enterprise level is presented in table. 1.

Train people in the organization to understand the supplier-consumer relationship.

In fig. 1.1 is a diagram of the interaction of the owner, entrepreneur and financial manager. Their relationship is governed by contracts. In this case, the owner and the entrepreneur are different persons. In addition to contracts, personal contacts, mutual trust, the desire for cooperation and the prosperity of the company play an important role. The actions of an entrepreneur-manager are determined by the behavior of suppliers, consumers and competitors, and the actions of a financial manager are determined by the behavior of investors and creditors, including commercial banks, financial and insurance companies, as well as the rules of exchange transactions, etc.

The financial economy of the electronic industry is determined by the system of monetary operations within the industry to provide all its production with the necessary funds, to receive and distribute profits, to create special funds, to organize financial relations with suppliers, consumers, banks and the State budget.

For example, in the practice of Japanese firms, work to ensure product quality and the impact of marketing on it is based on principles that the supplier and consumer strictly follow in their relationships. The customer and the supplier are fully responsible for conducting quality control with mutual trust between the customer and the supplier are independent, and everyone respects the independence of the other side, the customer is responsible for providing reliable information and clearly formulated requirements for the supplier, which guide the manufacturing process. the product necessary for the customer between the customer and the supplier concludes a contract that determines the quality of the product, its quantity, cost The supplier, the supplier, the supplier and the supplier pre-establish methods for evaluating the quality of various products that meet the requirements of both parties, the customer and the supplier jointly develop a mechanism and methods that provide for the resolution of disputes and disagreements, the customer and the supplier exchange information providing more effective implementation of monitoring the quality of products, taking into account the interests of each side of the customer and the supplier in order to maintain friendships and business relationships that benefit both parties exercise control, including the provision of orders, record keeping customer and supplier at the conclusion of business

Organization of competitive bidding is a complex and multifaceted work. Here we confine ourselves to a brief description of it, which is necessary to familiarize yourself with this opportunity, widely used in industrialized countries, to establish highly effective relationships between suppliers and consumers.

As technology changes, the life cycle of goods decreases and competition from foreign companies intensifies, the establishment of close relationships in the markets of organizations becomes a vital necessity. In this regard, marketing and sales departments in companies play the role of leading strategic divisions. Customers increasingly see suppliers they trust as strategic partners that share information and engage each other's specialists to develop cost-effective, high-quality new products. The significance of this phenomenon for marketing is that the successful conduct of marketing in the market of organizations is more than just manipulating the four elements of the marketing complex, which include goods, price, promotion and placement. The basis for success is the skillful formation of appropriate relationships with consumers. Understanding this led to the introduction in some companies of the position of a customer relationship manager, who oversees cooperation and plays the role of a liaison and coordinating link whose activities are aimed at satisfying consumers. In addition, more and more companies are reorganizing sales staff in such a way that they correspond to the need to effectively maintain relationships with consumers. This process is called the management of key customers, or national customers.

Companies will be very wise if they start identifying and evaluating all of their market assets, such as their brands, relationships with consumers, relationships with distribution channels, relationships with suppliers, and intellectual capital. The company must adhere to policies that promote the growth of these assets.

Thus, the enterprise is a center of action for the interests of owners, investors, employees, suppliers, consumers, as well as the state and can be defined as an economic and socio-technical system that functions to maximize the value of capital. Achieving this main goal should be based on taking into account the totality of goals arising in the production process of the enterprise. These include tangible (production) goals - a program for the production of products, the performance of work or the provision of services of a certain level of quality, cost (monetary) goals - the pursuit of profit, its distribution, liquidity, etc., as well as social goals - desired in future relations between employees at the enterprise, the level of personnel income, interesting work, production culture, environmental protection. Accounting and deep understanding of the main goals of the enterprise, reflected in its development strategy, serve as the basis for developing a business plan for its activities.

In the image shown in fig. 1.2.14 to a quality star, the two upper boundaries are its roof. The left plane of the roof is a system of motivation for quality work, the right - a system of education and training of personnel. The left side represents a system of relationships with suppliers, the right side represents a system of relationships with consumers. In the center of the star we show what goals are being pursued and, if successful, are achieved by creating a system, and below is the time when this or that system was clearly formulated in documents and / or books, articles.

At the first stage of work with suppliers, the consumer carries out 100% input control of the received components through special units dealing with relationships with suppliers. As a result, these units become directly responsible for the quality of components that go on to production departments, where full quality control of batches is carried out.

With the transition to direct relationships within a supplier-consumer type enterprise, the volume of work of centralized services decreases, but barriers between departments increase.

The material includes a statement of management principles, new relations between the consumer and the supplier, issues of staff involvement and interest in improving the quality and the need to change the corporate culture, as well as a description of the systems, tools and activities of the circles and quality groups. Particular attention is paid to the five components of the documented quality system and its certification, relationships with consumers, relationships with suppliers, motivation and training of company personnel.

In the years of the ninth five-year plan (1971-1975), based on the study of the accumulated experience in the functioning of direct long-term economic relations, the basic regulatory acts regulating the relations between the parties (supplier, consumer, supply and marketing organization) and the procedure for attaching consumers to suppliers were prepared and put into effect to such connections.

A separate issue requiring urgent solution is the revision of the mechanism of action in the system of managing economic relations of transit and custom norms. It is known that their use as a tool regulating the nature of the relationship of all participants in economic relations (suppliers, consumers, supply and marketing and transport organizations),

The construction of equipment is carried out by the appropriate union head sets under the USSR State Logistics Committee or customer ministries in accordance with the Basic Provisions on the acquisition of equipment, instruments, cables and other products for enterprises under construction and reconstruction, as well as on the relationships of suppliers, customers and consumers of these products, approved by the USSR State Logistics Committee from August 8, 1968 No. 190 and dated July 14, 1970 No. 135, or in accordance with the applicable individual cases by special government decisions on these issues.

The block describes the types of relationships that are established in a company with individual consumer segments.

The company must clearly determine what type of relationship it wants to establish with each of the consumer segments. Relationships can range from personal to automated. The motives that define these relationships may be different:

• customer acquisition;
• customer retention;
• increase in sales.

At the dawn of the development of mobile communications, relations between operators and customers were based on aggressive attraction strategies, which included, among other things, offers of free phones. With market saturation, the strategy changed, and operators focused on retaining customers and maximizing profits from each of them.

The customer relationship block provided by the business model of the company has a significant impact on consumer behavior.

What kind of relationships does each consumer segment expect? What relationship is established? What expenses do they require? How are they integrated into the general scheme of the business model?

There are several types of customer relationships that exist as part of the company's relationship with each consumer segment.

Personal support

This type of relationship is based on personal contacts.

A client can communicate directly with a company representative, receiving help from him in the buying process and after it. This can happen at the point of sale, through a call center, by email or in other ways.

Special personalized support

In this case, the company representative is attached to a specific client with whom he develops his relationship. Such relationships are deepest and usually develop over time. For example, in private banks with the largest customers special representatives work. Similar customer relationships are taking shape in other industries.

Self catering

With this type of relationship, the company does not maintain direct relationships with customers, but provides them with everything necessary so that they can serve themselves.

Automated Maintenance

This type of relationship is a combination of a more complex form of self-service with process automation. For example, registering customers on a company’s website gives them access to personal services. Automation of service allows you to recognize individual customers and provide them with the information necessary to send an order or conclude a transaction.

Ideally, automated services stimulate personal relationships (for example, recommending a book or movie).

Communities

Companies are increasingly using online communities to attract customers, and are also helping to establish closer ties between members of such communities. Many companies support online communities, giving users the ability to share knowledge. Communities help companies better understand the needs of their customers. The pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline, for example, founded a private online community when it was launched alli- a new tool for weight loss.

GlaxoSmithKline sought to better understand the problems of overweight people and with the help of the community to better manage consumer expectations.

Co-creation

Many companies today go beyond the traditional seller-buyer relationship and create value with the consumer. Amazon.com, for example, offers customers write reviews, thereby creating value for other book lovers. Other companies attract customers to create product designs. And such as YouTube.com   , enable users to create content themselves.

The need to retain consumers, ensuring stability and repeatability of sales is increasingly associated with a strategy called marketing partnerships. The peculiarity of relationship marketing is that it focuses on establishing continuous communication with consumers. The fact of sales itself is the result of a deliberate strategy of trust between the producer (intermediary) and the consumer.

Accordingly, the central point is the conclusion of targeted transactions of trust partners. In a chain of relationships, a consumer (retail and wholesale, an individual and an enterprise) is characterized not from the position of the buyer as a one-time customer, but as a potential source of profit during his active buying life.

Partnership marketing is seen as the coordination of relations between those who produce, sell and consume goods, as a form of overcoming the contradictions between the possibilities of production and demand for goods and services from the standpoint of creating a balanced flow of supply and consumption of goods.

Partnership marketing is formulated by a shift in emphasis by a question such as: “How and when do children eat yoghurt?” instead of “How to convince children and their parents to buy yoghurts?”.

This emphasizes the acceptability of beneficial properties. In relation to food products, this means that the consumer product must be tasty, healthy, safe, reasonably affordable and enjoyable in all its manifestations. The buyer should be satisfied with the purchase and sale process, and the seller and the manufacturer should give maximum attention to emerging problems and complaints of the buyer.

Interaction with the consumer begins before physical distribution to the final consumer. The buyer-seller relationship is determined by the variables perceived by consumers, which are interpreted in the form:

• - experience (users' understanding of the benefits of water softening when using Calgon powder leads to an increase in its acquisition from 20 to 50%);
• - trust in the product and the seller, which should be combined with perseverance in the recommendations;
• - knowledge (the nature of sales situations is comparatively repeatable, which allows us to reduce them to typical scenarios);
• - adaptability (the seller’s behavior should adapt to any of the possible situations of relations with the buyer).

The role of individual clients in determining the value that he wants to acquire is increasing. Value is created with the buyer, not for them. Value creation functions in real time. Moreover, the establishment and strengthening of ongoing relationships with existing customers is expected to be more significant than the search for new consumers. Therefore, the main task of entrepreneurs is to establish relations with the consumer more and more strong, in every way to stimulate long-term relationships and prevent the outflow of customers in other areas of sales.

The concept of “value system” now denotes a system of priorities that determines human behavior and is formed by external and internal factors: the environment, the culture of consumption of a given social group, and the structure of society as a whole in a specific period of time.

If you do not conduct regular dialogue with consumers, it is not possible to find out their desires and requirements. Therefore, if you establish and maintain a dialogue with consumers, using existing values \u200b\u200band additional information obtained from communications about their life positions, families, habits, then entrepreneurs will be in an ideal position for selling goods and services. Relationship marketing uses intersection of interests. The consumer perceives the value of the product when it meets its individual needs: it saves money, time, nervous and physical effort.

The role of marketers in partnerships shifts from the management of demand and profitability of goods to cooperation with customers and the management of customers ’budgets. For this, experts consider it necessary to coordinate a number of aspects of marketing activity:

• - identify priority customer groups for subsequent service;
• - develop strategies for each of the priority buyers;
• - manage the process of profitability of products for customers;
• - improve the potential capabilities of the enterprise, especially the brand and service.

Creating the values \u200b\u200bnecessary for the buyer integrates the production processes of all levels to form a mutually beneficial partnership with the buyer as an asset of the company.

According to the Pareto principle, not all customers are unambiguous according to the results of sales. In a properly organized business, only 20% of buyers guarantee 80% of income, including 10% of which bring 90% of the profit. Consequently, the same approach to them is unacceptable; it is advisable to structure efforts. When conducting marketing, it is first important to attract as many of the possible consumers as possible, and then reasonably and carefully decide what to do with each of them (hold on by all means, closely monitor or release).

The process of partnerships begins with attracting customers, avoiding the manifestation of the effect of a “leaky basket”, when each new buyer squeezes out an existing one. The consumer does not forgive self-neglect. In conditions of an unlimited supply of goods, he goes to another seller.

It is important to slow down the pace of emptying the “basket” from a purely economic position. Attracting a new buyer is 5-6 times more expensive than maintaining the old one. Therefore, you must carefully monitor the reasons for leaving. This can be a buyer’s move to another place of residence or work, a change in the scheme and cost of the transport route (the reason is 4-5% of the total number of outflows of buyers, but they should not be ignored).

The negative consequences of unsatisfactory actions of entrepreneurs are much more significant. In the search for low prices, the purchase addresses of 9-10% of consumers change, due to the inability to work with partners - 14-15%, due to the lack of attention and interest from the manufacturer and trade - 65-70%.

Effective relationships require that with each contact, relationships improve. Contact, interaction are becoming more valuable. Moreover, the behavior of the manufacturer should be based on the principle: the buyer provides a service to the seller, and not vice versa.

The manufacturer needs to build a communication strategy from the premise: “I'm here to persuade you to help me, to understand which of the buyers will pay me my salary every month?” The consumer rises above the level of traditional commercial interests, becomes my guide in the chaos of supply and demand and a desperate war of producers for survival with each other (J. Gordon).

This approach introduces significant features into the segmentation process, the criteria of which are often quite complex interweaving of elements: the current and potential life value of customers who are loyal to the proposed brand, volume and frequency of purchases, contact methods based on long-term partnerships.

The goals of partnership marketing, formulated in clear and really making life easier for customers, should include increasing the average and total cost of one-time purchases, attracting new stable customers.

Partnerships are based on a number of fundamental conditions for successful cooperation: information support, commitment, consumer characteristics, assessment of the level, expectations and potential of purchases (Fig. 7.1).

Fig. 7.1.

Information Support   involves the creation of a database on all the necessary parameters for establishing partnerships. The most important information data includes commitment   which involves the establishment of a constant, close relationship between the brand and the consumer through communication channels. Knowledge customer features   involves a maximum study of their resource potential by income, family composition, aspirations, preferences and, conversely, everything that causes rejection.

Sales control includes forecasting the frequency, cost and timing of purchases. This provides objective planning of sales and the organization of rational flows of goods, accurate orders for the assortment and nomenclature of goods, minimum inventory in the company's warehouses.

Forecasting expectations   the buyer from communicating with entrepreneurs assumes an accurate description of what their likes, dislikes and necessity are based on. Rating of capacity Partnerships are carried out in comparison with competitors. The possibilities of partners are compared, the reasons for refusing to purchase the products presented for sale, and the reasons that can convince the consumer to expand their purchases.

Customer loyalty assessment should be constantly tested for data objectivity. Based on the test results, the level of knowledge and understanding of the customer’s requests, his openness and willingness to establish partnerships with us is determined.

Experts propose testing on a group of statements subject to truth verification:

• 1. Do we know the buyers who make the most profit?
• 2. Are the incomes of my customers, their consumer complex of goods and these requirements for them known?
• 3. Can we predict what customers expect from us next year and how they affect our capabilities?
• 4. Do we understand the model of the sources of income of our typical individual consumers and retailers and wholesalers?
• 5. Do we know those who make the purchase decision and their preferences?
• 6. Are competitors 'strategies understandable and do we know how consumers relate to competitors' brands?
• 7. Do we understand the behavior of our consumers. Can we measure the value of products that we have created for customers?
• 8. Can we measure the value of our customers and do we know how to share it?

Partnerships are built in areas grouped in the so-called 11-C. The list of directions includes buyers, categories, capabilities, costs, control, cooperation, production on orders, communications, customer evaluation, customer care, and a chain of relationships (Fig. 7.2).

The direction of partnerships, formulated in marketing as a buyer, includes the determination of which consumers are preferable (from the offered product) and

Fig. 7.2.

which can provide mutually beneficial cooperation with them. The direction of the category includes the optimization of output from a position of demand, the depth and width of the range of goods offered.

The direction of opportunities is considered to improve the potential of the enterprise for the priority satisfaction of the priority needs for the entrepreneur and customers. Costs, as a direction, include evaluating the profitability of the buyer, offering him goods of higher value, using it in the formation of the assortment taking into account sales and after-sales services.

The direction of ensuring control includes careful monitoring of processes of interaction with the buyer and actions that are aimed at increasing the mutual benefits of partnerships.

Cooperation reflects the solution to the problem of the integral interaction of all those associated with the production, sales and customer service. Production by orders involves taking into account the individual requests of the buyer from the position of the composition, physical mass of the product, packaging, method of sales and other characteristics.

Communications - the prevalence of interactive communication with the consumer over anonymous interaction through advertising media. Customer evaluation reflects the role of customer feedback and tracking of sales estimates.

The task of providing customer care requires constant readiness: to provide any information about the product, to recover damages and to provide any services that add value to the product. The chain of relationships is the unity of efforts of everyone related to the production, sale and servicing of customer requests.

The organization of partnerships involves the establishment of levels of communication with the buyer. The following communication levels are distinguished: structural, brand capital, relationships, personal, informational, control, value and zero choice (Fig. 7.3).

Fig. 7.3.

Structural   communication involves the coordination of interests. Based communication brand equity   shows the value that the buyer receives from the purchase of goods through the functional and emotional attributes of the brand. Communication the relationship   includes the choice of a supplier, taking into account its professionalism, attention to customers, production and supply culture, and prompt decision-making. Setting personal   Relations involves the cooperation of consumers with specific managers involved in decision-making on procurement.

Informational   and control   Communication guarantees the constant provision to the buyer of all necessary information about the product and its manufacturer. Value   communication includes the introduction of customer loyalty programs based on discounts, benefits, financial incentives. Communication zero choice   implies the absence of another partner's option or the difficulty of their additional attraction due to the excess of the increase in costs over the profit from partnerships.

• - the value (value) of a specific buyer (individual, household or family) for an enterprise per month, per year, throughout its life or the cycle of a household (family);
• - frequency of purchases. The desired standard for partnerships in food sales is a buyer who purchases 2-3 times a week, or at least weekly. Frequency assessment should be carried out individually. For example, 20% of buyers purchase goods once a month, 50% - once a week, and 30% - 2 times a week. However, those who rarely come form half of the revenue from sales, and often those who come mostly buy bread and a package of milk;
• - profitability rating from the first to the last purchase, characteristics of the decision maker, product selection criteria;
• - time of the last purchase. If the frequency of purchases decreases, then the reason is urgently found out and measures are being taken to keep the buyer. Not all buyers make claims, most consider it a waste, and up to 65-90% simply change the brand, manufacturer or seller;

Fig. 7.4.

• - characteristics of the consumer segment, payment method, relationships, after-sales behavior;
• - results of work with complaints. The number of complaints is not always a sign of a poor work of the enterprise, if, demonstrating your style of working with clients, you practice a prompt reaction to any manifestation of negative. Attention to the smallest needs of the buyer is more beneficial than dozens of appeals. By this you demonstrate interest in the client, additional attention to him;
• - a list of circumstances that led to the cessation of purchases (repair, change of ownership or procurement manager). To represent this, you need to constantly contact buyers, to know what they think and want.

It is advisable to differentiate buyers into four groups according to the level of cost and frequency of purchases (table. 7.2).

Table 7.2

Differentiation of customer attractiveness

Not every consumer group is equally attractive. The buyers of the fourth group are the least interesting. You need to know who is in the attractive group, what and how much they can buy, external and internal factors of influence, in order to interest in additional purchases.

When organizing partnerships based on the results of the dossiers and differentiation of consumer groups, loyalty programs for valuable customers are made (preventive contact, tracking preferences, etc.).

The significance of such programs is obvious. The level of customer satisfaction is growing, reimbursement costs are reduced in connection with the return of products and, accordingly, sales are growing. The indirect effect, which manifests itself in customer satisfaction with the fact that they are valued, is also important.

The organization of partnerships involves the implementation of a number of successive stages: from customer evaluation to managing a partnership system (Fig. 7.5).

When assessing consumer behavior, it is necessary to establish what the buyer means to you: how much and when he buys from you. We must estimate the average number of months during which we deal with the buyer, weigh the number and total sales.

Such a statement involves the implementation of the concept and the quantitative calculation of the so-called lifelong value of the buyer, his family, and even the relations of the next generation. They are based on strong relationships built on trust, understanding, effective communication and faith in the usefulness of a particular consumer.

The cost of the goods purchased by the buyer is the sum of his purchases for the entire period of cooperation, as well as the time and financial resources that are required to establish and, even more, to develop and improve partnerships (Table 7.3).

Benchmarking includes the collection and analysis of information on the activities of leading partners and competitors (direct and indirect, potential and actual) on their use of sales management methods. The main goal of benchmarking is to increase the efficiency of the entrepreneur through advanced technology, more advanced production processes, methods of organizing production, marketing and marketing.

Fig. 7.5.

An example of calculating the cost of a product purchased by a buyer

Table 7.3

In the benchmarking process, you need to understand the reason for the strength and position taken by competitors. You need to know what competitors use to ensure production efficiency and whether it is possible to borrow the most advanced methods in the practice of their own enterprise.

Studies of the enterprise’s potential capabilities include assessing the width and depth of the assortment, supply conditions and customer requirements for the product, market potential, market share inevitably raise the question of the enterprise’s production capabilities (capacity, level of technical and technological development, production management methods).

At the enterprise, when assessing their potential capabilities, the data of accounting and statistical accounting and expert parameters are used. The composition of the resulting evaluation indicators includes the coefficient of capacity utilization, the technical level of production, raw materials, management methods and profitability of the enterprise.

The utilization rate of production capacity is an important indicator in assessing the use of production capabilities of the enterprise. If the enterprise has higher use of production capacity, then it produces more product and has lower costs for its production.

The technical level of production is analyzed in terms of output and equipment. The level of output can be characterized by the specific gravity of the products in demand and their change (in physical and monetary terms) for the study period. The technical equipment of production is assessed by indicators - the composition and cost of fixed assets, the level of mechanization (automation) of production and processes.

A study of the raw material supply of the enterprise involves an analysis of the types and quality of products received for processing (natural and milk powder, cream, butter, etc.). The assessment of the rhythm of supplies, the size of the current and seasonal stocks, the level of use of recycled products.

Evaluation of the company's profitability is carried out according to the mass of profit, profitability of output and price level, which are the basis for the efficient operation of the enterprise, create additional opportunities for varying the pricing strategy and stimulate sales.

An important section of the potential research program is the assessment of the economic security of an enterprise. The content of the research program of the potential capabilities of the enterprise for the production of products is given in table. 7.4.

Table 7.4

Potential Research Program

enterprises

Evaluation of partnership opportunities implies an awareness of the need for their organization with the consumer. It is necessary to choose options for relations and central processes that will ensure the formation of mutual values \u200b\u200band the emergence of new opportunities for the effective development of the enterprise. It is important to overestimate the composition of buyers and highlight the most promising of them from the position of forming long-term partnerships.

At the same time, one should understand the risks that may accompany partnerships, the possibilities of neutralizing their negative impact, and primarily associated with the actions of competitors.

From researching partnership opportunities, we need to move on to assessing their prospects. It is advisable to build a forecast of future partnerships with an orientation to taking into account the maximum number of aspects of activity in the goods market.

Partnerships with consumers should be seen as the most important factor in ensuring competitiveness and benefits. Accordingly, it is necessary to establish problems that must be overcome and improved: the development of marketing communications, the individualization of orders, the growth of a culture of service and consumption. Simultaneously with the development of the forecast, it is necessary to ensure effective monitoring of the proposals being developed taking into account the compliance with the system of measures as part of the marketing elements. The monitoring process should be a comprehensive and systematic study, give a reasonable conclusion on the compliance of the actions taken with the solution of the general task of enterprise development.

The consumer can be directly involved in the development of marketing activities. When Harley Davidson was developing a new multimedia model configuration so that consumers could order a motorcycle for their own taste, the company attracted the wealthy urban bikers that they wanted to get as buyers to help develop a solution. With regard to food, this can be implemented according to the scheme: “To cook the same delicious as ours, you need to buy very good products that we sell only or are associated with us.”

The development and approval of a business situation involves showing the advantages and values \u200b\u200bthat an enterprise should receive from organizing long-term partnerships. This can be an expansion of the scope of activity and penetration into new market segments, an increase in the share of customers, the emergence of new opportunities and to increase the profits of the enterprise.

The stage of implementation of the partnership organization plan includes the process of fulfilling the plan: investing, planning a marketing communications system, implementing, evaluating the results and adjusting actions.

The implementation process involves changes in marketing methods aimed at consumer behavior when deciding on the purchase of goods. For consumer awareness   the use of marketing communications includes the formation of a database of end customers based on previous purchases.

It is necessary to create a profile of each buyer with a high cost of purchases, with the specification of the means of communication to which he is more susceptible, and the content of the information in them. For maintaining interest   In addition to demonstrating the benefits of a brand, various incentives should be provided to increase the frequency and size of purchases.

For positive evaluation options   the acquisition must provide the buyer with a maximum of information about the characteristic features and benefits of the proposed product. The buyer should imagine that only with your participation he can satisfy the needs in the best way. It is necessary to monitor the evaluation process by fixing all the questions that the buyer asks the seller about the sales, as well as the answers that he receives.

On stage product testing   you should not be limited to trial marketing in the trading floor, you need to look for new non-standard ways. At the final stage assessment of experiencethe use of the product you need to know the slightest manifestation of customer dissatisfaction, to conduct an open dialogue, using material incentives for repeat purchases. The forecast of consumer behavior allows you to pre-submit specific proposals that it will be difficult for him to ignore.

The organization of consumer partnerships involves a new form of the target market - point segmentation for a narrow group of even single customers, if it is profitable, and the use of Internet technologies for communication and interaction on the customer interface based on pulling and pushing.

Pulling technology   It provides customers with the right to use the web page and decide on the choice of goods and information, as in the traditional method of shopping. Push technologyinvolves a standing order for the regular production and maintenance of a particular product.

A successful online sales company, even for groceries, can number tens of thousands of customers in several large cities, saving them time for shopping and quickly providing any information about the products.

Point segmentation allows you to switch to the small-scale type of custom production, which is directly or indirectly issued by the consumer himself. At direct order the consumer himself is involved in the formation of the assortment. For example, companies engage customers to work together to consider eyeglass frames to suit everyone. The customer’s face is photographed, his wishes are recorded, options for frames are displayed on the display screen. The buyer watches them, the individual parts are brought to readiness, and then the glasses are made on the spot.

Questions and Tasks

• 1. What is the essence and advantages of partnerships in comparison with traditional marketing methods as a form of overcoming the contradictions in the possibilities of production and demand for goods (services) and creating a balanced ratio of supply and demand for goods?
• 2. Determine what aspects of marketing activities will have to be agreed upon when organizing partnerships? What conditions for successful partnership are partnerships based on?
• 3. On a specific example, justify the essence of the tasks, as well as a program for researching the potential of the enterprise and the benefits of partnerships.
• 4. To track sales trends, you, as the manager of a sales company, need to create a dossier of customer profitability. What sections will it include for individual customers, processors, and retailers?
• 5. According to the results of studies, it was found that among families who received an advertising coupon, 20% tried the product, of those who did not have coupons - 10%. The level of repetition among buyers without preferential coupons was significantly higher. How can this be explained? Does this fact refute the position that promotional coupons stimulate sales?
• 6. What stages of work should be carried out when organizing partnerships? How to calculate the cost of the buyer?

•   See: Gordon J. Marketing Partnerships. - St. Petersburg: Peter, 2001. S. 215.

Customer Relationship Management (CRM) - an approach that integrates all aspects of business related to customer relationships: marketing, sales of products, customer service, support for the operation of products through the integration of people, processes and technologies using the advantages provided by computer technology.

The main goal of CRM   - Identification of those aspects of relations with customers that previously were not given due attention.

The key components of CRM   are:

1) the revitalization of the sales units (active management of contacts with customers, receiving orders, etc.);

2) sales management (analysis of bottlenecks in the movement of orders, sales dynamics);

3) telemarketing and telesales (for example, receiving orders through communication channels);

4) managing the timely execution of orders (using email, scheduling, etc.);

5) customer service and support (analysis of customer problems);

6) marketing;

7) informing the top management of the company (maintaining complete and easily understood reports);

8) support for the operation of sold products (for example, accepting orders for work);

9) information support of the enterprise (Internet, databases, local networks, etc.);

10) electronic commerce (but for orders received on the enterprise server);

11) integration into the Internet and other information systems;

12) a high degree of data synchronization (mobile synchronization of data coming from departments, synchronization of business activity with databases and functional servers).

CRM   focuses mainly on Internet technology.

System CRM   interacts with marketing and the processes of studying consumer behavior during the "consumer life cycle", which is understood as the period of time when the organization maintains relations with a particular consumer.

Consumer Life Cycle includes four stages:

1) identifying and attracting preferred customers for the organization,

2) relationships with new consumers.   It is revealed that new customers have special needs that the organization is not always able to effectively satisfy. For example, in the insurance business, companies reach a profitability point in relations with a new client about 5-7 years after their acquisition. If the client leaves the company after two years, then all the costs of establishing a relationship with him will be a waste of money. At this stage, consumer research processes are of particular importance: complaints, their level of satisfaction, and consider incoming requests for maintenance;

3) mature customer relationships.   At this stage, the organization’s pricing policy and effective cross-selling of products, as well as a combination of consumer research processes and systems, are of great importance. CRM

4) establishing and maintaining strong relationships with consumers. According to European experts, loyal consumers make up no more than 10% of the total number of company customers. Therefore, despite all the efforts of the company, among its customers there are always those who break off relations with it. The challenge is to minimize customer care, especially those of particular value. In particular, expert systems should be created that are able to identify risk groups among customers and allow you to take preventive measures aimed at maintaining relationships with them.

Marketing Planning and Performance Evaluation

In modern practice, emit four types of marketing control (according to F. Kotler): control of annual plans, control of profitability, control of efficiency and strategic control. Let's consider them in more detail.

Types of Marketing Planning

In traditional planning, plans are usually divided according to what period of time they are calculated, for example:

• long-term plans;
• medium-term plans;
• short term plans.

Elements of a marketing plan

The marketing plan includes six elements: analysis of the situation, goals, strategy, tactics, budget and control.

1. Analysis of the situation.   In the course of the analysis, the company explores operating at the macro level external factors   (economic, political, legal, socio-cultural, technological), as well as players, or participants in the situation   (company, competitors, distributors and suppliers). The company analyzes strengths and weaknesses, opportunities and threats. Here it is necessary to move from external factors to internal.
2. Goals.   After the analysis of the situation revealed the best opportunities for the company, these opportunities are ranked, after which the goals of the company are formulated and the time frames for their achievement are determined. Goals should be set taking into account the interests of all business participants, the company's reputation and other significant factors.
3. Strategy.   Choosing the best course to achieve your goal is a strategy task.
4. Tactics.   The strategy should be developed by presenting in detail the details related to marketing tools and specific activities. For events, responsible persons and deadlines are selected.
5. Budget.   Planned activities and activities are associated with costs that are added to the budget necessary to achieve the goals of the company.
6. The control. The company must establish the frequency of revision of the plan and benchmarks to determine how progress is being made to achieve the goal. If the indicators are behind the plan, the company should review the goals, strategy or list of measures to correct the situation.