Foundations of Relationship Marketing

Overview

Markets are becoming more competitive and there is little to separate the offerings of one supplier from another. This has led to greater price competition and lower profit margins. Better relationships with customers can overcome unjustified price cutting. This course shows you how to increase customer value through relationships.

Benefits to you and your organisation

You will discover what relationship marketing is and the key principles upon which it is based. This course should equip you with the tools, ability and confidence to tackle many of the issues of customer relationship management in your organisation and take the lead with customers, colleagues and senior managers.

Your organisation will benefit because the course will show you how to gain a better return from every pound spent of marketing. It should therefore help your organisation to be more profitable and to focus on the types of relationships that provide the greatest value.

Who this course is for

This course is for marketers who are currently involved, or expect to become involved, in the development of relationship marketing plans and customer retention initiatives. It will be of value to those who need to address the strategic and tactical aspects of long-term customer or distributor retention.

What you will learn

• Apply the principles of trust, commitment and loyalty to relationship marketing.
• Recognise the elements of transactional marketing and relational marketing.
• Identify the characteristics and the process of relationship marketing.
• Manage the relationship life cycle.
• Identify and analyse customer expectation and perception.
• Recognise the tools and techniques used to implement relationship marketing.
• Construct a relationship marketing plan, structure and content.
• Address the internal issues that affect success in relationship building.
• Create and manage relationships with distributors, agencies and other partners.
• Select the right system for customer relationship management and ensure it is correctly implemented.
• Develop KAM relationships.

Course content

• What is Relationship Marketing?
• Characteristics of transactional and relational marketing compared.
• The relationship life cycle.
• The principles of trust, commitment and loyalty.
• How do relationships develop and what factors are important.
• Building relationships with different target groups.
• How to measure the satisfaction level of customers.
• Managing customer expectations.
• The tools of relationship marketing.
• Understanding the internal factors that affect customer relations.
• Using technology/CRM systems to manage relationships.
• Creating a customer loyalty programme.
• The relationship marketing plan.
• Distributor relationships.
• Client and agency relationships.
• Building relationships with Key Account Management.

Learning approach

The course will be delivered using formal presentations, discussions, exercises and case studies.