Customer Relationship Management and Marketing Concept - Article Example

Marketing Articles Review Name: Institution: Marketing Articles Review Abstract This paper is a combination of marketing related articles. Though different, the topics discussed in the articles are greatly related. The first article majorly expresses how a marketing concept can be shared among a number of organization as opposed to a marketing philosophy. In general, the second article emphasizes on marketing evolution to create satisfaction. The third article discusses why it is critical to understand the buyer’s decision process, especially in the travel industry. The six components of a product can significantly vary from product to product and this is what the fourth article is about. The satisfaction circle, with special interest in transactional, cumulative, and collective satisfaction is an issue of interest to marketing experts as conferred on article five. The last article articulates on why marketing experts can increase success if they do not abandon the 5 Gap model when making strategies and tactics. 1. The marketing concept may be common to many organizations; however, a marketing philosophy is unique A marketing philosophy and the marketing concept are two phrases which have always been confused by many people globally including some marketing experts. To some extend this may be acceptable because the relationship existing between the two is so close. However it is of value to distinguish the two, not ignoring the existing relationship (Aaker, Batra & Myers, 1992). Generally, the marketing concept is applicable in all businesses and not unique to any particular organization. Through the marketing concept the consumers’ wants are highlighted. Subsequently the products with the capacity to satisfy their needs are selected. However businesses have the obligation of delivering the most superior offering to gain selection. Talking from the perspective of a travel industry, this implies that if a travel company provide goods or services exceeding the customers’ expectations then as a business organization they are well positioned to meet their own needs (Anderson & Kerr, 2002). In short the organization’s satisfaction is dependent on the traveler’s satisfaction. In contrast to the marketing concept, a marketing philosophy is the way in which a given business entity approaches market. This is more of a system of belief within the organization. It functions as a blueprint of the expected behavior and how the business is to be conducted. It is through a marketing philosophy that the value delivery is determined (Arnabile, Fisher and Pillemer, 2014). In conclusion, two different business entities could identify that it is important to satisfy the customer’s needs, however the approach to be taken will greatly vary given a philosophy each will apply. Consider South West Airline and Orbitz Worldwide which are among the best travel companies in the world currently, they recognize the significance of the marketing concept but have different 2. The evolution of marketing is a quest to best satisfy the needs of customers, organizations and society The evolution of marketing has significantly changed the way organizations run their businesses. The best way to describe this evolution is “the quest for the best”. The precise center of marketing concept can be described in two ways; first, it can be described as a search by the consumers for goods and services that delights them i.e. where they can derive full satisfaction; second, it can be described as a search by business entities for goods and services that delights the customers (Ballantyne, 2003). Considering the travel industry, it is notable that the travelers are not only getting smarter but they are subsequently changing the industry. They will always go for the best and abandon products that doesn’t satisfy their needs. It is in this regard that evolution of marketing has always strive to provide the best. In the travel industry the best today is not guaranteed to be the best tomorrow thus strides, going forward, must be made to satisfy the travelers’ needs in the market (Banting & Ross, 2010). Initially, the marketing attitude was that “customers will go for the highly affordable products.” This attitude has since changed given the evolution in marketing as consumers are now considered the “kings”. This is to imply that quality to consumers is a priority and organizations now realize that the success of a marketer is as a result of creating long-term relationships with customers (Berman & Evans, 2010). With the emergence of new customer needs and demand within the travel industry, marketers are forced to up their game so as to keep up with potential competition. 3. Understanding the buyer decision process is particularly important in the travel industry Principally, understanding the buyers’ decision process in the travel industry is crucial as it subsequently assist in understanding how clients, i.e. travelers- within the travel industry, search and estimate the products on offer (Brinker & McLellan, 2014). Additionally understanding the buyers’ decision process in the travel industry is important as it is a better way of learning the experience, assessment, evaluation and post evaluation behavior of the consumer in regard to the product in the market. From a strategic viewpoint, the marketing experts within the travel industry need to take into consideration the decision process of the buyer. From a tactical perspective nonetheless, staff within the travel industry ought to know their responsibilities and roles and way of assisting the buyer through the buying process. Notably, the focus of the tactical perspective is specifically real for salespeople and service personnel who support and facilitate the clients (Bruhn & Georgi, 2006). For that reason, to manage the buyers within the travel industry in an efficient, effective and appropriate manner- marketing experts within this industry ought to understand and appreciate the progress of consumers through the buying procedures. Subsequently there is need for the marketing experts within the travel industry to communicate the plan throughout the organization. A good understanding of the buyers purchase behavior, product delivery and post purchase behavior is something that is essential and it is good that this ideology is widely appreciated, if not completely, within the travel industry (Constantinides, 2006). Travel companies like Southwest Airlines, Orbitz, Ritz-Carlton, Four Seasons and JetBlue are some of the best travel companies that have found success for the reason that they appreciate and understand the buyers’ decision process. 4. The six product components can vary greatly from product to product [you may stay with the travel industry] Marketing within the travel industry assists clients, i.e. tourists and other travelers, satisfy their day to day basic need. Subsequently it helps them fulfil their dreams as well as desires. To further appreciate this, it is significant to explore products in a comprehensive way. The six collaborative products components consist of goods, services, ideas, experiences, people and places (Duois, Jolibert & Muhlbeacher, 2007). Even in the travel industry, there’s no guarantee that the total product will be the same. Goods are the specific items the customers will find when they do an enquiry about what is offered. The goods may be inform of air tickets, hotel facilities, tour packages and many other depending on the target customers of any given travel company. A good example is the Orbitz, which offers goods like flights, hotels, tour cars and other travel related packages (Fanning, 2015). Another good example is the Fly Emirates. It offers its clients goods inform of flight which are categorized as first class, business class and economy class. The next component is services. For anybody who has used two different travel companies, it is notable that the services offered during travelling vary. Services may include the meals offered and other promotion packages which greatly vary. The ideas, i.e. the knowledge required to purchase and consume a product, also vary among travel clients (Bruhn & Georgi, 2006). This greatly depend on the needs of a consumer i.e. luxury purposes, business purposes, vacation purposes etc. experiences refers to those expectations, emotions and feelings that a product attracts. This greatly depends on various perspectives different clients have. It is also significant to note that there is a great variation when it comes to people who facilitate products and also the places where buying takes place. 5. Marketing practitioners are interested in the circle of satisfaction with special interest in transactional, cumulative, and collective satisfaction The circle of satisfaction explores the collaborations between the client and the business entities. It is right to define the circle of satisfaction as that bridge linking the total product concept and the buyer decision process. With special interest in transactional, cumulative, and collective satisfaction marketing experts have interest in the circle of satisfaction due to a number of reasons (Bruhn & Georgi, 2006). Customer satisfaction is a key factor in retaining customers. The existing link between customer retention and customer satisfaction is something that is comprehensively documented. Without further research and studies, every organization realizes that poor quality of services offered makes customers switch to other suppliers who they may deem as a source of high quality service. Several customers worldwide, within the travelling industry, may quit doing business with organizations they had operated with in the past for the reason that they had observed an indifference attitude (Constantinides, 2006). No business entity wants such thing to happen to them as this leads to a reduced market share and shrunk revenues. With that said it is now obvious that customer satisfaction is a driving force for heightened profits as well as enlarged market share. For the reason that an the level of customer satisfaction has the capacity to increase revenues, marketing experts are always putting more effort on how best to satisfy the clients so as to subsequently increase the market share and profits. Increased profits means improved financial performance for any organization and this is what any business entity is looking for. Customer satisfaction boost employees morale and this is something that the marketing experts want to improve on. 6. Marketing practitioners can be more effective if they remain mindful of the 5 Gap model when crafting strategies and tactics To increase rate of success, it is important for any organization to work on their shortcoming with an aim of improving such to improve service delivery. The 5-gap model is a critical marketing tool that postulates that the management of quality is about the identification of quality gaps after which they are closed. Under this model, Parasuraman, Zeithami and Berry (1985), who are the developers, identified the five possible gaps as the knowledge gap, standard gap, the delivery gap, communication gap and the total gap. All these are suggestive or descriptive name thus it is easy to know the shortcoming to be address. Marketing practitioners have the responsibility of identifying these gaps so as to increase performance and subsequently improve service delivery (Duois, Jolibert & Muhlbeacher, 2007). It is significant for managers to comprehensively understand the wants and needs of the target market. A gap occurs when managers lack knowledge. Both formal and informal research can be used to fill this gap. A research can be done but standard gaps can emerge due to lack of proper documentation. For this reason, managers ought to maintain quality documentation standards so as to close on this gap. Crafting of strategies as well as tactics without considering the 5 gap model can lead to greater inefficiencies which can gradually bring the business to a halt. The success of any given business depends on how the business fill the existing gaps so as to increase efficiencies. Ignoring existing gaps can result to financial losses and poor decision making. References Aaker, D.A, Batra, R., & Myers, J.G. (1992). Advertising Management. New Jersey: Prentice Hall. Anderson, K & Kerr, C. (2002). Customer Relationship Management.New York: McCraw-Hill professional. Arnabile, T., Fisher, C.M., and Pillemer J. (2014). Ideo’s Culture of helping. Harvard Business Review, 92 (Jan-Feb), 55-61. Ballantyne, D. (2003). A relationship mediated theory of internal marketing. European Journal of Mareketing, 37(9), 1242-1260. Banting, P. & Ross, R.E. (2010). The Marketing Mix: A Canadian Perspective. 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