Customer Relationship Group Report

Customer Relationship Group Report Customer relationship management has gained a lot of popularity over the recent years. According to Hutt and Speh (2013, p. 92), the world is increasingly getting competitive. Firms currently find themselves fighting for the market with various other firms in the industry.Advertising We will write a custom report sample on Customer Relationship Group Report specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Optus finds itself in this situation in this market. Optus is an Australian telecommunication company that is a subsidiary of SingTel. The firm is considered as one of the largest telecommunication firms in Australia. Given the competitive nature of this market, the management of Optus has the responsibility of ensuring that it offers high value to its customers. According to Hill and Jones (2010, p. 113), the process of acquiring and retaining customers within an organization requires a high level of value offering. Customers have become very sensi tive of the value that they are offered. They only become loyal to firms which offer high value in the market. Value can be offered using various channels. Buttle (2011, p. 42) observes that one of the best ways of delivering value to the customers is through the product. Optus can consider offering value to its customers by ensuring that the value of their products is very high. Delivering value through product is one of the best ways that a firm can endear customers to it. Australians are high consumers of internet services. They prefer having an internet service provider that will offer a fast internet which is very reliable throughout the year. This is what Optus should offer. The service should be efficient and able to meet the demand of the market with a lot of ease. The market expects this firm to deliver very high communication services to the market.Advertising Looking for report on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More As such, the technical team of this firm should ensure that its customers using the call system are not affected by cases of a jammed network that may cause problems in communication. Quality service delivery always makes customers willing to pay premium prices because they always feel that the price is justified. As Ulaga (2011, p. 21) says, customers always want a firm that offers a product that is either above or within their expectation. The moment the product offered is below their expectation, they would consider it of poor standards, and as such, would consider going for alternative products. It is important for the management of Optus to realize that losing a customer to a competitor in this market can be very dangerous to its sustainability. Most of the customers who move away from the firm due to dissatisfaction rarely come back. The memory of their dissatisfaction would always keep them away from the firm for a very long time. For this reason, this firm should ensure that its products meet the expectations of the market. Optus has been keen on using communication related strategy in delivering value to its customers. The management of this firm has always maintained a close communication to its customers. The customer care unit has various channels through which its customers can communicate to the firm over the products offered to this firm.Advertising We will write a custom report sample on Customer Relationship Group Report specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More To enhance communication between the firm and its customers, the management of this firm has toll free numbers which allows customers to call this firm over any issue relating to the product. The firm has a well established call center where customers would have a direct communication with the management over service delivery. This has helped it win the loyalty of its customers. Whenever a customer who is dissatisfied calls, there is always an officer ready to offer detailed explanation and even apologies whenever there is need. This has helped it create a good rapport with the customers. Although process related strategy may not be very pronounced in this industry as a channels of offering value to the customers, the management of Optus has made an effort to use it. This firm has always ensured that its customers can generate extra value while consuming their products. For instance, those who use their internet bundle always get a bonus at specific hours when they can use the service free of charge. This is to help enhance the level of customer satisfaction. Integrating channels to deliver source of value is always important in ensuring that the firm gives maximum to the customers. According to Ellis (2010, p. 78), integrating the channels helps in maximizing the level of customers’ satisfaction. This scholar says that it can be very challenging when a firm ensures that it offers maximum satisfaction to customers, but lacks proper communication system to these customers. The value of the product may be high, but a customer may need some form of clarification from the firm.Advertising Looking for report on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More When this communication system is poor, it would be a source of dissatisfaction. Such a customer may consider using another firm which has appropriate communication system. Keller (1993, p. 12) says that these channels are integrated, and a firm needs to ensure that none is overemphasized over others. This is what Optus has been keen on in this market. Customer segmentation is always very important. Thomas (2007, p. 3) observes that different segments consider satisfaction from different fronts. The market segment with lower purchasing power always considers satisfaction on the basis of fair pricing and quantity of the product. On the other hand, the richer class always wants quality even if the price is high. When the management of Optus has conducted comprehensive market segmentation, the main issue that comes in should be how each segment views quality. The firm should then consider offering value to each market segment. Market segmentation should mostly be based on the purchasin g power when dealing with the telecommunication industry. Other demographical factors such as religion and culture may not have a substantial effect on the buyer behavior in this industry. Optus must realize that customer attraction and retention is the key to winning a larger market share to its side. Customer relationship management should be given a lot of attention by the top management of this firm because it is through this that the firm would be assured of its continuity. The management should make use of the recent technological developments to ensure that there is a constant and smooth communication with its market. Its website should be interactive enough to allow for a two way communication system with the firm. The management should also have active e-mailing system to enhance communication. Social media has become a very important platform for reaching out to the market. The management should therefore, integrate social media marketing in its communication system. Such social media as Facebook, Tweeter, YouTube and LinkedIn among others should be given enough focus as means of communication. List of References Buttle, F 2011, Customer Relationship Management: Concepts and Technologies. Elsevier Butterworth-Heinemann, Oxford. Ellis, N 2010, Business-to-business marketing: Relationships, networks and strategies, Oxford University Press, Oxford. Hill, C Jones, G 2010, Strategic management theory: an integrated approach, Houghton Mifflin, Boston. Hutt, M Speh, T 2013, Business Marketing Management, South- Western Learning, New York. Keller, K 1993, â€Å"Conceptualizing, Measuring, and Managing Customer-Based Brand Equity†, Journal of Marketing, vol. 57, no. 1, pp. 1-22. Web. Thomas, J 2007, Advertising Effectiveness, Decision Analyst. Web. Ulaga, W 2011, â€Å"Hybrid Offerings: How Manufacturing Firms Combine Goods and Services Successfully† Journal of Marketing, vol. 75, no. 6, pp. 5-23. Web.