Contemporary issues in marketing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Contemporary issues in marketing - Essay Example The definition of RM as stated by Gronroos (1994, p.22) is: "Relationship Marketing is to establish, maintain, and enhance relationships with customers and other partners, at a profit, so that the objectives of the parties involved are met. This is achieved by a mutual exchange and fulfilment of promises." Furthermore Harker (1999) was able to use the results of his research to build a new definition of RM. According to Harker (1999, p.16) RM is when an organisation is engaged in proactively creating, developing and maintaining committed, interactive and profitable exchanges with selected customers overtime." Gronroos (1994) further added to the RM debate when he recognised that marketing mix management was beginning to lose its position as the dominant marketing paradigm. He noted that relationship building and management, or "relationship marketing", was one leading new approach to marketing which was becoming increasingly popular amongst marketing literature (Gronroos, 1994). ... The Benefits of Relationship Marketing Reichheld and Kenny (1991) conducted their research and looked at the benefits derived by firms from retaining long-term loyal customers. They noted that contemporary strategies for improving profitability involved cost reduction and price increases. They found these strategies, while successful in the short-term actually undermined long-term profits (Reichheld & Kenny 1991). By comparing the performance between banks participating in the study (Reichheld & Kenny 1990-1991) found that those who focused on retaining deposit customers outperformed their competitors. Reichheld and Kenny (1991) attributed the increase in growth to the 'shifting of competition from the "open market" where the banks had little control,' to inside their branches, where they could exercise greater control. Reichheld and Kenny (1991, p.20) identified five key areas that affected long-term performance and increased profits. 1) Balances grow over time; 2) The expense of acquiring new customers is incurred only in the first year, therefore the longer the relationship the lower the amortised cost; 3) The cost of maintaining customers is somewhat fixed, therefore maintenance expenses decline as the relationship lengthens; 4) Long-term customers are more likely to expand their relationship to other products or services; and 5) Long-term customers are more likely to refer their friends and relatives to the bank. Reichheld and Kenny (1991) concluded by noting that the banks that successfully manage retention will establish themselves as growth and profit leaders within the retail banking industry. After recognising that RM literature focused predominantly on the benefits of customer loyalty from the perspective of the firm, Gwinner, Gremler, and Bitner (1998)

Paper about MSC Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Paper about MSC - Essay Example This paper will attempt to describe marine science and the recent challenge or challenges the field of study is facing. Marine science is also known as oceanography or oceanology. As the term connotes, it deals with the study of the ocean and involves a variety of topics across several disciplines that can influence processes in the ocean world. There are four branches of the disciplines; namely, biological, chemical, geological, and physical. The first has to do with the interaction of marine organisms with their environment under the seas. Chemical oceanography is the study of the chemical properties of the sea. Knowing this is important because the seas and things in it help in sustaining life on earth. The chemical make-up of anything from the ocean that man comes into contact with will help society understand, for example, its effect on man. Geological oceanography, meanwhile, is that branch which concerns itself with the ocean floor as well as the tectonic plates of the earth. Lastly, physical oceanography studies the physical characteristics of the seas like waves, temperature, currents, tides , etc. Studying the ocean and all that is in it is not a new discipline. As mentioned in the introduction, humans were already exposed to the seas and oceans in prehistoric times although the observations were mostly for purposes of map making and fishing. Proponents include Juan Ponce de Leon and Benjamin Franklin who were responsible for identifying and naming, respectively, the Gulf Stream. Written accounts of their sea travels serve as information from explorers like James Cook, Louis Antoine de Bougainville, James Rennell, Sir James Clark Ross, Charles Darwin, Robert FitzRoy and Matthew Fontaine Maury and have helped in enriching the knowledge base about the ocean and marine life. The contributions of these explorers have enabled oceanographers after them to prepare properly for