An Assessment Of The Effectiveness Of Relationship Marketing In Enhancing Company Performance (a Case Study Of Uba Plc)

ABSTRACT

The research design adopted for this study was descriptive survey with questionnaire as the instrument for gathering data. The population of the study comprised UBA employees both senior and junior staff. Out of which a sample of hundred (100) inhabitants were selected using accidental sampling technique. The data gathered via the research instrument “questionnaire” were analysed with simple percentage and simply mean of the Likert's four point scale method. Simple percentage was used for presenting/interpreting the bio data of respondents while the research questions raises were analysed using Simple mean of the Likert's four point scale. The following observation were made: impact of relationship marketing over the profitability would provide greater and newer aspect to the researcher. In addition the practices that are adopted by the companies for relationship marketing like introducing club card, membership and loyalty cards must also be assessed. This can also give insights to how the different tools within the relationship marketing have aided the company to increase sales, increase profits and to have loyal customer base. 

 

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

As the competitive environment becomes more turbulent, the most important issue the seller face is no longer to provide excellent, good quality products or services, but also to keep loyal customers who will contribute long-term profit to organizations (Tseng, 2007(. To compete in such overcrowded and interactive marketplace, marketers are forced to look beyond the traditional 4Ps of marketing strategy, which are not longer enough for achieving competitive advantage. Therefore, relationship marketing has become an alternative means for organizations to build strong, ongoing associations with their customers. As a part of marketing strategy, relationship marketing seeks to acquire and retain customers by providing good quality customer services, and therefore has become one of the key to success in acquiring strong competitiveness in the present markets, because of its implications for access to markets, generation of repeat purchase, creation of exit barriers, and the view that it benefits all parties (Andaleeb, 1996).

Relationship marketing is all about acquiring new customers and retaining existing customers. The concept of relationship marketing has received a great deal of attention from Scholars in the field of marketing. The concept has been investigated from many perspectives and examined in many ways indicating its conceptual and practical importance. Relationship marketing concept is based on the paradigm of a true balance between “giving and getting” as a key benefits to encourage an active role and is conducive in delivering two-way value, where loyalty is based on trust and partnership, will prove to be one of the most significant policies to be pursued in development and sustenance of competitive advantage (Ismail, 2009, Gronroos, 1994). According to Christopher et.al (2002), the real purpose of business is to create and sustain mutually beneficial relationships, especially with selected customers, with the main proposition which assume that successful relationship is the two-way flow of value.

Relationship marketing has received much attention in both academy and practice areas in the last few decades. It was during the last decade of the 20th century that relationship marketing began to dominate the marketing field (Egan, 2001). During this period relationship marketing became a major trend in marketing and management business (Ibid). relationship marketing is concerned about building customer loyalty by providing value to all the parties involved in the relationship exchanges (Peng and Wang, 2006), as customer loyalty is the final goal of relationship marketing. Buyers and sellers in markets achieve mutual benefits through developing relationships. Switching behavior occur in different stages of a partnership relationship. Relationship marketing tactics are thus approaches to apply relationship marketing in practice (Tseng, 2007). Effective customers-orientation relationship marketing tactics may help marketers to acquire customers, keep customers, and maximize customer profitability, and finally build up customer loyalty.

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