• Once the optimal product or service has been developed in conjunction with brand identity, there is the question of how to get the word out to potential customers. Promotions and incentives—such as special offers, sweepstakes, and price discounting—can be deployed in the short term to garner initial interest. They can be especially effective for product launches in areas where many rivals fight for shelf space, such as household cleaning and candy.
• One of the oldest strategies for communicating with customers is word of mouth.

Case study: Selfridges: Historically, the process of wooing customers took place face-to-face on the store floor, and department stores led the way at the turn of the 19th century. Selfridges in London was designed from scratch to give shoppers, especially women, a rush of excitement. The store not only offered desirable products to buy, but a complete experience that allowed customers to fantasize about a more luxurious lifestyle. Department store owners Harry Gordon Selfridge (1857–1947), who founded Selfridges in London in 1909, and Marshall Field (1834–1906), who in 1865 started the store bearing his name in Chicago, are both credited with coining the phrase, “the customer is always right,” which has come to mean that it is cheaper to retain a customer than find a new one. In an era of overblown product claims it was an approach designed to attract the burgeoning middle classes. However, since the 1990s marketers have adopted a more discriminating approach to customers in the belief that the customer is not always right. Each customer can be measured by their individual return on investment (ROI) or lifetime value, allowing customer-service efforts to focus on the more profitable patrons. Using ROI, some businesses differentiate between customers who are always right and those who are not worth listening to.

a., One of the most powerful emotional drivers in wooing a customer is money—the promise of getting more for less is hard for most people to resist. Coca-Cola is credited with introducing the first such enticement in 1887, with a coupon for a free glass of cola. In the case of Wal-Mart founder Sam Walton (1918–92), saving the customer money was at the core of his business plan and this strategy is credited with making him one of the most successful merchants of the late 20th century. “The idea was simple,” he explained. “When customers thought of Wal-Mart, they should think of low prices and satisfaction guaranteed. They could be pretty sure they wouldn’t find it cheaper anywhere else, and if they didn’t like it, they could bring it back.”

b., The quality of the product or service being sold is another emotional force for customers. Unlike price, which must be consistently kept low for sustained customer commitment, quality must be kept high for a long and happy marriage between producer and end user. The founder of Selfridges, Harry Gordon Selfridge, advised: “Remember always that the recollection of quality remains long after the price is forgotten. Then your business will prosper by a natural process.” In the early 1980s, industries first quantified the impact of product quality on profitability through studies such as PIMS (Profit Impact of Market Strategy). Before this time, “quality” was not usually a high priority for industry leaders, but as research continued to show the clear link to profitability, product quality became an essential factor in strategies for attracting and keeping customers

• In the age of social media, generating buzz about a new product or service increasingly relies on reaching specific groups through Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and other online means, and encouraging them to spread the word. When a branded video goes viral, the potential global reach runs into tens of millions. If relatively low-cost communications methods like this are effective, it can lead marketers to ask, why advertise?
• But for long-term image building, and for reinforcing brand values, advertising still has a role to play. For example, a sustained advertising plan can take an audience from children to adults with recognizable slogans, jingles, and formats.

Case study: Kit Kat: An outstanding example of image building through long-term advertising is Nestlé’s Kit Kat. Most people in the countries where this slogan was used will probably be able to finish the product’s tagline, “Have a break—have a Kit Kat.” One reason the slogan is so well known in the UK is that it has been in use since 1957, forming an important part of the brand’s advertising and marketing ever since.

• Businesses must carefully consider the messages that they send to customers and their rivals, since the marketplace can judge them harshly. Companies found to have acted dishonestly or conveyed partial truths about their eco-credentials can be accused of “greenwashing,” and will find it hard to win back public opinion. In fact, no matter how appealing a company’s sales proposition, consumers increasingly want the people they buy from to have a social conscience. For this reason, it is vital for management to consider the role of ethics within the organization, and to develop the company’s code of behavior toward suppliers, employees, consumers, and the community. Although shareholders may see corporate responsibility as the least important commercial priority, it is now an integral part of the marketer’sstrategy for successful selling.

Case study: Green advertising: In the years after the release of the 1987 United Nations Brundtland Report calling for protection of the environment, the volume of green advertising and campaigns increased dramatically. Between 1989 and 1990, green product launches in the US doubled. They continued to expand through the early 1990s, buoyed by market research showing that consumers were interested in environmentally responsible products. By the mid-1990s, however, several key studies revealed that there was an inconsistency between consumer intent and consumer action when it came to paying higher prices for green products. There were also worries over the negative effect that green strategies might have on the attitudes of shareholders. These factors may have led to a form of greenwashing where organizations make genuine but minor changes to products or processes to present a green face, but do not let environmental issues dent the bottom line.

• Developing customer relationships: Today, a major part of promotion is developing long-term relationships with customers so that they make repeat purchases and are open to cross-selling of related products. Tools for developing customer relationships include:
  • building a brand identity that the customer will relate to (e.g. through sponsorship and endorsements)
  • frequency programs (e.g. frequent-flyer programs on airlines)
  • forming communities of buyers (e.g. consumer chat rooms on the Internet, or meetings of owners of Harley Davidson motorbikes)
  • affinity marketing (= attracting customers on the basis of their own interests, for example linking a credit card to a favourite charity)
  • individualized advertising based on previous purchases (e.g. Amazon’s book suggestions)
  • co-marketing with another company (.e.g giving away a toy at McDonalds that links to a new Disney film)
  • using a CRM software to give the customer a more personal experience when they contact the company.
• Customer Relationship Management / One-to-one marketing
  • Companies in all industries today are faced with the double problem of declining customer loyalty and shrinking profit margins.
  • One-to-one marketing strategies enable companies to create long-term, mutually beneficial relationships with customers. These result in greater customer loyalty and improved margins.
  • These companies create a customer feedback loop – learning relationship process – it has four basic implementation steps (IDIC)

a., identify your customers at all points of contact

b., differentiate between your customers based on their individual needs and value to your organization

c., interact with your customers in a two-way dialogue

d., customize / tailor some aspect of your products or services based on what you learn from your customers

• CRM technology supports a CRM strategy by gathering, storing and analyzing customer data. Front office systems, such as call centres or loyalty cards gather information directly from clients, which is then stored and processed in a back office system called a database or data warehouse.
• The marketing department can use software tools to mine the data stored in the data warehouse. Data mining reveals patterns in customer behaviour. Relationship marketers can then tailor or customize their marketing efforts towards the customer. With CRM technology, mass customization is possible.

• E-commerce and M-commerce: The term e-commerce (electronic commerce) refers to all buying and selling done on the Internet. M-commerce (mobile commerce) specifically involves transactions that are made through a mobile telecommunications network. These transactions can range from the small, such as making an eBay purchase, to the potentially huge, such as trading stocks and shares. M-commerce works in a similar way to e-commerce, with websites and apps adapted or originated for mobile and handheld devices. It can also include direct carrier billing, when purchases can be added to a cell-phone bill. Another function is tap-to-pay, where a customer makes payments using a mobile device that has been installed with credit card information via a program such as Google Wallet. The customer holds the device against a paypoint enabled with a technology called near field communication (NFC); this establishes a radio connection between the two devices to complete a transaction.

The sudden and explosive growth of m-commerce can be attributed to several factors.

a., consumer adoption of smartphones and tablets is increasing;

b., more and more people access the Internet with mobile devices rather than with desktop computers;

c., and customers have become more used to shopping on the move, enjoying the convenience and immediacy it provides. People are also placing more trust in the service.

Case study: Mobile banking: The banking sector has helped to power m-commerce from the start, when Merita Bank of Finland launched the first cell-phone-based banking service using SMS in 1997. Since then, the key challenges for developers have been security (providing a safe environment for transactions); technology (developing crossplatform banking apps that will work on any cell phone); and innovation (finding new and improved ways to link digital banking with retail suppliers and provide a personalized service for consumers). La Caixa bank in Spain has introduced contactless ATMs, allowing customers to withdraw cash with a tap of their cell phone. They can also buy tickets to events, select seats, and show a QR code to access venues. In Australia, Commonwealth Bank customers can make tap-and-go payments at retailers. Mobile banking is evolving so users can make payments irrespective of which bank they use or which retailers they go to.

Case study: M-Pesa: Given that the biggest increase in smartphone sales has been in emerging markets such as China, India, and Africa, it is not surprising that these regions are considered growth hubs for m-commerce. In China, expanding ranks of middleclass youths are fueling a rapid expansion of mobile transactions, while in Africa, e-commerce has been virtually bypassed in favor of m-commerce. In some African countries, in the absence of a conventional banking infrastructure, cell phones have created an informal banking system. In 2007, the leading mobile network provider in Kenya, Safaricom, set up a mobile banking service called M-Pesa. Money loaded onto the phone can be used to make purchases or transfer funds. Currently, M-Pesa operates in Kenya, Tanzania, Afghanistan, South Africa, and India, with plans by Safaricom stakeholder Vodafone to roll out the service internationally. As this example indicates, the longterm implication of m-commerce could be a global cashless society.

 Exercise 1: Marketing Quiz 2

1. This new CRM system will hopefully increase our __________________________ ( = help us to become more productive). 

a., productivity

b., inclination

c., propensity

2. This new software will provide us with the __________________________ we need to help customers quickly. 
a., tolls
b., tools
c., tails

3. By __________________________ certain processes ( = not doing them manually), we save a lot of time.
a., automating
b., automation
c., automatic

4. The new CRM software will allow us to create trouble tickets for each __________________________ ( = problem) that comes up.
a., idea
b., issue
c., info

5. When you __________________________ an open ticket, you're following the progress of the open ticket.
a., trick
b., trap
c., track

6. P1: Are the open tickets __________________________ by case number? P2: No, they're __________________________ by date. 
a., errant
b., aroused
c., arranged

7. To find out more about the team's performance = To gain __________________________ into the team's performance 

a., visibility or insight
b., vis-a-vis or inform
c., virulence or inspect

8. To __________________________ a case means to send the case to someone (like a manager, boss, etc.) for review. After you __________________________ the case to the appropriate person, you should send an email to that person notifying him/her of this.
a., escape
b., escalate
c., scale

9. After you __________________________ an issue ( = solve a problem), make sure you close the ticket.
a., respond
b., revoke
c., resolve

10. P1: I need to access the CRM system from home. P2: No problem, you can access the system __________________________. 
a., remotely
b., remedially
c., remorsefully

 Video 1: The Joneses

1. The Joneses is a film which critiques consumer culture. The “family” is seen by the outsiders as just another family. Instead they are actually advertisers engaged in “under the radar” marketing. While this may seem outlandish, it is in fact already occurring. What kinds of defenses can we develop to combat these attempts to sell us products?
2. How realistic is this sort of manipulation? Can you imagine that there is a company willing to go to these lengths to market products?
3. The neighbours in the community the Joneses were living in respond to the suicide with anger, and shock. Are they in anyway culpable for the death? What about the wife? She is certainly harmed by her husband’s death and yet she was all along wanting the life of the Joneses.
4. If the “family” had been less stereotypically attractive would the neighbors been as easily duped? What does this mean with regard to how advertisers play on our biases when choosing models for us to emulate?