Collaborative consumption (CC) is a form of sharing in which participants jointly conduct service... more Collaborative consumption (CC) is a form of sharing in which participants jointly conduct services thereby creating a variety of benefits ranging from economic to social. CC has been widely studied in the hospitality industry, but yacht charter services have not been examined within this concept. Customer-to-customer interaction, which is an important element of the value-creation process, has not been discussed together with CC. The purpose of the study is to extend the concept of CC regarding yacht charter services as a new field of study. Blue Voyage, used as the research context, corresponds to a Turkish yacht charter concept that describes the circumstances in which voyagers live together in a limited space and share all services provided for a week. Twenty-four in-depth interviews were conducted with demographically diverse experienced or potential customers along with auto-ethnographic research. The data were analyzed via content analysis as a result of which three categories...
ABSTRACT Bu çalışmanın amacı, firmadaki beş temel departmanın (pazarlama, satış, Ar-Ge, üretim ve... more ABSTRACT Bu çalışmanın amacı, firmadaki beş temel departmanın (pazarlama, satış, Ar-Ge, üretim ve finans), pazarlamaya ilişkin kararlar üzerinde, ne derece etkisi olduğunu araştırmaktır. Herbir departmanın bu kararlar üzerindeki etki düzeyleri belirlenerek, departmanlar arası karşılaştırma yapılmakta ve herbir departmanın etkisinin firma performansı ile ilişkisi araştırılmaktadır. Bunun yanısıra, kararlardaki etkinin departmanlar arasında dağılmasının firma performansı üzerindeki etkisi araştırılmaktadır. Bu amaca yönelik olarak, Türkiye’de faaliyet gösteren 220 üretim firmasından, yapılandırılmış anket aracılığıyla toplanan veriler analiz edilmiştir. Analiz sonucunda, firmadaki pazarlamaya ilişkin kararlar üzerinde pazarlama ve satış departmanlarının oldukça etkili olduğu görülmektedir. Pazarlamanın, en çok etkili olduğu kararlar reklam ve en az etkili olduğu kararlar da ürün geliştirme kararlarıdır. Pazarlama ve satış departmanlarının kararlar üzerinde etkisi arttıkça firma performansının düştüğü, diğer departmanlarının etkisinin performans üzerinde bir etkiye sahip olmadığı bulgusuna ulaşılmıştır. Kararlar üzerindeki etkinin departmanlar arasında dağılması ile performans arasında da bir ilişkiye rastlanmamıştır. Çalışmanın sonunda uygulamacılar ve gelecek çalışmalar için önerilere yer verilmektedir.
Innovation performance is a potential source of competitive advantage for any firm. A capable mar... more Innovation performance is a potential source of competitive advantage for any firm. A capable marketing department (MD) can contribute significantly to the market success of the new products and services offered. Therefore, understanding the impact of marketing’s innovation-related capabilities in the innovation process is an important area of inquiry to achieve a more innovative and competitive company. This study examines the relations among relevant MD capabilities, marketing’s decision influence on innovation development and a firm’s innovation performance. The results indicate that the capabilities of the MD are strongly associated with the firm’s innovation performance. Our findings also demonstrate that marketing capabilities have a positive relationship with the department’s influence on innovation development. However, the department’s influence on innovation decisions has no effect on the firm’s innovation performance. We proposed a moderated mediation model considering a ...
Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the elements of user manual quality and its i... more Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the elements of user manual quality and its influences on perceived product quality and customer satisfaction in an integrated model structure. Design/methodology/approach Survey method was used to evaluate user manual quality and its influences on perceived product quality and customer satisfaction. Electrical appliances consumers were chosen in our sample. Factor analysis and structural equation modeling were performed to introduce, test and validate the user manual quality dimensions and also test the hypotheses. Findings The findings show a positive significant relation between user manual quality and perceived product quality, and this result demonstrates that consumers perceive user manual quality as a part of their quality evaluation related to the product. The results point out that user manual quality is essential for both low- and high-value products regarding customer satisfaction. The findings also reveal that perceived...
Innovation and its impacts on business performance are strategically vital deliberations for mode... more Innovation and its impacts on business performance are strategically vital deliberations for modern business organizations. In this study, we examine how innovation performance affects two different facets of firm performance: market performance and financial performance. Many studies address the relationship between innovation and business performance, but few empirical studies analyze the interplay between those variables. Research results reveal a suppression effect of market performance on the innovation–financial performance relationship. We find a negative direct relationship between innovation and financial performance; however, market performance reverses this negative effect to a positive total influence through its suppression effect. This result indicates the vital role of market performance in converting innovation to positive financial outcomes. The proposed mediation model is relevant regardless of the set of firm-level and environmental contingency variables.
Contemporary research in industrial and services marketing indicates that a relational approach t... more Contemporary research in industrial and services marketing indicates that a relational approach to marketing is required. These two streams of contemporary research have resulted long-term relationship recognition as key to competitive strength. Proposed new faces of marketing have changed its role and influenced the relationship between the theory and marketing as a management task. Marketing managers in the new era must understand a broader perspective of marketing. S/he will be an integrator, organizer, master of information and most importantly, a relationship manager. This paper’s contribution to the field is its comprehensive up-to-date review of the managerial issues in today’s marketing domain.
Information gathering has fundamental effects on travel-related decision-making process. When des... more Information gathering has fundamental effects on travel-related decision-making process. When destinations use the Internet effectively, they possibly enjoy more successful destination marketing processes, more concentrated branding and promotion efforts, as well as a diversified destination image. Websites of city destinations can contain various features, including attractions, accommodation and transportation information, downloadable materials, maps, etc. A website design that is rich in content may attract prospective visitors, stimulate repeat visit intentions, and extend the duration of stay. This study primarily aims to analyze the features that are relevant to the contents of city destinations’ websites and to generate a framework for website evaluation of city destinations. The Internet provides opportunities for virtually endless creative and diverse applications; however, most city destinations’ websites do not adequately engage in such efforts, and they are almost ident...
Customer (account) relationships have been evaluated as a strategic asset for companies particula... more Customer (account) relationships have been evaluated as a strategic asset for companies particularly competing in business to business context for three decades or so. Customer portfolio analysis has potential to provide valuable insights for evaluating account relationships and more efficient resource allocation decisions. The paper suggests a use of portfolio analysis as a strategic management tool for decision making and illustrates how the customer portfolio technique can be developed by a logistics company. The study uses a two-step customer portfolio analysis. First, all of 62 customers of a logistics company were classified according to their strategic importance and the difficulty of managing the relationship. This matrix define company’s key account portfolio. Then, key accounts of the company were analyzed using a second portfolio, including the dimensions of strength of the buyer-supplier relationship and customer attractiveness. Simultaneous consideration of the both dimensions may reveal the current situation of relationships, suggest directions for allocating resources, and generate sound strategies for key account relationships. Such a concurrent evaluation exposes not only the strengths and weaknesses of the company’s customer relationships, but also guides accurate directions to and investments in relationships. The study attempts to reach valuable insights for overall customer portfolio of the case company and facilitates evaluating key account relationships. Since, each relationship requires different types and degrees of investment and produces different outcomes the study arrives at sound evaluations of individual customers.
The Account Portfolio Management (APM) process deals with grouping customers and developing meani... more The Account Portfolio Management (APM) process deals with grouping customers and developing meaningful strategies for each group incorporated into resource allocation decisions to meet marketing objectives. Portfolio techniques offer a convenient and comprehensible framework for strategic decision making. This chapter presents a comprehensive guide to developing customer portfolios using variables identified in previous studies. The chapter also illustrates implications for marketing strategies and future resource allocation for strategic account portfolio. Portfolio approach may reveal necessary actions for the necessary relationships and may streamline the decision-making process for suppliers’ account portfolio. Each customer relationship requires different types and degrees of investment and produces different outcomes. Hence, the chapter emphasises customer heterogeneity in the business-to-business marketing context and arrives at sound evaluations of individual customers.
ABSTRACT The role, effectiveness and credibility of the marketing function within a firm have bee... more ABSTRACT The role, effectiveness and credibility of the marketing function within a firm have been the focus of scholarly research and practitioners' attention in marketing and both researchers and practitioners argue that the marketing department's reputation has been besmirched in recent years. This study makes an initial attempt to empirically investigate antecedents and consequences of the marketing department's reputation within the firm. We put forward the notion that the marketing department's reputation is a key factor in the junction of the departmental influence and power-oriented research streams. The results indicate that the customer connection capability, accountability and status of the marketing department are positively related to its reputation in the firm. Conversely, the variable of the resources controlled by marketing is negatively associated with the department's reputation. The results further show that a reputable marketing department is associated with improved market performance regardless of the generic strategy pursued by the firm. Development of departmental capabilities is vital for marketing to be a respected department in the organization. Marketers also have to build favorable perceptions on and beyond their capabilities within the firm and upper echelons.
PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to design a comprehensive responsibilities inventory for toda... more PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to design a comprehensive responsibilities inventory for today's marketing managers, from which it develops factual inferences for the role of marketing in corporations.Design/methodology/approachA content analysis on online job announcements is used to define the role inventory of the marketing manager.FindingsThe findings reveal that marketing managers are responsible for six role dimensions in the organization. The marketing manager's assigned roles are for the management of promotion‐related activities of the company, rather than for managing other marketing mix elements. Communicational and relational (internal and external) role clusters are the most frequently addressed of marketing managers' responsibilities. Knowledge development and injection of market and marketing knowledge into the company's value network is another of the major role dimensions. Increasing financial pressures on companies mean that the outcomes of mark...
Journal of Business Economics and Management, 2013
This study explores which metrics are considered important in measuring marketing performance in ... more This study explores which metrics are considered important in measuring marketing performance in Turkish firms. In addition, the study examines the effects of sectoral differences and market dynamism, and the relationship between the importance attached to metrics and firm performance. The data collected from a sample of 145 Turkish firms via a structured questionnaire derived from the literature reveals that the most importance is attached to consumers’ attitudes metrics. Economic value added and customer lifetime value are the least important metrics in performance evaluation. No significant relationship occurs between the importance that executives attach to metrics and firm performance. Managerial implications and future research opportunities will be presented at the end. The study is, as far as is known, the first attempt at aiming to explore marketing metrics in Turkey, and one of a limited number of studies in emerging economies.
ABSTRACT Corporate reputation has long been recognized as a valuable asset, and several studies h... more ABSTRACT Corporate reputation has long been recognized as a valuable asset, and several studies have inves-tigated the relationship between reputation and various performance measures. However, research-ers have reached conflicting results for companies in ...
The study attempts to evaluate yacht charter service attributes considering the service quality, ... more The study attempts to evaluate yacht charter service attributes considering the service quality, customer satisfaction, and loyalty three-leg framework. Besides visited destinations, the service concept is enlarged with social servicescape dimensions of interaction quality and customer similarity for a holistic approach. A self-administered questionnaire was provided to 359 customers, and the relationships in the research model were tested via structural equation modeling. The results showed that satisfaction depends on the interaction quality, which is strongly related to the similarity between other customers, as well as the quality of the service elements and the attractiveness of the visited destination. This study presents a pioneering research attempt focusing on the influence of customer-to-customer interaction and customer similarity on yacht charter services. Findings of the study provide a theoretical contribution, highlighting the importance of customer-to-customer interaction for service appraisals of customers. Theoretical and practical implications for interaction-dominant services are discussed.
This study investigates the impact of customer-to-customer interaction (CCI) related risks on the... more This study investigates the impact of customer-to-customer interaction (CCI) related risks on the value perceptions of yacht voyagers. The present study also addresses the interplay with perceived value and other service outcomes, i.e., trust and loyalty. Data were collected from 359 voyagers and the model was tested via structural equation modeling. The results reveal that service-related and psychosocial risk dimensions are negatively associated with perceived value and CCI significantly influences other risk dimensions. Perceived value influences both trust and loyalty and trust has a significant impact on loyalty. The findings demonstrate the importance of CCI risks for high interaction services.
Collaborative consumption (CC) is a form of sharing in which participants jointly conduct service... more Collaborative consumption (CC) is a form of sharing in which participants jointly conduct services thereby creating a variety of benefits ranging from economic to social. CC has been widely studied in the hospitality industry, but yacht charter services have not been examined within this concept. Customer-to-customer interaction, which is an important element of the value-creation process, has not been discussed together with CC. The purpose of the study is to extend the concept of CC regarding yacht charter services as a new field of study. Blue Voyage, used as the research context, corresponds to a Turkish yacht charter concept that describes the circumstances in which voyagers live together in a limited space and share all services provided for a week. Twenty-four in-depth interviews were conducted with demographically diverse experienced or potential customers along with auto-ethnographic research. The data were analyzed via content analysis as a result of which three categories...
ABSTRACT Bu çalışmanın amacı, firmadaki beş temel departmanın (pazarlama, satış, Ar-Ge, üretim ve... more ABSTRACT Bu çalışmanın amacı, firmadaki beş temel departmanın (pazarlama, satış, Ar-Ge, üretim ve finans), pazarlamaya ilişkin kararlar üzerinde, ne derece etkisi olduğunu araştırmaktır. Herbir departmanın bu kararlar üzerindeki etki düzeyleri belirlenerek, departmanlar arası karşılaştırma yapılmakta ve herbir departmanın etkisinin firma performansı ile ilişkisi araştırılmaktadır. Bunun yanısıra, kararlardaki etkinin departmanlar arasında dağılmasının firma performansı üzerindeki etkisi araştırılmaktadır. Bu amaca yönelik olarak, Türkiye’de faaliyet gösteren 220 üretim firmasından, yapılandırılmış anket aracılığıyla toplanan veriler analiz edilmiştir. Analiz sonucunda, firmadaki pazarlamaya ilişkin kararlar üzerinde pazarlama ve satış departmanlarının oldukça etkili olduğu görülmektedir. Pazarlamanın, en çok etkili olduğu kararlar reklam ve en az etkili olduğu kararlar da ürün geliştirme kararlarıdır. Pazarlama ve satış departmanlarının kararlar üzerinde etkisi arttıkça firma performansının düştüğü, diğer departmanlarının etkisinin performans üzerinde bir etkiye sahip olmadığı bulgusuna ulaşılmıştır. Kararlar üzerindeki etkinin departmanlar arasında dağılması ile performans arasında da bir ilişkiye rastlanmamıştır. Çalışmanın sonunda uygulamacılar ve gelecek çalışmalar için önerilere yer verilmektedir.
Innovation performance is a potential source of competitive advantage for any firm. A capable mar... more Innovation performance is a potential source of competitive advantage for any firm. A capable marketing department (MD) can contribute significantly to the market success of the new products and services offered. Therefore, understanding the impact of marketing’s innovation-related capabilities in the innovation process is an important area of inquiry to achieve a more innovative and competitive company. This study examines the relations among relevant MD capabilities, marketing’s decision influence on innovation development and a firm’s innovation performance. The results indicate that the capabilities of the MD are strongly associated with the firm’s innovation performance. Our findings also demonstrate that marketing capabilities have a positive relationship with the department’s influence on innovation development. However, the department’s influence on innovation decisions has no effect on the firm’s innovation performance. We proposed a moderated mediation model considering a ...
Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the elements of user manual quality and its i... more Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the elements of user manual quality and its influences on perceived product quality and customer satisfaction in an integrated model structure. Design/methodology/approach Survey method was used to evaluate user manual quality and its influences on perceived product quality and customer satisfaction. Electrical appliances consumers were chosen in our sample. Factor analysis and structural equation modeling were performed to introduce, test and validate the user manual quality dimensions and also test the hypotheses. Findings The findings show a positive significant relation between user manual quality and perceived product quality, and this result demonstrates that consumers perceive user manual quality as a part of their quality evaluation related to the product. The results point out that user manual quality is essential for both low- and high-value products regarding customer satisfaction. The findings also reveal that perceived...
Innovation and its impacts on business performance are strategically vital deliberations for mode... more Innovation and its impacts on business performance are strategically vital deliberations for modern business organizations. In this study, we examine how innovation performance affects two different facets of firm performance: market performance and financial performance. Many studies address the relationship between innovation and business performance, but few empirical studies analyze the interplay between those variables. Research results reveal a suppression effect of market performance on the innovation–financial performance relationship. We find a negative direct relationship between innovation and financial performance; however, market performance reverses this negative effect to a positive total influence through its suppression effect. This result indicates the vital role of market performance in converting innovation to positive financial outcomes. The proposed mediation model is relevant regardless of the set of firm-level and environmental contingency variables.
Contemporary research in industrial and services marketing indicates that a relational approach t... more Contemporary research in industrial and services marketing indicates that a relational approach to marketing is required. These two streams of contemporary research have resulted long-term relationship recognition as key to competitive strength. Proposed new faces of marketing have changed its role and influenced the relationship between the theory and marketing as a management task. Marketing managers in the new era must understand a broader perspective of marketing. S/he will be an integrator, organizer, master of information and most importantly, a relationship manager. This paper’s contribution to the field is its comprehensive up-to-date review of the managerial issues in today’s marketing domain.
Information gathering has fundamental effects on travel-related decision-making process. When des... more Information gathering has fundamental effects on travel-related decision-making process. When destinations use the Internet effectively, they possibly enjoy more successful destination marketing processes, more concentrated branding and promotion efforts, as well as a diversified destination image. Websites of city destinations can contain various features, including attractions, accommodation and transportation information, downloadable materials, maps, etc. A website design that is rich in content may attract prospective visitors, stimulate repeat visit intentions, and extend the duration of stay. This study primarily aims to analyze the features that are relevant to the contents of city destinations’ websites and to generate a framework for website evaluation of city destinations. The Internet provides opportunities for virtually endless creative and diverse applications; however, most city destinations’ websites do not adequately engage in such efforts, and they are almost ident...
Customer (account) relationships have been evaluated as a strategic asset for companies particula... more Customer (account) relationships have been evaluated as a strategic asset for companies particularly competing in business to business context for three decades or so. Customer portfolio analysis has potential to provide valuable insights for evaluating account relationships and more efficient resource allocation decisions. The paper suggests a use of portfolio analysis as a strategic management tool for decision making and illustrates how the customer portfolio technique can be developed by a logistics company. The study uses a two-step customer portfolio analysis. First, all of 62 customers of a logistics company were classified according to their strategic importance and the difficulty of managing the relationship. This matrix define company’s key account portfolio. Then, key accounts of the company were analyzed using a second portfolio, including the dimensions of strength of the buyer-supplier relationship and customer attractiveness. Simultaneous consideration of the both dimensions may reveal the current situation of relationships, suggest directions for allocating resources, and generate sound strategies for key account relationships. Such a concurrent evaluation exposes not only the strengths and weaknesses of the company’s customer relationships, but also guides accurate directions to and investments in relationships. The study attempts to reach valuable insights for overall customer portfolio of the case company and facilitates evaluating key account relationships. Since, each relationship requires different types and degrees of investment and produces different outcomes the study arrives at sound evaluations of individual customers.
The Account Portfolio Management (APM) process deals with grouping customers and developing meani... more The Account Portfolio Management (APM) process deals with grouping customers and developing meaningful strategies for each group incorporated into resource allocation decisions to meet marketing objectives. Portfolio techniques offer a convenient and comprehensible framework for strategic decision making. This chapter presents a comprehensive guide to developing customer portfolios using variables identified in previous studies. The chapter also illustrates implications for marketing strategies and future resource allocation for strategic account portfolio. Portfolio approach may reveal necessary actions for the necessary relationships and may streamline the decision-making process for suppliers’ account portfolio. Each customer relationship requires different types and degrees of investment and produces different outcomes. Hence, the chapter emphasises customer heterogeneity in the business-to-business marketing context and arrives at sound evaluations of individual customers.
ABSTRACT The role, effectiveness and credibility of the marketing function within a firm have bee... more ABSTRACT The role, effectiveness and credibility of the marketing function within a firm have been the focus of scholarly research and practitioners' attention in marketing and both researchers and practitioners argue that the marketing department's reputation has been besmirched in recent years. This study makes an initial attempt to empirically investigate antecedents and consequences of the marketing department's reputation within the firm. We put forward the notion that the marketing department's reputation is a key factor in the junction of the departmental influence and power-oriented research streams. The results indicate that the customer connection capability, accountability and status of the marketing department are positively related to its reputation in the firm. Conversely, the variable of the resources controlled by marketing is negatively associated with the department's reputation. The results further show that a reputable marketing department is associated with improved market performance regardless of the generic strategy pursued by the firm. Development of departmental capabilities is vital for marketing to be a respected department in the organization. Marketers also have to build favorable perceptions on and beyond their capabilities within the firm and upper echelons.
PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to design a comprehensive responsibilities inventory for toda... more PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to design a comprehensive responsibilities inventory for today's marketing managers, from which it develops factual inferences for the role of marketing in corporations.Design/methodology/approachA content analysis on online job announcements is used to define the role inventory of the marketing manager.FindingsThe findings reveal that marketing managers are responsible for six role dimensions in the organization. The marketing manager's assigned roles are for the management of promotion‐related activities of the company, rather than for managing other marketing mix elements. Communicational and relational (internal and external) role clusters are the most frequently addressed of marketing managers' responsibilities. Knowledge development and injection of market and marketing knowledge into the company's value network is another of the major role dimensions. Increasing financial pressures on companies mean that the outcomes of mark...
Journal of Business Economics and Management, 2013
This study explores which metrics are considered important in measuring marketing performance in ... more This study explores which metrics are considered important in measuring marketing performance in Turkish firms. In addition, the study examines the effects of sectoral differences and market dynamism, and the relationship between the importance attached to metrics and firm performance. The data collected from a sample of 145 Turkish firms via a structured questionnaire derived from the literature reveals that the most importance is attached to consumers’ attitudes metrics. Economic value added and customer lifetime value are the least important metrics in performance evaluation. No significant relationship occurs between the importance that executives attach to metrics and firm performance. Managerial implications and future research opportunities will be presented at the end. The study is, as far as is known, the first attempt at aiming to explore marketing metrics in Turkey, and one of a limited number of studies in emerging economies.
ABSTRACT Corporate reputation has long been recognized as a valuable asset, and several studies h... more ABSTRACT Corporate reputation has long been recognized as a valuable asset, and several studies have inves-tigated the relationship between reputation and various performance measures. However, research-ers have reached conflicting results for companies in ...
The study attempts to evaluate yacht charter service attributes considering the service quality, ... more The study attempts to evaluate yacht charter service attributes considering the service quality, customer satisfaction, and loyalty three-leg framework. Besides visited destinations, the service concept is enlarged with social servicescape dimensions of interaction quality and customer similarity for a holistic approach. A self-administered questionnaire was provided to 359 customers, and the relationships in the research model were tested via structural equation modeling. The results showed that satisfaction depends on the interaction quality, which is strongly related to the similarity between other customers, as well as the quality of the service elements and the attractiveness of the visited destination. This study presents a pioneering research attempt focusing on the influence of customer-to-customer interaction and customer similarity on yacht charter services. Findings of the study provide a theoretical contribution, highlighting the importance of customer-to-customer interaction for service appraisals of customers. Theoretical and practical implications for interaction-dominant services are discussed.
This study investigates the impact of customer-to-customer interaction (CCI) related risks on the... more This study investigates the impact of customer-to-customer interaction (CCI) related risks on the value perceptions of yacht voyagers. The present study also addresses the interplay with perceived value and other service outcomes, i.e., trust and loyalty. Data were collected from 359 voyagers and the model was tested via structural equation modeling. The results reveal that service-related and psychosocial risk dimensions are negatively associated with perceived value and CCI significantly influences other risk dimensions. Perceived value influences both trust and loyalty and trust has a significant impact on loyalty. The findings demonstrate the importance of CCI risks for high interaction services.
This chapter attempts to put forward the customer orientation in designing online education (OE) ... more This chapter attempts to put forward the customer orientation in designing online education (OE) services. The study also tries to reflect an in-depth understanding about the vital role of marketing practices on the online education programs (OEPs) and to show the online education administrators, coordinators, and practitioners the significance of building customer orientation for distance education courses. For this purpose, this chapter ties the key titles of marketing area of knowledge and relevant literature on OEPs. Customer behavior in OE services, positioning OEPs, branding, pricing, and promoting of OE services, designing a customer oriented online environment and managing customer interactions and people factor in OE services are the issues covered throughout the chapter. This marketing and customer orientation can be particularly significant for education industry where marketing applications and culture are not well established and appreciated. The chapter argues that OE service providers require well designed marketing strategies and should differentiate the institution and the programs from competition. Hence, designing successful OEPs relies heavily on building an organization-wide customer orientation and a significant marketing perspective.
The Account Portfolio Management (APM) process deals with grouping customers and developing meani... more The Account Portfolio Management (APM) process deals with grouping customers and developing meaningful strategies for each group incorporated into resource allocation decisions to meet marketing objectives. Portfolio techniques offer a convenient and comprehensible framework for strategic decision making. This chapter presents a comprehensive guide to developing customer portfolios using variables identified in previous studies. The chapter also illustrates implications for marketing strategies and future resource allocation for strategic account portfolio. Portfolio approach may reveal necessary actions for the necessary relationships and may streamline the decision-making process for suppliers’ account portfolio. Each customer relationship requires different types and degrees of investment and produces different outcomes (Cannon & Perreault, 1999). Hence, the chapter emphasises customer heterogeneity in the business-to-business marketing context and arrives at sound evaluations of individual customers.
Customer (account) relationships have been evaluated as a strategic asset for companies particula... more Customer (account) relationships have been evaluated as a strategic asset for companies particularly competing in business to business context for three decades or so. Customer portfolio analysis has potential to provide valuable insights for evaluating account relationships and more efficient resource allocation decisions. The paper suggests a use of portfolio analysis as a strategic management tool for decision making and illustrates how the customer portfolio technique can be developed by a logistics company. The study uses a two-step customer portfolio analysis. First, all of 62 customers of a logistics company were classified according to their strategic importance and the difficulty of managing the relationship. This matrix define company’s key account portfolio. Then, key accounts of the company were analyzed using a second portfolio, including the dimensions of strength of the buyer-supplier relationship and customer attractiveness. Simultaneous consideration of the both dimensions may reveal the current situation of relationships, suggest directions for allocating resources, and generate sound strategies for key account relationships. Such a concurrent evaluation exposes not only the strengths and weaknesses of the company’s customer relationships, but also guides accurate directions to and investments in relationships. The study attempts to reach valuable insights for overall customer portfolio of the case company and facilitates evaluating key account relationships. Since, each relationship requires different types and degrees of investment and produces different outcomes the study arrives at sound evaluations of individual customers.
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The study also tries to reflect an in-depth understanding about the vital role of marketing practices on
the online education programs (OEPs) and to show the online education administrators, coordinators,
and practitioners the significance of building customer orientation for distance education courses. For
this purpose, this chapter ties the key titles of marketing area of knowledge and relevant literature on
OEPs. Customer behavior in OE services, positioning OEPs, branding, pricing, and promoting of OE
services, designing a customer oriented online environment and managing customer interactions and
people factor in OE services are the issues covered throughout the chapter. This marketing and customer
orientation can be particularly significant for education industry where marketing applications and
culture are not well established and appreciated.
The chapter argues that OE service providers require well designed marketing strategies and should
differentiate the institution and the programs from competition. Hence, designing successful OEPs relies
heavily on building an organization-wide customer orientation and a significant marketing perspective.