3. Needs, wants, demands; customer Value and requirements to the creation of this process.

Wants  needs (or basic human requirements) dedicated to special purpose.

4. Relationship marketing theory and practice: customer satisfaction and retention; the basic principles of crm.

Customer satisfaction and retention. Customer satisfaction depends on the product’s perceived performance relative to a buyer’s expectations. Satisfied customers buy again and tell others about their good experiences. Dissatisfied customers often switch to competitors. Usually levels of customer satisfaction lead to greater customer loyalty (or retention), which in turn results in better company performance. Smart companies aim to delight customers by promising only what they can deliver and then delivering more than they promise. Customer satisfaction comes not just from service heroics, but from how well a company delivers on its basic value proposition and helps customers solve their buying problems. Thus they’ll spread the word about their good experiences to others. For example, year after year, JetBlue Airways ranks at or near the top of the airline industry in terms of customer satisfaction. The company’s slogan—“JetBlue: YOU ABOVE ALL”—tells customers that they are at the heart of the company’s strategy and culture. In turn, even a slight drop from complete satisfaction can create an enormous drop in loyalty. Thus, the aim of customer relationship management is to create not only customer satisfaction but also customer delight. Maintaining customer satisfaction includes: meet or exceed customers’ expectations; focus on delighting customers; provide solutions to customer’s problems; cultivate relations – not one-time transactions. Keeping customers loyal makes good economic sense. Loyal customers spend more and stay around longer. Research also shows that it’s five times cheaper to keep an old customer than acquire a new one. Losing a customer means losing more than a single sale - the entire stream of purchases that the customer would make over a lifetime of patronage.

The basic principles of CRM (customer relationship management).CRM = managing detailed information about individual customers and carefully managing customer touch points to maximize customer loyalty. The question of how best to analyze and use individual customer data presents special problems. In fact, smart companies capture information at every possible customer touch point. These touch points include customer purchases, sales force contacts, service and support calls, online site visits, satisfaction surveys, credit and payment interactions, market research studies—every contact between a customer and a company. CRM consists of sophisticated software and analytical tools from companies such as Salesforce.com, Oracle, Microsoft. CRM analysts develop data warehouses and use sophisticated data mining techniques to unearth the riches hidden in customer data. The purpose of a data warehouse is not only to gather information but also to pull it together into a central, accessible location. Then, once the data warehouse brings the data together, the company uses high-powered data mining techniques to sift through the mounds of data and dig out interesting findings about customers. By using CRM to understand customers better, companies can provide higher levels of customer service and develop deeper customer relationships.

For example, Vodafone, a leading global telecommunications operators today, adopts a unique CRM system to understand and serve its existing customers more completely. CRM benefits don’t come without costs or risk, either in collecting the original customer data or in maintaining and mining it.

10 basic principles of CRM: 1. CRM is more than just software 2. Effective Analysis is Crucial (as well as working out what you will do with them). 3. Customer Focus is Important 4. CRM is a Continuing Process (in order to see continued results). 5. Use it Across Your Entire Business (Let’s say for example, you owned a clothing line. By implementing CRM right through from the design process, right through to customer service, you will have a streamlined, customer focused business which works at all levels to improve their experience and encourage them to continue to use your business). 6. Use CRM to Establish What Your Customers Need & How You Can Give it to them 7. Involve all of Your Employers (Everyone from management right down to your administrative team needs to be aware of your CRM activities and how it affects their work). 8. React to Your Findings 9. Choose the Right Provider 10. Simplicity is Key (customers want their shopping experiences to be as simple as possible (take Amazon as an example).