Understanding Customer Relationships Essay Example for Free

Understanding Customer Relationships EssayI further confirm that I have non shared my behave with other candidates. Table of confine Cover page1 Table of Contents2 Task 1 Keeping s earnholders informed 3 6 Task 2 Collecting stakeholder info 7 9 Task 3 CSR Gaining an Internal Perspective 10 12 Task 4 REPORT Tomerchandising Manager From trade Assistant season25th November, 2011 musical themeKeeping stakeholders informed INTRODUCTION Communication is defined as the subroutine by which knowledge is transfer between individuals through a common system of symbols, signs or behavior (www. erriamwebster. com/dictionary). It is a two-way process and plays a central role for effective alliances within an scheme (CIM Introductory Certificate in Marketing take in Workbook, pg 135). For communication to be effective, the receiver essential understand the message in the manner the sender intended for it to be received. As with majority of organizations, stakeholders are an in tegral part of any organization and must be strong informed of prerequisite finishs and activities of the said organization.With reference to the recent petroleum vent crisis, it is all-important(prenominal) that BP communicates to the following stakeholder groups a. FOUR STAKEHOLDER mathematical groupS THAT BP NEEDED TO COMMUNICATE WITH AND THEIR SCOPE OF INTEREST ARE Governments and regulators Government alongside the regulatory agencies established by the government to dominate the industry, are responsible for formulating policies which govern offshore drilling processes and excessively ensure that the interest of the public is protected from the activities of the oil companies.Both bodies need to be informed of the singage to allow for monitoring of the situation and deployment of resources and assessment teams to establish shoreline protection and clean up priorities. (http//www. env. gov. bc. ca/eemp/resources/strategies/oilstrat. htm) The reading would further assi st the government investigate the ca drop of the spillage in order to take requirement legal actions and in like manner help with legislation of regulatory laws which governs oil exploration by the oil companies. . Stakeholders and analysts The stakeholders accede shareholders and investors who have monetary interests and payloads in BP. They should be informed of the spill and every progress made by BP, so that they are kept abreast of the financial implications and expenditure that would arise from the spillage, cleanup process and salary cost which might result in a loss in revenue for BP and ultimately their financial interests. c.Local communities Local communities are usually members of the community within which an oil purpose is situated and in this chemise, the community where the oil spill has occurred. They would to a fault include the topical anesthetic media, medical organizations, nongovernmental organizations active within the area, local security forces etc . Organizations must establish themselves as reputable members of a community. (www. ou. edu/deptcomm/literature review. htm) By establishing a reservoir of goodwill in the community it is often easier to gain community support during a crisis (Sellnow, 1993).As such(prenominal), bear upon residents of the local community around where the spillage occurred should be communicated to and assessed for physical and behavioral health effectuate the spillage might cause especially if the residents depend on oil, fishing or other affected industries in the locality of the spill. BP should also inform the local communities on steps it has taken or would take to combat the effect of the spillage on the environment and possible compensations to the communities. d.Customers These vary from domestic fuel users to clownish and aviation users of bulk LPG. All BP customers should be contacted and informed of the spillage as this might affect the planning of various products as supplied by BP. The multiplier effect of shortage of products by BP would not only intend a loss in revenue for the customer whose livelihood depend s on sale of products but also on the end user as might be in the case of retail fuel consumer and inadvertently much(prenominal) loss to BP. 2. ADAPTATION OF MESSAGES TO MEET THE NEEDS OF EACH OF THE STAKEHOLDER GROUPFor a communication to be effective, the message passed must be well understood by the party for whom the message is intended (decoder) for and must be able to communicate back to the sender. BP must ensure that it communicates reading about the spillage to the above mentioned stakeholders in respect to their functions and adaptabilities. o For the government, a series of meetings should be place where discussions regarding assessments, clean up exercises and monitoring policies are discussed and reported back to the government the progress of the situation. Stakeholders are to be informed via mails or financial reports the cost synopsis of the clean up exercise as well as financial implications of the spill incurred by the company. o BP should test to invite non-governmental organizations who focus on environmental policies and issues to assist with implementation of programs designed to help residents within affected communities. o Customers can be reached more effectively and interpersonally through in depth interviews, viral online communications, web based interactive programs and feedback channels on BPs website. . TWO COMMUNICATION TOOLS THAT COULD BE USED TO ENHANCED THE MESSAGE The purpose of communication is to contract a message across clearly using methods or tools that would effectively target the intended receiver. These tools could all be verbal or non-verbal tools of communication. To communicate its intent, BP must use the following communication tools to enhance the credibleness of its message- ? PR Public Relations is defined as a planned and sustained swither to establish and mod erate goodwill and mutual understanding between an organization and its publics (IPR).In enhancing the credibility of its message, BP would use PR to not only ensure that its intended target receives its message, but would also help regulate and throw out the consumer perception of the BP image in light of the spill crisis thereby, guarding off unfavorable rumors. ? Direct Marketing This is the most targeted method of communication as it seeks to target individual customers with personalized messages and build relationships with them as they act to direct communications (UCR online syllabus session 7, pg 8).Direct trade is defined as the planned recording, analysis and tracking of customer behavior to develop relational marketing strategies (Institute of Direct Marketing, UK) Using direct marketing, a well thought out and planned message is made available by BP to target each stakeholder group and solicit positive responses from each group to help manage the spill crisis. 4. E VALUATION OF THE long suit OF COMMUNICATION TOOLS OUTLINED ABOVE Direct Marketing One of the benefits of direct marketing is that it allows for direct fundamental interaction with the consumers and hence immediate responses are obtained from the consumers.This in turns also ensures that BPs personalized messages are well targeted and monitored such that the aim of public relations in helping to enhance consumer perception of BPs image is also attained. BRIEFING PAPER FromMarketing Assistant ToMarketing Manager Date17. 12. 2011 SubjectCollecting Stakeholder information Information is defined as the data formatted or structured to support decision making or define the relationship between two facts (Zikmund/Babin Essentials of marketing research 3rd edition). It is a marketing plus which impacts on performance of an organization (CIM Study Workbook, pg 108) 2. INFORMATION TO BE COLLECTED BY BP IN similitude TO ITS STAKEHOLDERS o Local Communities BP would seek to earn informatio n about the local communities which would include population count, availability of amenities such as hospitals, roads, schools, water, electricity, income levels, gender, age etc. It would also seek to identify the general crinkle of residents in the community (e. g if farming or fishing is the main stay of the residents and the effects of the spill) and income/ lifestyle of residents. It would also seek to understand the culture and ethnicity of the people so as not to strain relationship with its communities.BP should also seek to collect information about its communities to help assess the social and environmental impacts of its project within such communities. o Government and regulators As these two bodies promulgate policies which govern the exploration of oil wells, CSR and offshore activities, it is important that BP is up to date with its information on all offshore and environmental laws so as to protect itself from abjurations. It would also collect information to un derstand its tax liabilities and entrepreneurial activities in collaborationism with both bodies. . 2USEFULNESS OF INFORMATION COLLECTED TO BP For Budgetary control- Greater control and more informed decision making are possible when all costs of all operations are available For cooking Information helps BP make adequate plans for its operations within its communities, or act in accordance to authorities policies and also inform actions to address/prevent health effects in affected communities during a spill crisis For decision making Adequate data collected would be used for making strategic decisions for its celestial sphere and management plans. . 3USEFUL INFORMATION TO BE COLLECTED BY SCREENPLAY MARKETING MEDIA COMMUNICATIONS LTD. To ensure our relevance and maintain our market share over the next six months, we must seek to collect the following information about our varying clients in order to effectively meet their needs and surpass their expectations ? Clients activ ities we must seek to collect information about each clients various activities within the next 6 months and plan media campaigns around those activities to meet intended consumers. Customer attitudes We would need to interview and collect information on target segments of consumers to assess how well they match our root words and fit into clients marketing plan ? Competitors activities Over the next 6 months, we would need to identify who our competitors are through secondary research and collect information about their activities in order to help us plan our strategies ? Markets it is important that we carve our niche market and gather necessary information on them.We would need information as to who are clients are, their products, existing/potential market for the product all necessary for us to have an idea on how best to position our clients product for an increase in market share. 2. 4ONE METHOD OF COLLECTING INFORMATION In order to collect the necessary information, I wo uld recommend the Secondary method of data collection. Secondary data is data that has not been specifically created for the purpose at hand but can be used and analysed to provide marketing information where primary data is not yet available or not sufficient(CIM Study Workbook, pg 110).This is a preferred choice of data collection because it o Helps to make primary data collection more specific since with the help of secondary data, we are able to make out what are the gaps and deficiencies and what additional information needs to be collected. o Is less expensive and economical to conduct seeing that the information is readily available and does not require the process of collecting new data o Saves time o It provides a basis for comparison for the data that is collected by the researcher (www. managementguide. com) DISCUSSION PAPER nimble for Marketing Manager alert by Marketing AssistantSubjectCSR An Internal perspective Date 17. 12. 2011 INTRODUCTION Corporate Social Resp onsibility (CSR) is about how businesses align their values and behaviour with the expectations and needs of stakeholders not just customers and investors, but also employees, suppliers, communities, regulators, special interest groups and confederacy as a whole. CSR describes a companys commitment to be accountable to its stakeholders. CSR demands that businesses manage the economic, social and environmental impacts of their operations to maximise the benefits and minimise the downsides (www. srnetwork. com) 3. 1 dissolve OF THE PROJECT The purpose of this project is to seek to form a commission to propose and identify a CSR activity for ScreenPlay Marketing and Media Communications Ltd to embark on as its efforts in giving back to the society in which its business operates and increase our awareness of environmental consciousness. 3. 2BENEFITS OF CSR TO THE ORGANISATION Consumers increasingly do not accept unethical business practices or organizations who act irresponsibly (ww w. simplycsr. co. uk).The benefits of Corporate Social Responsibility cannot be overemphasized and a carefully planned CSR would help our organization to Develop and enhance relationships with customers and society thereby retaining customers whilst attracting new ones prove brand image so customers perception about the brand is positive Attract, retain and motivate employees A key potential benefit fromCSRinitiatives involves establishing the conditions that can contribute to increasing the commitment and motivation of employees to become more innovative and productive. www. ic. gc. ca/site/csr-rse. nsf/eng/h_rs00100html) Sharpen decision making and help reduce risk 3. 3. immensity OF INTERNAL COOPERATION AND PARTICIPATION It is important that a good working relationship exists between all departments of our organization on this project so as to ensure completion of tasks and fulfillment of our set objectives. It is envisaged that with team work and contribution of ideas fr om all each department involved in this project would yield productivity and also ensure the success of our CSR project. 3. IDEA ON IMPROVING OUR ORGANISTIONS ENVIRONMENTAL RESPONSIBILITY One idea I would like to suggest to increasing our environmental responsibility is the adoption of a child from the nerve department of the childrens ward at the Lagos State Teaching Hospital. There are at indicate about 300 cases of children with cancer of the eye been treated at the hospital. It is my proposition that we render our CSR to the kids in this ward by sponsoring a child every quarter to the Suraksha Childrens Hospital India a top hospital in India noted for give-and-take of eye tumors in children.The relative low costs of surgery and lifespan expenditure has influenced the choice of Suraksha Childrens Hospital and the intervals at which each child would undergo a treatment would not be cumbersome for the organization to bear. We would work in conjunction with a team of doctors at the Lagos State Teaching Hospital to assist in compiling names of beneficiaries of the treatment through a series of preliminary requirements for each benefactive role. This would include age, severity of case, and income level of parents as this would be aimed at children whose parents cannot generate the treatment cost in the state.This project would be tagged The ScreenPlay Media Communications Light a manhood project. 3. 5COST IMPLICATION FOR PROPOSED CSR PROJECT The cost for this project is outlined below Hospital fees This would span cost for fitting in the hospital for the number of days from the date of admittance to the discharge date and would also cover administrative and drug fees. Surgery fees includes surgery fees, anesthetic fees, blood transfusion (if necessary) and surgeons fee. alteration fees this take care of accommodation and feeding costs for the accompanying ward/parent of the child lead/logistics fees covers flight fares for child and accompa nying ward along with visa application fees. It would also cover for carry-over for the beneficiaries upon arrival in India. This cost is estimated at a total of N750, 000 (? 3,000) per quarter and totaling N2, 250,000 (? 9,000) per annum for 3 kids. RESEARCH Prepared forMarketing Manager Prepared byMarketing Assistant SubjectMaintaining the work/life equaliser Date30. 11. 2011 EMAILToemailprotected com (marketing manager) Cc emailprotected com, emailprotected com, emailprotected com Subject Committee set up on Proposed CSR Project god-fearing Elliot, Trust you are fine. As per your memo dated 16th November 2011on setting up a committee for the proposed CSR activity, kindly see below the list of intended participants from the various departments- a. Ore Odusanya (HR department) Having worked with Ore in the past few years, his analytic and interpersonal skills in relating with people would be very useful in this project . Trish Banner (Accounts department) Trishs skill in handl ing financial transactions as well as contacts within the act agency would suffice in this project and assisting with obtaining relatively low fare prices for each beneficiary. c. Gladys Knight (Creative department) her fastidious talents would help create the right messages for advertisement purposes which would position the brand as foremost in connecting with its society. Her wits and acute sense of judgment would also aid in ensuring that the right candidates are chosen for the project. . pile Rice (logistics department) an ardent and hardworking colleague, though in the HR department but with an ability to grind and ensure prompt delivery of projects would ensure that logistics such as visas, hotel booking and transportation of each beneficiary is handled promptly at designated timelines. I would also like to suggest that the committee is convened soon so as to enable us conclude the plans within the shortest time frame possible and liaise with the team of doctors in Nige ria and India for the commencement of the project.It would also afford us time to put together a media campaign to boost publicity. Best regards Lolah Adebambo Project Leader REFERENCES Book Sources Vincent. K CIM Introductory Certificate in Marketing Study Workbook, 2009/2011 (BPP Learning Media, London) Internet sources www. ic. gc. ca/site/csr-rse. nsf/eng/h_rs00100html (accessed in December 2011) (www. merriamwebster. com/dictionary). (accessed in November 2011) (www. csrnetwork. com) (accessed in December 2011) pic