New product development in business to business marketing - a relational perspective.

Market position and long-term competitive advantages are dependent on companies’ ability to innovate and their capacity to launch new product or services. This paper aims to highlight the features of product development processes in business to business markets. The research method consisted of a documentary study in the literature and the results focus on the stages involved in the development and launch of a new product. In recent years, statistics have shown an increase in the rate of failure in launching new products on business markets. This has been caused by an inadequate planning and has negative consequences on both customer relationships and organizational economic performance. Given this reality, academics propose a sequential product development plan based on the following essential steps: identifying opportunities and generating ideas, selection of ideas with the highest chances of success, development of new product concept materialized in the form of a prototype, technical testing and acceptance testing, making the final changes to the product, establishing brand name, price level and other intangible elements of the product, legal protection of the product, placing the product into production and effectively lunching the product though a tactical marketing program. Practical experiences show that omission of one or more stages of this process can cause product failure, companies recording a low level of performance, below expected levels.Product development; business to business relationships; planning; ideas selection; marketing tests; product failure.

Loyalty Programs. Role, Structure and Potential Benefits

A loyalty program consists of an integrated system of marketing activities, aimed at increasing members’ loyalty by rewarding customers according to their purchasing frequency and amount spent. Loyalty schemes, customer clubs and sales promotion techniques are the most common relationship tools used in marketing practice. To join the program and receive a card, consumers must fill in a registration form, providing demographic, behavioural or even psychographic data. Loyalty schemes and customer clubs offer long lasting benefits to participants. Sales promotion techniques can be used both as tools to attract new customers, as well as instruments to stimulate repurchase behaviour. The potential of a loyalty scheme to achieve members depends mainly on rewards value, diversity and timing. Similar, the success of clubs depends on whether customers perceive enough relational benefits according to their personal interests. Although currently, loyalty programs have become very popular, programs effectiveness and implicitly the managerial decision to implement them are determined by different factors, including: homogeneity of supply and products purchase frequency, competition and consumer demand characteristics and the internal environment of the company.Customer clubs, loyalty schemes, relationship marketing, rewards, sales promotion techniques

Analysis of Place and Role of SME’s in the new Member States of the European Union

Günter Verheugen said: “Europe is good for SME’s and SME’s are good for Europe” and this is the main reason for writing this paper. Small and medium enterprises are the backbone of the European economy, and the best potential source of jobs and growth. The paper presents how SME’s are defined in the EU and also a short comparison of their position in old and new member of the European Union.Small and Medium Enterprises (SME’s); SME’s Definition; New Member States of the European Union

Strategic views regarding the relationship marketing approach and the transactional marketing approach within the financial and banking segment

The study discusses the strategic aspects of relational marketing in the financial and banking sector, from the point of view of the influences the field is subject to, and based on the theoretical advances in the domain. The maintenance of the relationships with the present customers, as well as the future oriented attempts to gain new clients are critically examined, in the context of a field where “a banker’s word is a banker’s bond”.relationship marketing, financial and banking sector, strategic marketing.

Perspective in conceptualizarea si implementarea managementului relatiilor cu clientii

Conceptul de management al relatiilor cu clientii (CRM) a fost intens dezbatut in literatura de management-marketing, facand obiectul unor variate definitii. Dintr-o perspectiva tehnologica, CRM descrie metodologiile si solutiile software folosite de organizatie pentru a utiliza in mod optim informatiile colectate prin intermediul fiecarui punct de interactiune cu clientii, ceea ce permite intreprinderii sa stabileasca o perspectiva completa si un profil unic al clientilor. Definit ca o filosofie de afaceri, managementul relatiilor cu clientii este deseori considerat un concept aflat in stransa legatura cu principiile marketingului relational si drept consecinta este fundamentat pe o puternica orientare spre clienti a intregii organizatii. Potrivit abordarii strategice, CRM implica dezvoltarea si mentinerea de relatii pe termen lung reciproc avantajoase cu clientii strategici ai intreprinderii. In situatii specifice rezultatul poate consta chiar intr-o incetare a relatiilor cu clientii neprofitabili. Privit ca o capacitate organizationala, CRM se concentreaza asupra abilitatii si dispozitiei unei companii de a se adapta la comportamentul specific de cumparare al clientilor. Procesul de initiere si management al relatiilor cu clientii este delimitat in cadrul unui model ce prezinta patru categorii de actiuni, aflate in interdependenta: identificarea clientilor, diferentierea clientilor, interactiunea cu clientii si personalizarea tratamentului acordat clientilor.managementul relatiilor cu clientii, marketing relational, filosofie de afaceri, strategie, tehnologie, proces, customer relationship management, relationship marketing, business philosophy, strategy, technology, process

Principii si scoli de gandire in marketingul relational

Dezvoltarea marketingului relational s-a datorat schimbarilor aparute in coordonatele mediului de afaceri international pe parcursul ultimelor decade, concretizate intr-o intensificare a concurentei si maturizare vizibila a pietelor. Optimizarea valorii clientilor, focalizarea activitatilor economice asupra unor stakeholderi multipli si cooperarea interdepartamentala devin prioritati manageriale, potrivit acestei noi orientari din evolutia gandirii de marketing. In teoria relationala s-au detasat ca importanta trei scoli de gandire: scoala nordica, scoala bazata pe cercetarile intreprinse de Grupul de Marketing Industrial si Aprovizionare si scoala anglo-australiana, fiecare avand la baza o serie de componente si trasaturi specifice in functie de domeniul de interes si industria in care s-au dezvoltat.marketing relational, marketing tranzactional, interactiune, dialog, valoare, procese, colaborare, relationship marketing, transactional marketing, interaction, dialogue, value, processes, collaboration

Continutul si caracteristicile produselor si serviciilor finaciar-bancare

Institutiile financiar-bancare actioneaza intr-un mediu dinamic, iar luarea deciziilor cu privire la modalitatea optima de desfasurare a activitatilor de piata implica, pe langa un grad ridicat de flexibilitate si adaptabilitate a managerilor la schimbarile mediului de afaceri, considerarea aportului adus de angajati si clienti in concretizarea ofertei financiare.service-profit chain, marketing financial services, financial-banking risks, fiduciary responsibility, lantul serviciu-profit, marketingul serviciilor financiare, riscuri financiare, riscuri bancare, responsabilitate fiducitara

Segmentarea pietei – activitate definitorie a marketingului relational. Studiu de caz: sectorul bancar de retail

Activitatea de segmentare ii permite managementului unei companii bancare sa stabileasca un anumit grad de omogenitate in privinta diferitilor consumatori din cadrul pietei, sa analizeze resursele si eforturile de marketing implicate in servirea fiecarui segment identificat si sa decida care sunt segmentele tinta in care se va investi. Decizia de segmentare nu poate fi fundamentata doar ca urmare a posibilitatii de partitionare a pietei in grupuri omogene de consumatori. Segmentarea pietei va fi utila numai in masura in care eficienta si eficacitatea activitatilor de marketing relational sunt influentate in mod substantial de diferentele existente intre segmentele identificate. Segmentarea poate fi vazuta ca o strategie de identificare si selectie a clientilor in functie de modul in care acestia vor reactiona la oferta de produse sau in sens mai larg la mixul de marketing al companiei. Informatiile obtinute sunt folosite de institutii in evaluarea oportunitatilor oferite de diferite grupuri de consumatori si selectarea segmentelor compatibile cu obiectivele strategice si capacitatile organizationale. Ulterior, dezvoltarea strategiilor relationale orientate catre atragerea si loializarea clientilor va fi posibila prin diferentierea produselor, serviciilor, nivelurilor de pret, canalelor de distributie, formelor si mesajelor comunicationale, in conformitate cu valoarea si cerintele specifice fiecarui segment deservit.piata bancara de retail, segmentare, marketing relational, variabile demografice, variabile psihografice, variabile comportamentale, retail banking market, segmentation, relationship marketing, demographic variables, psychographic variables, behavioral variables

Setting Fair Prices – Fundamental Principle Of Sustainable Marketing

In commercial area, the price has a major importance, being frequently considered among the main criteria used in buying decision process. Price fairness derives from equity theory and it is focused on assuring in a transaction a reasonable report between the customer’s sacrifice and the value offered by the seller. In three marketing experiments we have evaluated customers’ fairness perceptions of differential prices, this tactic being frequently used by sellers. One important finding was that the motive for setting differential prices is important in fairness evaluation. Price differences based on social motives are perceived fairer than those motivated by company’s interest. The differential prices on customer category are perceived fairer than zone prices. In all three marketing experiments it was demonstrated that price fairness has a significant influence on value perception and on buying intentions. Fair prices setting is one of the principles sustainable marketing is based on, reflecting a long term orientation for a company. By following this decisional direction, the commercial firm increases the value offered to its customers and it becomes more socially responsible.sustainable development, sustainable marketing, fair price, price fairness, differential prices, distributive fairness, procedural fairness

Customer Loyalty and its Determinants in a Banking Services Environment

The present paper presents the methodology and the main results of a quantitative study applied on a sample of 1010 respondents, in the Romanian banking industry. The aim of the study was to research the customer level of loyalty toward Romanian organizations acting in the retail banking sector. According to similar researches in the field, loyalty is a complex construction, which comprises both psychological and behavioural components, fact also proved by the results of the present research. As the survey results show, Romanian customers remain in relationships with banks due to the existence of both favourable attitudes or positive motivations (representing 46,36% of the total retention motivations) and constraint factors or inertia (representing 52,44% of the total retention motivations). At the same time, the results prove that the level of loyalty stated by customers is supported not only by the level of satisfaction, but also by factors like: bank’s attitude towards its own customers, the level of customer trust toward the organization or its employees in ensuring the financial interests of clients, and also by the level of customer commitment. Customer switching behaviour is determined in 58% of cases by the high level of dissatisfaction toward the banks’ policy of price