Marketing Concept to the 21st century Business of Starbucks Essay - 1

Marketing Concept to the 21st century Business of Starbucks - Essay Example This requires marketers to constantly upgrade their marketing tactics and strategies. In the 21st century, marketing is quite different from what it used to be a century before. One concept that has gained interest among the marketers is relationship marketing. Relationship marketing deals with developing long and lasting relationships with the stakeholders of the organization. One company that has truly adopted this concept is Starbucks that continues to provide services and products while remaining customer and employee oriented. This paper will delve on relationship marketing and its application within one specific organization which is Starbucks. Description of the Marketing Concept As competition is increasing throughout the world, companies have to constantly readjust their marketing strategies in order to gain an edge over the competition. In this era, companies are becoming increasingly people-oriented, that is, they develop their operations to suit the needs of their stakeho lders. These usually include in most cases the consumers and with new concepts developed, employees have also become the central focus on the companies. Employee oriented companies have become more common in the service industries where employees form the face of the company. Thus the concept of relationship marketing has emerged in today’s world that companies are increasingly adapting to in order gain a good share of the market. In relationship marketing, the aim of the company is not profit maximization but rather retaining good relationship with its stakeholders, specifically the consumers. Palmatier, 2008 defines relationship marketing as ‘the process of identifying, developing, maintaining, and terminating relational exchanges with the purpose of enhancing performance’. This relationship, though is falsely attributed to extend to only the consumers, is in fact developed with all stakeholders including the consumers, employees and the community. Gummesson, 2 002 further broadens relationship marketing to total relationship marketing where marketing is extended from CRM approaches to developing relationships with all stakeholders of the company. He defines the concept in the following terms, ‘Total relationship marketing is marketing based on relationships, networks and interaction, recognizing that marketing is embedded in the total management of the networks of the selling organization, the market and society. It is directed to long-term win-win relationships with individual customers, and value is jointly created between the parties involved. It transcends the boundaries between specialist functions and disciplines’ (Gummesson, 2002) In terms of the consumers, the aim of the company in relationship marketing is to develop long-lasting relationships. This is done by orienting the company to meet the needs of the consumers. Companies that aim at relationship building conduct regular surveys and feedbacks. The purpose of the se surveys is to better understand the customers and to align the operations of the company with the changing needs of the consumers. Companies practicing relationship marketing consistently innovate their products and services to better serve their customers. For example, recently many retail outlets have developed their Android presence. Consumers can easily download applications and order for their products through their cell phones conveniently.