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Unit 12: Customer Relationship Management

Stages Notes

The Pre-relationship Stage: The event that triggers a buyer to seek a new business partner.
The Early Stage: Experience is accumulated between the buyer and seller although a great
degree of uncertainty and distance exists.

The Development Stage: Increased levels of transactions lead to a higher degree of commitment
and the distance is reduced to a social exchange.
The Long-term Stage: Characterised by the companies' mutual importance to each other.

The Final Stage: The interaction between the companies becomes institutionalized.

Figure 12.1: A Relationship Life Cycle Model

High cooperation
Low competition Pre- Development Maturity Decline
relationship stage stage stage
stage

Low cooperation
High competition

Time
Source: (wilkinson and Young, 1997) (Wilkinson and Young, 1997)
The role of salespeople as relationship builders and promoters Salespeople by: identifying
potential customers and their needs; approaching key decision makers in the buying firm;
negotiating and advancing dialogue and mutual trust; coordinating the cooperation between
the customers and their company; encouraging the inter-organisational learning process;
contributing to constructive resolution of existing conflicts; and leading the customer relationship
development team are the individuals in any organisation who act both as relationship builders
and as relationship.

Notes CRM software helps implement a business strategy that promotes a database of
customer information and a marketing plan that uses customer information to increase
sales and maximize customer service. The CRM enterprise system is spanned across several
departments, giving all staff access, or indirect access, to customer information.

12.7 Managing Customer Relationships

The global salesperson must be involved in the following activities in order to initiate, develop
and enhance the process that is aimed at building trust and commitment with the customer.
Developing the relationship Select an appropriate offering; Customise the relationship; Link

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