INLS 237: Marketing - Assignment (2024)

Overview. Two alternative exercises are listed below -- thefirst deals with relationship marketing (specifically retentionstrategies) and the second with service recovery. Choose whichever one you would like to do. Write a short (2-4 pages) paper with your response. [NOTE: If you believe a different exercise would be more beneficial to you, please contact your instructor to talk about it; chances are an arrangement can be worked out.]

Exercise on Relationship MarketingFour types of bonds can tie a customer to your organization. These are described below. For this assignment, select an organization, for example, a library or information center. Consider each of these bonds and the questions posed to help you understand retention strategies.

1. Financial Bonds. The customer istied primarily through financial incentives -- lower costsfor greater volume purchases or lower prices for customerswho have been with organization for a long time. One exampleis a frequent flyer program as is any discount program or frequent user program that carries financial rewards. Are there any financial bonds you can think of for the organization of your choice thatwould help retain customers?
2. Social Bonds. Long-term relationships are built through socialand interpersonal connections. Customers are viewed as "clients," notnameless faces, and as individuals whose needs and wants the organizationtries to undersgtand. Services are customized and theorganization finds ways to stay in touch with its customers. Social bonds arecommon among professional service providers (lawyers, teachers, consultants) and amongpersonal care providers (hairdressers, personal trainers, counselors). Social bonds may also beformed between customers, for example, user support groups for specific software or hardware users, book discussion groups in the library. What social bondingactivities might/does your selected organization encourage?
3. Customization Bonds. Two commonly used terms fit within thecustomization bonds approach: mass customization and customerintimacy. The former deals with the use of flexible processes andstructures to provide varied and often individually customized productsand services at the cost of standardized, mass-producedalternatives. The "my library" (or "my account") webpage is oneexample. Customer intimacy involves knowing enough about the customer(perhaps through database tracking systems) to anticipate his/her needs andto supply them. An example might be desk delivery of a new book on a topicknown to be of interest to a client. Another example is the use of tools like RefWorks and Instant Messaging. Can you think of others?
4. Structural Bonds. Structural bonds are created by providingservices to the client that are often designed into the service deliverysystem for the client. An example from the business world is Fed Ex; the company provides free computers to customers with stored addresses and shippingdata, printed mailing labels, and a tracking system for packages. Can youthink of structural connections for library clients or for clients of other information services?

Write a summary of ways that the organization you selected ties its customers to it. What additional ways might you suggest for consideration? With the goal of building long-term relationships with customers, provide some commentary on what you think would work and whatmight not and why.

Exercise on Service Recovery

When a customer confronts a service failure, he or she can chooseto take action or do nothing. Many customers are very passiveabout their dissatisfaction and say or do nothing but they willdecide whether to continue to use the organization providing the service or not. Generally, those who take action are more apt to continue to use the organization's servicesthan those who do nothing (a reason why it's good to encouragecomplaints).

When a customer decides to take action, he/she may choose tocomplain to the provider, complain to family and friends, orcomplain to a third party. Four categories of response types have been identified:

• Passives. These are the ones who do nothing. They often doubt the effectiveness of complaining and think theconsequences aren't worth the time and effort. Others havepersonal values or norms against complaining. Usually these folks are less alienated than the more extreme types described below.
• Voicers. These customers actively complain to theservice provider but usually not to third parties, and usuallydon't switch providers. These customers are the organization'sbest friends, in a way. Their complaints allow the serviceprovider a second chance. This group believes complaining hassocial benefits and that the consequences of their complaining can be positive.
• Irates. These customers complain to friends andrelatives and usually switch providers. They may feelalienated and are definitely more angry with the provider thaneither of the first two. They are less likely to give theprovider a second chance.
• Activists.. These customers have an above averagepropensity to complain on all dimensions. They will complain tothe provider, tell others, and complain to third parties. Theyhave an optimistic sense of the potential positive consequences of all types of complaint action. Sometimes they can become "terrorists," that is, they may take extreme actions destructive of property and sometimes outside the law.

When customers complain, they have high expectations of what willhappen. They expect justice and fairness in handling theircomplaints in three ways. They will judge the response as to its

1. outcome fairness -- the outcome orcompensation should fit the level of their dissatisfaction, i.e., money,an apology, future free services, reduced charges, repairs, and/orreplacements
2. procedural fairness -- customers want easy access tothe complaint process and want it handled quickly preferably by the firstperson they encounter. They want procedures characterized by clarity, speed, and absenceof hassles
3. interaction fairness -- customers expect to be treatedpolitely, with care and honesty. This form of fairness can dominate allthe others

Describe aninstance of service failure(or less-than-desirable service) that you have either experienced orobserved. Analyze the elements of service failure and the effects of anyefforts made by the organization at service recovery. What did the customer (or you) do as aresult of the service failure (if you know)? If you don't know, whatwould you have done in the customer's place? How does (or will) thecustomer's actions affect the organization in the future, in youropinion? Use the scenario that you have described to build a plan forservice recovery for the organization concerned.

Post your responses on the designated discussion forum in Blackboard. In the following week, read and respond to at least two of your fellow classmates.