Marketing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 36

Marketing - Essay Example In the paper we will analyze how the companies operating in retail businesses are currently managing their customers through marketing with the help of tools like BCG Matrix, Mintzberg intended strategy, 7P/8P analysis and techniques described in the case. The companies operating in retail businesses starve for obtaining customer loyalty. Conventional wisdom of loyalty describes that customers show loyalty towards companies and brands that tend to go above and beyond others. But according to Dixon & Freeman (2010), customers are more loyal to the companies that exceed their expectations in terms of products and services. Many retail companies like Tesco, Wal-Mart and M & S offer a refund or free product or even some other benefit in lieu of that in case the product has undergone expedited shipping. This helps them in retaining loyalty of their customers even in case of delay in product delivery or service. Product: The products of the companies operating in retail format vary from format to format. Whilst companies like Tesco and Wal-Mart have SBU structure and their products have similarity of being a departmental and multipurpose stores whereas the companies like GAP, Zara and French Connection are mainly apparel stores with specialized products. The product of a company is the first phase of generating loyalty from them. A product delivered in acceptable and good condition delights the customer whereas a product which defects and expedited delivery upsets him and tends to reduce his loyalty. Providing service to customer performs an integral part of gaining loyalty from them. According to Dixon & Freeman (2010), bad service by a company has its ripple effects in a way that it even repels perspective customers from a company. The research showed by them highlights that only 25% of the customers say positive about their experience of service with a company whereas almost 65% of them are likely to speak negative about the experience.