Gateways Institute of Science and Technology

HOW TO USE THIS LEARNER’S MANUAL

1. Answer the diagnostic test before you proceed to the different activities. The diagnostic test
determines how much you know about the lessons and identifies the areas you ought to learn.
Your teacher will check and analyze your score to determine your learning needs;
2. This module contains relevant information and activities. Go over each activity carefully. If you
encounter difficulties, do not hesitate to consult your teacher for assistance through your group
messaging;
3. Do not skip any lesson. REMEMBER that each activity is a preparation for the succeeding
activities;
4. Perform the given activities, quizzes and assignments to enrich your knowledge and skills;
5. Write all your answers on a separate sheet of paper;
6. After successfully finishing the tasks, PLEASE RETURN this
module with your answers to the quizzes and tasks given for
checking;

7. Your score will be analyzed and will be used by your teacher

for the computation of your grades;
8. Lastly, DO NOT mark this MODULE in any way.

PRINCIPLES OF MARKETING – GRADE 11 ABM

3rd Quarter

Week 5
I. OBJECTIVES (Specific Objectives)

At the end of the lesson, the learner should be able to:

1. Explain the value of customers;

2. Define “relationship marketing”;
3. Understand the importance of customer relations; and
4. Develop a program for customer service.

II. CONTENTS
A. Motivation

B. Lesson Proper

Relationship marketing is a facet of customer relationship management (CRM) that focuses

on customer loyalty and long-term customer engagement rather than shorter-term goals
like customer acquisition and individual sales. The goal of relationship marketing (or
customer relationship marketing) is to create strong, even emotional, customer connections
to a brand that can lead to ongoing business, free word-of-mouth promotion and
information from customers that can generate leads.

C. Discussion

Relationship marketing - It stands in contrast to the more traditional transactional

marketing approach, which focuses on increasing the number of individual sales. In the
transactional model, the return on customer acquisition cost may be insufficient. A
customer may be convinced to select that brand one time, but without a strong relationship
marketing strategy, the customer may not come back to that brand in the future. While

Developed by: Gateways Institute of Science and Technology

Subject: Principles of Marketing – Grade 11 ABM
Quarter & Week #: 3rd Quarter – Week 5
 organizations combine elements of both relationship and transactional marketing, customer
relationship marketing is starting to play a more important role for many companies.

Importance of relationship marketing

Acquiring new customers can be challenging and costly. Relationship marketing helps retain
customers over the long term, which results in customer loyalty rather than customers
purchase once or infrequently.

Relationship marketing is important for its ability to stay in close contact with customers. By
understanding how customers use a brand’s products and services and observing additional
unmet needs, brands can create new features and offerings to meet those needs, further
strengthening the relationship.

Implementing a relationship marketing strategy

Relationship marketing is based on the tenets of customer experience management (CEM),

which focuses on improving customer interactions to foster better brand loyalty. While
these interactions can still occur in person or over the phone, much of relationship
marketing and CEM has taken to the Web.

With the abundance of information on the Web and flourishing use of social media, most
consumers expect to have easy, tailored access to details about a brand and even expect the
opportunity to influence products and services via social media posts and online reviews.
Today, relationship marketing involves creating easy two-way communication between
customers and the business, tracking customer activities and providing tailored information
to customers based on those activities.

For example, an e-commerce site might track a customer's activity by allowing them to
create a user profile so that their information is conveniently saved for future visits, and so
that the site can push more tailored information to them next time. Site visitors might also
be able to sign in through Facebook or another social media channel, allowing them a
simpler user experience and automatically connecting them to the brand's social media
presence.

This is where CRM and marketing automation software can support a relationship marketing
strategy by making it easier to record, track and act on customer information. Social CRM
tools go further by helping to extend relationship marketing into the social media sphere,
allowing companies to more easily monitor and respond to customer issues on social media
channels, which in turn helps maintain a better brand image.

Developed by: Gateways Institute of Science and Technology

Subject: Principles of Marketing – Grade 11 ABM
Quarter & Week #: 3rd Quarter – Week 5
 Benefits of relationship marketing

Benefits of relationship marketing include:

Higher customer lifetime value (CLV). Relationship marketing creates loyal customers, which
leads to repeat purchases and a higher CLV. In addition, loyal customers are likely to become
brand advocates or ambassadors, recommending products and services to friends, family and
business associates.

Reduction in marketing and advertising spend. Spending on marketing and advertising to

acquire new customers can be expensive. Relationship marketing causes customers to do the
marketing for a brand, in what’s called buzz marketing. Customers tell others about a brand’s
products and services, which can drive sales. Brands with exceptional relationship marketing
programs spend little to no money on marketing or advertising.

Stronger organizational alignment around the customer - Organizations that emphasize

relationship marketing have a stronger organizational alignment around an exceptional
customer experience. The teams work together to create satisfied and happy customers over
the long term.

Examples of relationship marketing

There are several types of activities brands can use to facilitate relationship marketing,
including:

Provide exceptional customer service, as customers who are consistently impressed

by a brand’s customer service are more likely to remain loyal to the brand.

Thank customers through a social media post or with a surprise gift card.

Solicit customer feedback through surveys, polls and phone calls, which can create a
positive impression that customer opinions are valued and help to create better
products and services.

Launch a loyalty program that rewards customers for their continued patronage.

Hold customer events to connect with customers and build a community.

Create customer advocacy or brand advocacy programs to reward customers who

provide word-of-mouth advertising on a brand’s behalf.

Offer discounts or bonuses to long-time or repeat customers.

Developed by: Gateways Institute of Science and Technology

Subject: Principles of Marketing – Grade 11 ABM
Quarter & Week #: 3rd Quarter – Week 5
Delivering Customer Service

Excellent customer service creates loyal customers for life who are willing to refer your business
to friends, family, and colleagues. Providing this type of excellent customer service starts with a
genuine desire to delight your customers, but you also have to think beyond selling your products
or services. You need to consider the cumulative experience your customers have when they visit
your store or website, what they think and feel, and what you can do to make it better.

Ability to communicate clearly

It’s important to be mindful of how some of your communication habits translate to
customers, and it’s best to err on the side of caution whenever you find yourself questioning a
situation.
More importantly, you need to be cautious about how some of your communication habits
translate to customers, and it’s best to err on the side of caution whenever you find yourself
questioning a situation.
Know Your Product or Service
To provide good customer service, you need to know what you're selling, inside and out.
Make sure you and your customer-facing staffs know how your products or services work. Be
aware of the most common questions customers ask and know how to articulate the answers that
will leave them satisfied.
Patience
Patience is crucial for customer service professionals. After all, customers who reach out to
support are often confused and frustrated. Being listened to and handled with patience goes a
long way in helping customers feel like you’re going to alleviate their current frustrations.
NOTE: If you deal with customers on a daily basis, be sure to stay patient when they come to you
stumped and frustrated, but also be sure to take the time to truly figure out what they truly need.
Be Friendly
Customer service starts with a smile. When you are in a face-to-face situation, a warm
greeting should be he first thing your customers see and hear when they ask for help. Even when
handling customer service requests via telephone, a smile can come through in your voice, so
make sure you're ready to be friendly.
Effective customer service means having the ability to make minor changes in your conversational
patterns. This can truly go a long way in creating happy customers.
Language is a crucial part of persuasion, and people (especially customers) create perceptions
about you and your company based on the language that you use.
Say Thank You
Gratitude is memorable, and it can remind your customers why they shopped at your store or

Developed by: Gateways Institute of Science and Technology

Subject: Principles of Marketing – Grade 11 ABM
Quarter & Week #: 3rd Quarter – Week 5
hired your company. Regardless of the type of business you have, saying thank you after every
transaction is one of the easiest ways to start a habit of good customer service.
Train Your Staff
It's important to make sure all of your employees, not just your customer service
representatives, understand the way they should talk to, interact with, and otherwise assist
customers. Provide employee training that gives your staff the tools they need to carry good
service through the entire customer experience.
Show Respect
Customer service often can involve emotions, so it's important to make sure you and others
you have handling your customer service tasks are always courteous and respectful. Never let
your own emotions overtake your desire to see your customer walk away happy.
Listen
Listening is one of the simplest secrets of customer service. It means hearing what your
customers are saying out loud, as well as what they are communicating non-verbally. Watch for
signs that they are displeased, while listening to what they say to you directly.

Handling customer complaints in 8 steps:

1. Apologize and be sorry – the first step is to apologize and be truly sorry for what happened.
You must not belittle the complaint since this humiliates the customer and sends them a
message that they’re lying.
2. Listen – when they are speaking, attention needs to be directed towards the customer. Stop
doing what you’re doing (sends a message that nothing will distract you from solving the
problem). Let the customer finish with presenting their problem and don’t make premature
conclusions.
3. Take notes – while the customer is presenting the problem, don’t interrupt but take notes
of what they’re saying since this will later help you in responding and offering a solution
(sends a message that the problem will be dealt with seriously and systematically).
4. Repeat the problem – when the customer is finished, briefly repeat the problem to make
sure you have understood it correctly.
5. Offer a solution – if possible, offer a solution right away, two realistic options, without
giving false promises or exaggerating. If not possible, give a firm promise that everything will
be done to solve the problem in a satisfactory manner.
6. Apologize and thank the customer – the conversation must end with a repeat apology and a
thank you to the customer for warning you about the problem. This sends a message that
the customer’s opinion is appreciated.
7. Report to your superior – next step is reporting to your superior, agreeing about the
solution, making a decision and following its progress.
8. Report to the customer – as the final step, you must inform the customer about what was
done to solve the problem, instead of giving that task to a colleague. This sends a message

Developed by: Gateways Institute of Science and Technology

Subject: Principles of Marketing – Grade 11 ABM
Quarter & Week #: 3rd Quarter – Week 5
 that you took the problem seriously and personally made sure it was solved. This is
personalized service.

If it becomes evident that the complaint is a result of a systematic inappropriate procedure

or of a permanent deficiency, actions must be taken to introduce new and improved
procedures in order to keep the problem from repeating in the future.
There are customers who get even more upset when they receive an apology. In that case,
stop apologizing and talk as little as possible.

Developed by: Gateways Institute of Science and Technology

Subject: Principles of Marketing – Grade 11 ABM
Quarter & Week #: 3rd Quarter – Week 5