Marketers today are increasingly challenging the discipline's reliance upon the traditional four Ps of marketing as a way of satisfying customers and building profitable customer relationships. This module aims to develop students' understanding of the how good customer relationships can be created and managed within the marketing function, using ideas from relationship marketing theory. It will primarily focus on customers in service settings, and customers in business-to-business markets

Topics will be drawn from:
Relationship marketing theory, focusing on the nature and scope of relationships
Relationship marketing in a number of organisational settings and industries
Principles and practice of building relationships in business-to-business markets, and in consumer markets
Key drivers of relationship marketing - satisfaction, trust, loyalty and commitment
Internal marketing and `part-time marketers'
The role of personal selling and sales management in customer relationship building
The influence of CRM technology on the nature of interactions and exchange relationships and the influence of e-marketing environment on relationship marketing strategy.
Global perspectives on market developments in relationship building

Two-hour class test - 100% (Tests Both Learning Outcomes)

Business Library
Online databases
The module website
Internet
e-mail
PC with Office software
Recommended Text/s

Must have studied Introductory Marketing or equivalent

GUMMESSON E (2002) Total Relationship Marketing, 2nd ed, Butterworth-Heinemann ISBN: 0750654074
LITTLE, E. & MARANDI, E. (2003) Relationship Marketing Management ISBN: 1-86152-931-7
VAREY, R. J (2002) Relationship Marketing: Dialogue and Networks in the E-Commerce Era, John Wiley ISBN : 0-470-84341-1

The learning strategy for this module is based around students committing a total of 150 hours of activities towards achieving the learning outcomes. These will be split between 39 hours of direct contact with a tutor and 111 hours of directed, guided and self-study, together with preparation for and completion of the assessment tasks. Learning support material will be provided for the module.
The module will draw upon a mixture of activities including lectures, web-based activities, case study analysis, relevant videos and in-class discussions, individual and group problem solving and self-directed learning.