Relationship Marketing Strategy

Introduction

Marketing is an action assisting a company to pinpoint the aspirations, preferences, the needs towards their products’ offering and the company. Relationship marketing strategy refers to building a sustainable relationship with the valued clients in the market for the longer period of time. They involve themselves to collect information and data regarding the customers through surveys, interview, or any other means to satisfy the customers’ need and deliver the most suitable products to satisfy their customers need. However, marketing managers require formulate different tactics to gather the data regarding the prospective markets and make strategies and plans to address those issues and demand as soon as possible and satisfy their customers delivering their needs and demand. Under this competitive business world the more accurate and updated information regarding the target and the overall market the better result the company can produce out of it. As a result, the company is able to deliver the products earlier comparing to their competitors and it helps them get a stronger hand ahead of their rivals to sustain in the market for the longer period of time. This report highlights the process of how the company gathers information regarding their customers and the market, the strategies they may adopt to sustain in the market. Also it will discuss about the benefits of data and information to sustain in the competitive market, and other necessary approaches of Sainsbury.

Organization Overview Sainsbury

Sainsbury, 2^nd biggest retail shop across the United Kingdom are capturing about 15% share among the grocery market. Recently, Tesco is regarded as the market dominating company due to maintain the quality of product, providing satisfying customers service and also for cost leadership marketing strategy. This retail shop is trading various kinds of products in the market be it online or offline such as frozen foods, daily necessities, electronics, fashion and so on. They engage themselves in collecting wide range of information from the market based on their customers’ demand, preferences. They provide nectar cards to their customers to remain loyal to their company. They always are concerned of delivering the best services to their customers and opportunity their customers to relish every moment with the company (briefings and Briefing, 2020). That’s how they attain the goals of the company and they engage themselves to innovate new offerings and market to expand their territory, market and customers with the help of updated and suitable information. Sainsbury is moving forward to expand their market and increase their market share to lead this market and reach the pinnacle of the success, as Tesco is following.

1.0 Relationship marketing Strategy

Relationship marketing strategy refers to building a sustainable relationship with the valued clients in the market for the longer period of time. They try to build a life long relationship with their customers through loyalty and outstanding customers’ support and experience by delivering satisfactory products. It mainly includes the development of operations that are internally connected. It is developed internally (Brock, 2019).

Significance of Relationship Marketing

Relationship marketing strategy refers to the strategy that helps build relationship for long time among the customers and company. Technology and social media are playing an integral part in building stronger relationship marketing. Branding is another approach to build relationship marketing (Grubb, 2015). The significance of relationship marketing is given below:

It helps build client loyalty.
This approach provides necessary marketing idea.
It reduces the clients’ acquisition cost (Grubb, 2015).
It helps in marketing method of word of mouth that leads to free marketing (Mulyana et al., 2019).
It forms brand loyalty to increase loyal customer.
It provides competitive advantage to the company.
- The role of Internet and social media in regards to relationship marketing strategy

Internet has been making our lives easy and comfortable and it is same for business world as well. It is assisting the company to record, evaluate and store numerous records in their particular website and their online business hub. Internet is helping the company gather numerous information regarding target market and the customers at minimum price and time. Internet offers abundant information, which might be helpful for the company. The company gathers crucial information regarding customers through personalized advertisements, games and many more. As a result with the help of Internet the company gets necessary information that helps the business flourish. On the other hand, social media permits the company to make rapport with their customers informally and it strengthens the relationship among them (Mulyana et al., 2019). Previously it was difficult to maintain records of the clients however, now it has become easier and swift doing the same task with the help of social media. The company can get instant information about the customers through social media and be connected with each other easily. It also reduces the advertisement costs and customers’ acquisition expense.

Role of data in developing relationship marketing strategy in Sainsbury

In this massive competition, relationship marketing strategy indeed plays a crucial role to make huge sales, revenue and build a strong and sustainable position in the market. The company tries to offer best offerings and services to retain the customers via relationship market. They also try to build a strong rapport with them and wish to make strong brand value in the eyes of the customers. The strong and effective relationship marketing helps the company to flourish in the market quickly. However, information and relationship marketing are interrelated to each other and the importance of it is undeniable.

Sainsbury is absolutely concerned of this idea and thus they gather information about the market and customers from time to time. They try to figure out the current and prospective trends and demands through the information provided by the customers (Company profile for Sainsbury’s, 2020). So, it could be summarizing the role data in developing relationship marketing strategy as follows:

In developing relationship marketing strategy, data and information works as the best weapon to contact with the customer. By sharing product information, Sainsbury can easily contact with customer at very initial stage.
In developing relationship marketing strategy, data and information helps to design product and supply it according customer demand, as the information of recent trends shows the path of new product innovation as well as development of existing product in Sainsburys.
Sainsbury makes plans and strategies utilizing the data and information they gathered from the market sources and based on that they segment their market, figure out their target market and positioning their offerings in the market. Furthermore, this data helps the company to figure out the customers’ purchase behavior and after sales behavior of customers.
- Role of customer data in improving customer expectations and service excellence

Any company is formed with the intention of generating sales and profit and they deliver their offering and services to the customers through satisfying their customers. They gather customers’ data and various clients’ information to develop their customers’ satisfaction through providing excellent client services (Kotler, Armstrong and Amador Araujo, 2017). The benefits Sainsbury gets utilizing customers data are:

It assists to identify the customers’ profile.
Customer data helps in identifying the preferences of customer (Brock, 2019).
It provides the ideas of customers’ needs and demands.
Customers’ purchase habit is recognized through the customers’ data (Mahmoud et al., 2017).
Customers sometimes provide necessary feedback to the company regarding their loopholes and so they can amend accordingly and enhance the better service towards the customers (Brock, 2019).
Customer data helps the company introduce new products offering and services and segment the market properly.

2.0Segmentation, targeting and positioning

STP stands for segmentation, targeting as well as positioning, which are regarded as crucial marketing tactics. This strategy is used to unleash new opportunity and new scope for the company (Mahmoud, Kastner and Lartey, 2017). Marketing personnel mostly rely on it as it can help the company attain the goals and purpose of the company.

STP Strategy of Sainsbury

Market segmentation

Company is likely to split market to carry out the marketing activities easily and swiftly into minor group is called market segmentation. Market is segmented in terms of gender, region, lifestyle, age and so on. Efficient market dissection assists a company categorizing the clients’ demand and delivers exact products that eventually lead to intensify the sales of the company (Mahmoud et al., 2017). Market is segmented into 4 categories briefly described below:

Geographic: Under this category market is divided depending on geographic location like states, places, countries etc. It is one of the crucial elements of market segmentation (Mulyana et al., 2019). The company must research on it before launching any business venture or offerings because sales greatly depend on the demand of that particular choices and preferences.
Demographic: Under this category market is segmented in terms of demographic factors for instance gender, income age, religion, occupation etc.
Psychographic: Under this category market is segmented in terms of personality, lifestyle, social status, brand preferences etc.
Behavioral: Under this category market is segmented in terms of usage, loyalty, perception, and behavior towards the offerings or products (Mulyana et al., 2019).

Targeting

Targeting refers to the company that requires choose a group of people whom the company will target to sell their products and marketing offerings. They will put special care on that particular people. Normally company selects few segments and makes plans to draw the particular customers (Putra and Putri, 2019). In this phase the company must choose the exact target group of customers to sales their products and relish the revenue and attain the goals of the company.

Positioning

Positioning is a crucial marketing tactic that assists to differentiate the company from its rivals existing in the market. It helps them build a separate identity to capture the market. It also sets an image in the mind of the customers. The company tends to deliver best qualitative products and best services to their customers and build a market position in the market (Putra and Putri, 2019).

The method of improving STP strategies

The STP model is an audience rather than product focused approach with regards to digital communications, which has opened up a world of new audiences with whom to deliver your message, this model tailors that media to the relevant market.

Segment or separate the market

Existing markets could be dissected based on demographic, geographic, behavioral and psychographic described below:

Demographic segmentation: Sainsbury usually trades all kinds of products based on demographic forces. They mainly sell products for both genders of all ages. They sell vegetables, groceries items, clothes, furniture and many more.
Behavioral segmentation: Sainsbury sells daily necessities to their customers and so the customers tend to purchase their daily products from their outlets due to authenticity, brand value and reasonable price (Ravilochanan and Devi, 2012). The company also focuses on the customers’ health and supplies the products accordingly. Consequently, they are likely to sell organic goods more.
Geographic segmentation: Sainsbury segmented their market based on regions, states and countries. That’s why they have their own business outlets across the United Kingdom be it in residential place, train station, center of city or any crowed places of the country. The outlets they have in residential places are big in sizes known as supermarket while those are situated in central region are smaller one is known as local of Sainsbury (Ravilochanan and Devi, 2012).
Psychographic segmentation: Sainsbury segmented their market based on psychology. They sell different kinds of expensive and branded goods in affluent areas while they also sell inexpensive products at reasonable price in destitute areas.

Target the above segments

After market segment the company requires choose their target market or customers. It narrows down the market and arranges the products to deliver accordingly. This strategy helps the company grow more and relish more success and attain the goals of the company.

Generally the more accurate data and information are gathered regarding the market and customers, the better Sainsbury is able to serve. Sainsbury normally sells various types of products and for all kind of people regardless of gender and age. They target female and family oriented people, as these kinds of people tend to do more shopping comparing to others. Also they are less likely to switch brands frequently (Scheflow and Bodenberg, 2003). Moreover, they open their outlets in busy regions to intensify the sales.

Positioning the brand

Sainsbury has successfully established their brand image in the mind of customers. They have already built a strong position in the market and considered one of the most reliable retail shops in the United Kingdom. They are already leading the market capturing the 2^nd position in the market share. Customers get their necessity and do shopping for the high qualitative products, reasonable price, strong brand value and excellent customers services (Scheflow and Bodenberg, 2003).

Implementation of the product or service

Sainsbury has a wide range of products in their different outlets. They have brought out diversity in groceries, clothes, fashion and many more. What more, they are diversifying their portfolio into different categories as well such as banks, furniture, agriculture, energy and so forth.

Now they may diversify their portfolio of products or market into home appliances such as making electronic based products. They may invest hugely in manufacturing air-conditioned, oven, cookers, fridge and so on. For this they can target family class people with solvent income. The reason behind selecting this kind of family class is that this group of people likes to prefer purchase products with higher qualitative products at reasonable prices and they remain loyal for quality products (Siems et al., 2010).

They can target another market to expand their territories out of the country and set up the business towards developing countries. They can target their market focusing on working class and the people who prefer branded products. They use Internet and social media to advertise their products to expand the market in the particular areas (Siems etal., 2010). Moreover, they may utilize social gathering events and places for advertisements and letting the target market know their existence or opening their outlets nearby.

3.0The probable new target market

The probable new target market for Sainsbury might be a college and university goer. They have limited income or remuneration got from the family. Now a days, they are much more fashion concern and try to present them beautifully in every step of life but they have lack of opportunity due to limited pocket expense or remuneration. Therefore, Sainsbury may handpick this group of people to segment their market.

Develop a new strategy for attracting new Target Group

Define market: At first, Sainsbury requires choose a target market to sell their products and here they chose student to expand their market who are actually college and university student. So, Sainsbury is defining the target group who are student.

Selling Channel: There are so many channels for attracting the student target group but the thing is to identify the effective selling channel for them to reach them very easily. Sainsbury can sell their products through online and appointing brand ambassadors in the campus. Even though they can promote the youth product by celebrities in UK. It will intensify the sales and thus the company will be able to capture the market easily and generate more profit (Vidhya, 2017).

Products strategy: The product would be designed with other additional benefits and must consider the pricing factors along with product offerings. As this group of people has constraint income and therefore the company may sell their products offering numerous discounts and at reasonable prices.

Marketing tactics: They may utilize online media, personalized ads, and cookies to advertise their products to the customers. They can also do advertisement through social media influencers and brand ambassadors. This method is less costly comparing to others.

Assess success: Finally the company requires assess the success rate of the actions and campaigns to ensure whether they have met the purpose and plans as prepared beforehand by the marketers. If the results are favorable, the company can focus on their new target market of students (Vidhya, 2017). Otherwise they may skip this plan of targeting this group of people.

Techniques used to design marketing and sales strategies

Product: Sainsbury ought to deliver various kinds of offering and products to their target customers. They should come up with new line of products to diversify their products portfolio (Zou and Fu, 2011). They also should focus on delivering qualitative products at reasonable prices. Hence they can capture more loyal target customers.

Price: Sainsbury must construct a reasonable pricing model so that the target customers feel comfortable while purchasing their products. Also they ought to set their pricing in such a way so that they can offer the products on discounts on important occasions to grab more extensive customers and make huge profits (Vidhya, 2017).

Promotion: Sainsbury must adopt the digital marketing campaign such as social media, Internet, together with traditional medium and thus it will reduce the advertisement cost at a great level. Apart from that they will be able to grab huge amount of new customers and target market (Zou and Fu, 2011).

Place: Sainsbury is already focusing the busiest places of the city, regions to sell their products and services. Apart from the offline stores, Sainsbury must develop their own website extensively and updated it from time to time. They must use online portals and websites to sell their products and services through online stores to grab the extended market (Vidhya, 2017).

STP Strategy Analysis

Segmentation	Sainsbury usually target those who love to shop and shop frequently. Therefore, they focus mostly on female and family class. They offer their products at different prices according to the economic level of places, income and preferences. They are operating their business across the UK for several years and these approaches have been making them one of the market leaders in the UK.
Targeting	Their target market is female and working class people. They are offering outstanding qualitative products within the customers’ purchase power. They also are concerned of delivering customers satisfaction through their services. The company has brought wide range of wardrobe for the female customers who are fashion conscious and working population.
Positioning	Sainsbury is focusing on the quality of their products at reasonable pricing model. They have already established a strong brand value in the market. The customers feel comfortable while purchasing their necessary products from their stores due to authenticity, affordable pricing and product quality. This market sense and position will help the company construct well pricing strategy.

4.0 Rational for designing new product and service to meet the customer needs

Innovation refers to presenting new products, services and advanced version of an existing products and services on behalf of the company. Innovation assists the company to satisfy the customers’ demand, preferences and thus the company tries to attain competitive advantage in the market. In recent business world, no company can survive without innovation. It assists the company to survive for the longer period of time. The reasons for innovation are:

Able to deliver new products: Innovation assists the company to deliver new and advanced products and services to their customers to satisfy their demand and needs. No company can survive without continuous innovation and the best example of it is Nokia. Therefore, Sainsbury is always concerned of innovating new products and services to draw their customers and advanced the existing products to sustain in the market (Zou and Fu, 2011).

For superior quality: The Company carries out numerous researches to improve their products and services. At the same time company innovate new items and advanced the existing products and services to ensure superior quality of the products so that they satisfy the customers needs perfectly (Kotler, Armstrong and Amador Araujo, 2017).

Satisfy customer needs: Sainsbury offers numerous products to satisfy their customers’ needs. Moreover, they innovate new products and advanced their existing products so that it will be able to fulfill the customers’ needs out of the products. They always gather necessary information regarding customers buying pattern, changing demands and preferences to retain the customers to their stores and thus sustain in the market (Ravilochanan and Devi, 2012).

5.0 Recommendations on current products and service strategy to satisfy customer needs

Sainsbury ought to update their products texture by advancing them through innovation.
Construct a competitive pricing model as customer can get the easy access to purchase any product.
They should extensively invest in online platforms to sell their products because the online market is getting bigger day by day. Moreover, in recent time people would like to order product through online platform.
They should focus on improving packaging pattern and come up with more exciting packaging.
They should open the practice of home delivery in their product delivery as well as distribution system and it will increase the efficiency of (McCormic, 2020).
Invest in product innovation is very important because innovation helps to design new product for the customer and thus it helps to develop a new customer base.
They should train their employees and staffs to be humbler and more amicable and make the shopping convenient with great employee support (McCormic, 2020).
They should also invest in technology more as business world soon switching to online platforms.
They must invest heavily in building strong network with other stakeholders to get crucial information regarding trends and customers and rapport with their customers (McCormic, 2020).

6.0 Conclusion

In present marketing world companies emphasize on the significance of customer data. They got to understand that relationship marketing and data play a crucial role in flourishing the business operation. The company got to understand the customers purchase pattern, their preferences, and their attitude towards products through customer data. Customers sometimes provide necessary feedback on the services and products of the company and Sainsbury may take them into consideration to improve their services and products (Scheflow and Bodenberg, 2003). Thus, they can improve their customer services and deliver customers satisfaction and generate extensive profits and relish the leading position while the mechanism of relationship marketing would be effective.

References

Briefings, C. and Briefing, I., 2020. IGD Sainsbury’s Trade Briefing 2020. [online] Igd.com. Available at: <https://www.igd.com/events/conferences-and-trade-briefings/igd-sainsburys-trade-briefing> [Accessed 22 October 2020].

Brock, D., 2019. Customer Relationship Marketing. Hanover, NH: Scribl.

Grubb, M., 2015. Behavioral Consumers in Industrial Organization: An Overview. Review of Industrial Organization, 47(3), pp.247-258.

Kotler, P., Armstrong, G. and Amador Araujo, L., 2017. Marketing. México, D.F.: Pearson Educación.

Mahmoud, M., Kastner, A. and Lartey, J., 2017. Internet-Based Relationship Marketing: A Sub-Saharan African Perspective. Journal of Relationship Marketing, 16(3), pp.179-196.

Mulyana, M., Hendar, H., Zulfa, M. and Ratnawati, A., 2019. Marketing Innovativeness on Marketing Performance: Role of Religio-Centric Relational Marketing Strategy. Journal of Relationship Marketing, 19(1), pp.52-74.

Putra, I. and Putri, D., 2019. The Mediating Role of Relationship Marketing between Service Quality and Customer Loyalty. Journal of Relationship Marketing, 18(3), pp.233-245.

Ravilochanan, P. and Devi, B., 2012. Analysis of Customer Preference in Organized Retail Stores. International Journal of Trade, Economics and Finance, pp.209-212.

Scheflow, L. and Bodenberg, T., 2003. Managing Customer Data For Strategic Advantage. New York, NY: Conference Board.

Siems, F., Bruton, J. and Moosmayer, D., 2010. Integrating Core Marketing Ethical Values into Relationship Marketing. Journal of Relationship Marketing, 9(2), pp.68-82.

the Guardian. 2020. Company Profile For Sainsbury’s. [online] Available at: <https://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/companies-list-s-t1> [Accessed 22 October 2020].

Vidhya, D., 2017. Consumer Shopping Behavior towards Retail Stores In Coimbatore City. International Journal of Scientific Research and Management.

Zou, S. and Fu, H., 2011. International Marketing. Bingley: Emerald.

Relationship Marketing Strategy, Relationship Marketing Strategy, Relationship Marketing Strategy prepared by ——-

Written by

Md. Shadequr Rahaman

Email: [email protected]