Kudler Fine Foods Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Kudler Fine Foods - Essay Example mmunicating and delivering value to customers, and also by managing customer relationships in such a way that it benefits the organization and its stakeholders (Kerin et al, 2006:8). The focus of the current strategic objectives of the Company is to improve customer loyalty and enhance customer profitability by offering expanded services such as cooking classes and parties in the store to increase customer frequency of visits and promote word of mouth marketing. Another initiative that is proposed is to track customer purchase behavior and offer loyalty points which may be redeemed for other specialty foods, airline tickets, etc. Thirdly, the Company is also integrating new software systems and starting employee training programs to improve efficiency of operations. With the help of technology, the Company is tracking financial data, so that customer behavior over time can be analyzed. Therefore Kudler is focusing upon delivering value to customers and managing customer relations to benefit the organization. However, before actually entering into this plan, the Company needs to carry out extensive marketing research. Marketing research encompasses the process of first arriving at a definition of the marketing problem and opportunity and then systematically collecting and analyzing information, which will form the basis upon which proposed action can be recommended (Kerin, Hartley, Berkowitz, & Rudelius 2006: 206). In the case of Kudler, it must be noted that most of the initiatives that are proposed are new ones – such as starting cooking classes and rewarding customer loyalty through a points system. While everyday discounts for regular customers have proven efficacy, the efficacy of the points system in ensuring customer loyalty has not been conclusively proved. Customer loyalty has been defined by Dick and Basu as â€Å"the relationship between the rela tive attitude toward an entity (brand/service/store/vendor) and patronage behavior.† (Dick and Basu, 1994: