CONSUMER

RELATIONS AND
MARKETING
Chap. 13 Otis Baskin

CONSUMER RELATIONS AND

MARKETING

Public Relations support for the overall

marketing mix, including product design,
distribution, communication and pricing
can play a significant role in the
effectiveness of any marketing strategy

HOW??????

Complaint handling quick and effective

Attempt to strengthen two way
communication between an organisation and
its publics
Information about consumer concerns to be
communicated promptly to manufacturing
and service personnel so as to correct
problems before they affect public opinion

PR DIFFERS FROM MARKETING

ON FOLLOWING GROUNDS

Marketing does not deal with the following

key concerns but PR does,
Internal publics such as employees,
shareholders and management
Reputation or image building
External publics (other than consumers) such
as government
Crisis management
Public opinion change; social issues
Issues management

RELATIONSHIP MARKETING

Customers want to be served and not sold

PR can help make an organisations corporate
climate conducive to customer service. It
emphasises relationship with stakeholders.

Applying PR techniques to
marketing

Product / Service design

Distribution
Communication
Price

Product / Service design

Can collect data from various publics as PR

practioners are constantly in touch with
them (informal research)
PLC
Launch-

Special events and publicity foster

greater reception
Growth Publicity helps to increase consumer
awareness
Maturity Increase visibility
Decline other communication tools can help
delay a products decline in the market

.Product / Service design

PR practioners skill in communicating and

understanding publics, can help guide proper
styling and packaging of products and
services

Distribution

PR people can be a great source of

information and can assist marketing in
deciding where and how a product can be
offered to customers
e.g.: Banks learned that ATMs must be safe
to use and close to customers homes and
workplaces, ATMs wider access was realised

Communication

Educating the market

PRs domain is usually non-product
advertising, but input from PR practioners
can facilitate product promotion etc.
Trade shows, special events, exhibits,
displays, and other techniques are part of PR
to communicate effectively with customers

Price

PR gives some inputs in order to determine

or facilitate pricing decisions

Change in trends

CAVEAT EMPTOR

to

CAVEAT VENDITOR

(Let the buyer beware) (Let the seller

beware)

Damage to buyer-seller
relationship occurs due to

Inadequate repairs and guarantees

Unfair and deceptive advertising

Generally faced situation

Manufacturer ignores the appeal altogether
and makes no response. Some do respond
and advise the consumer to contact the
dealer.others recommend contact the
distributor or area service representative.
This often leads to what is described as the
runaround, with a considerable exchange
of correspondence, broken appointments,
and nothing being done, with the
manufacturer, distributor and retailer all
disclaiming any blame or ability to solve the
problem.

Efficient complaint handling

Consumer complaints must be solicited

All complaints to be logged when received
The complaining party should be notified at
receipt how the problem will be handled
Action to resolve the complaint should follow
quickly
Affected company personnel and
departments should be notified promptly and
their responses monitored
Ongoing analyses of complaint patterns
should be aimed at preventing future
problems