PARTNER RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT
When it comes to creating customer value and building strong
customer relationships, today’s marketers know that they can’t go it alone.
They must work closely with a variety of marketing partners. In addition to
being good at customer relationship management, marketers must also be
good at partner relationship management—working closely with others
inside and outside the company to jointly engage and bring more value to
customers.
Traditionally, marketers have been charged with understanding
customers and representing customer needs to different company
departments. However, in today’s more connected world, every functional
area in the organization can interact with customers. The new thinking is
that—no matter what your job is in a company—you must understand
marketing and be customer focused. Rather than letting each department
go its own way, firms must link all departments in the cause of creating
customer value.
Marketers must also partner with suppliers, channel partners, and
others outside the company. Marketing channels consist of distributors,
retailers, and others who connect the company to its buyers. The supply
chain describes a longer channel, stretching from raw materials to
components to final products that are carried to final buyers. Through supply
chain management, companies today are strengthening their connections
with partners all along the supply chain. They know that their fortunes rest
on more than just how well they perform. Success at delivering customer
value rests on how well their entire supply chain performs against
competitors’ supply chains.
