Connections with Marketing's Partners

Connecting inside the company--traditionally, the marketers have played role of mediator, charged with understanding customer needs and representing the customer to different company departments, which after that acted upon these needs.

1). Marketing no longer has solitary ownership of customer interactions.

a).  Now, every employee ought to be customer-focused.

b). Companies is identifying their operations to align them better with customer needs.

c). Teams coordinate make efforts toward the customer.

Connecting with outside partners--most of the companies today are networked companies, relying greatly on partnerships with other firms.

1). Supply chain management--the supply chain explained a longer channel, stretching from the  raw materials to components to last products that are carried to final buyers.  Each member of supply chain creates and captures just a portion of the total value produced by the supply chain.

2). Supply chain management permit all partners to strengthen relationships for mode of delivery and payment.

3). Strategic alliances: -The companies need strategic partners.

a).  Many strategic alliances take the form of marketing alliances:-can be service or product oriented in which one company licenses another to produce its product, or two companies together market their complementary products.

b). Alliances could be logistical, promotional or even pricing in nature.

c). Companies have to be careful when selecting partners so as to complement strengths and offset weaknesses.