96805 - MICRO-MARKETING AND CRM

Learning outcomes

The purpose of the course is to make participants understand and appreciate the relative strengths and weaknesses of a variety of customer satisfaction and customer value measurement approaches and instruments available today. At the end of the course the student is familiar with, and is able to choose among, strategies and tactics aimed to optimize the quality of the relationships between the company and the actual and/or potential customer base, improving customer satisfaction, customer loyalty and, finally, company’s profitability. At the end of this course participants are able to: - Understand the meaning of (and the relations between) customer satisfaction, CRM and loyalty - Apply relevant concepts of business analysis to marketing problems, with specific emphasis on CRM decisions (Customer Lifetime Value estimation, customer satisfaction measurement and related managerial implications) - Be familiar with different types of real world customer-level data, and able to apply advanced statistical techniques to those data. - Manage and analyze customers related data through modern Customer Relationship Management software

Course contents

In mature and highly competitive markets the concept of customer satisfaction as a fundamental precursor of loyalty, profitability and customer value plays a central role in the implementation of successful business models. While finding new customers is vital, it is important to realize that retaining current customers is much less expensive than to finding new customers. It is therefore no surprise that a great deal of attention has been recently brought to the issue of designing and establishing formal systems able to bring the “voice of the customer” into the business/marketing decision-making processes. The purpose of the course is to make participants understand and appreciate the relative strengths and weaknesses of a variety of customer value and customer satisfaction measurement approaches and instruments available today. A key element in this process is measuring customer satisfaction through market research. As such, the course will focus on the understanding and the actual implementation of the customer satisfaction measurement practices currently employed in business environment. The links existing between Customer Satisfaction scores, Customer Relationship Management (CRM) instruments and Customer Profitability results will be explored in depth, in order to create an understanding of how companies, service organizations and retail banks translate CS measurement in actual commercial strategies and decisions.

At the end of this course participants will be able to:

• Understand the meaning of (and the relations between) customer satisfaction, CRM, Customer Value Management and loyalty

• Evaluate the main techniques available to measure customer satisfaction and Customer Value Management

• Design customer satisfaction measurement processes

• Recognize how customer satisfaction impacts profitability

• Identify the main issues involved in customer satisfaction (and dissatisfaction) management

Readings/Bibliography

A reading package will be made available by the instructor at the beginning of the course

Teaching methods

The course teaching methods includes cases discussions, desk analyses of customer satisfaction data sets and group project work to allow participants to apply to real settings the concepts and techniques that have been analysed during the course. The project work consist of the design, implementation and final presentation of a professional grade marketing research related to the measurement of the customer satisfaction of a convenience sample (about 200 subjects) of customers of a service company chosen by groups' members. The groups are composed of 4-6 students.

Assessment methods

Final written exam (exam duration: 1h30m) plus assessment of team-based project works.

Marks are intended on a numerical grade scale (0 to 30), being 18 to 30 the passing grade range. As for the grading policy, the course evaluation is made of: 40% group assignments and 60% final individual examination.

The final examination will consist of open-ended questions and/or short analytical exercises concerning the topics discussed during the course.

Teaching tools

Slides, PC, statistical and IT tools

Office hours

See the website of Gian Luca Marzocchi