Discuss the role of internal marketing in marketing ...

[washai]

Discuss the role of internal marketing in marketing implementation. In what ways can the internal marketing approach help managers improve the implementation process?

Question 2

Routine follow-up with customers is important to building successful long-term relationships.
 
 Indicate whether the statement is true or false

[juiceman1987]

Answer to Question 1

The practice of internal marketing comes from service industries where it was first used as a means of making all employees aware of the need for customer satisfaction. Internal marketing refers to the use of a marketing-like approach to motivate, coordinate, and integrate employees toward the implementation of the firm's marketing strategy. The goals of internal marketing are to (1 ) help all employees understand and accept their roles in implementing the marketing strategy, (2 ) create motivated and customer-oriented employees, and (3 ) deliver external customer satisfaction.

In the internal marketing approach, every employee has two customers: external and internal. In order for implementation to be successful, each employee must serve the needs of both customer groups. If the internal customers do not receive proper information and training about the strategy and are not motivated to implement it, then it is unlikely that the external customers will be satisfied completely. This same pattern of internal and external customers takes place throughout all levels of the firm. Thus, unlike traditional implementation approaches where the responsibility for implementation rests with the front line of the firm, the internal marketing approach places this responsibility on all employees regardless of their level within the firm. In the end, successful marketing implementation comes from an accumulation of individual actions whereby all employees have responsibility for implementing the marketing strategy.

The process of internal marketing is straightforward and rests on many of the same principles used in traditional external marketing. The product, price, distribution, and promotion elements of the internal marketing program are similar to the elements in the external marketing program. Internal products refer generally to any employee tasks, behaviors, attitudes, or values necessary to ensure implementation of the marketing strategy. Implementation of a marketing strategy, particularly a new strategy, typically requires changes on the part of employees. They may have to work harder, change job assignments, or even change their attitudes and expand their abilities. The increased effort and changes that employees must exhibit in implementing the strategy are equivalent to internal prices. Employees pay these prices through what they must do, change, or give up when implementing the marketing strategy.

Internal distribution refers to the internal communication of the marketing strategy. Planning sessions, workshops, formal reports, and personal conversations are all examples of internal distribution. Internal distribution also includes employee education, training, and socialization programs designed to assist in the transition to a new marketing strategy. Finally, all communication aimed at informing and persuading employees about the merits of the marketing strategy comprise internal promotion. Internal promotion can take the form of speeches, video presentations, audiotapes, and/or internal company newsletters.

Successfully using an internal marketing approach requires an integration of many factors. First, the recruitment, selection, and training of employees must be considered an important element of marketing implementation, with marketing having input to these human resource and personnel activities as necessary. Second, top executives must be completely committed to the strategy and the overall marketing plan. It is naive to expect employees to be committed when top executives are not. Third, employee compensation programs must be linked to the implementation of the marketing strategy. This means that employees should be rewarded on the basis of behaviors consistent with the marketing strategy. Fourth, the firm should be characterized by open communication among all employees, regardless of their level in the firm. Through open, interactive communication, employees come to understand the support and commitment of top executives and how their jobs fit into the overall marketing implementation process. Finally, the firm's structure, policies, and processes should match the marketing strategy to ensure that the strategy can be implemented in the first place.

Answer to Question 2

True

[washai]

Thank you

[juiceman1987]

Happy to help you