Relationship Marketing of Telecommunication in Uk

In this essay we will be looking at the reasons behind why companies such as O2, Orange and T-Mobile all pursue relationship marketing strategies, how effective these are, and their advantages and disadvantages. RM is to identify and establish, maintain and enhance and, when necessary, terminate relationships with customers and other stakeholders, at a profit so that the objectives of all parties involved are met, and this is done by mutual exchange and fulfilment of promises (Egan, 2008).

Relationship marketing consists of six different dimensions: RM seeks to create new value for customers and then share it with them, RM recognises the key role that customers have both as purchasers and in defining the value in which they wish to achieve, RM businesses are seen to design and align processes, communications, technology and people in support of customer value, RM represents continuous cooperative effort between buyers and sellers, RM recognises the value of customers’ purchasing lifetimes, RM seeks to build a chain of relationships within the organisation, to create the value that customers want, and between the organisation and its main stakeholders, including suppliers, distribution channels, intermediaries and stakeholders (Egan, 2008).

The telecommunications market has grown vastly and now contains many firms competing against each other. The companies we will assess are O2, Orange, and T-Mobile.

With over 20 million customers in the UK, O2 is the leading provider of mobile and broadband services. The company was formed in 2002 as a result of the rebranding of BT Cellnet and in 2006 became subsidiary Telefonica European. O2’s main focus is to achieve large profits through deals and service packages that they felt would satisfy customer needs.

However, O2 eventually discovered that the trend for giving away handsets and additional accessories was no longer sufficient in convincing prospective customers to sign up to prohibitively long-term contracts,...