Relevance of Internal Marketing of an Organization
CHAPTER 1
1.0 INTRODUCTION 1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
In this 21st century of accelerated product lifestyles, the easy flow of information and rapid globalization, it is easier for every company to enter the market and competition between companies has increased. As a result, the products and services are delivered according to customer needs and wants. The role of marketing managements in organizations is to identify and measure the needs and wants of customers whereas customer-orientation is the foundation of successful marketing.
Marketing is a term reserved for the process of marketing a product, service or idea to the final consumer outside the firm but marketing also takes place within an organization. Therefore, the market is not only the ultimate customer but also an individual or group of individuals, within the organization.
These internal customers are potentially as important as the external customers. Internal marketing is also beneficial to both internal customers (employees) and organization which attracts and retains employees as a resource of surviving growth and profitability and tries to pave way for partnership of employees in promoting quality of products and services for external customers.
According to Day and Wensley (1983), employees are the organization's internal customers. This regards to internal marketing implies that through internal marketing, organizations offer employees products that satisfy their needs while they contribute toward attaining the objectives of the organization. Products can be identified as jobs, attitudes, behaviours’ or values of the organization (Quester and Kelly, 1999: online).
The relevance of internal marketing to the success of an organization rest in the increased emphasis on service quality in customer oriented organizations. Although external marketing remains the most vital business development task; it is important to sell inwardly towards a company’s people, when
1.0 INTRODUCTION 1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
In this 21st century of accelerated product lifestyles, the easy flow of information and rapid globalization, it is easier for every company to enter the market and competition between companies has increased. As a result, the products and services are delivered according to customer needs and wants. The role of marketing managements in organizations is to identify and measure the needs and wants of customers whereas customer-orientation is the foundation of successful marketing.
Marketing is a term reserved for the process of marketing a product, service or idea to the final consumer outside the firm but marketing also takes place within an organization. Therefore, the market is not only the ultimate customer but also an individual or group of individuals, within the organization.
These internal customers are potentially as important as the external customers. Internal marketing is also beneficial to both internal customers (employees) and organization which attracts and retains employees as a resource of surviving growth and profitability and tries to pave way for partnership of employees in promoting quality of products and services for external customers.
According to Day and Wensley (1983), employees are the organization's internal customers. This regards to internal marketing implies that through internal marketing, organizations offer employees products that satisfy their needs while they contribute toward attaining the objectives of the organization. Products can be identified as jobs, attitudes, behaviours’ or values of the organization (Quester and Kelly, 1999: online).
The relevance of internal marketing to the success of an organization rest in the increased emphasis on service quality in customer oriented organizations. Although external marketing remains the most vital business development task; it is important to sell inwardly towards a company’s people, when