Relationship Marketing Strategy and implementation

BA collects data regarding the flights taken by its club members and this
allows BA to communicate offers and information on these locations. BA
also knows the history of any contacts they’ve had with the Executive
Club, e.g. if a customer has complained previously, BA’s response will
acknowledge this and tailor the action taken. However, BA is less good at
using this knowledge during journeys as the cabin crew don’t have access
to the database.
To ensure that the club is meeting the needs of its members BA regularly
undertakes market research. This involves speaking directly to several
hundred members in each region. The technique used is to ask about a spe-
cific flight to determine factors influencing carrier choice. This data is then
programmed into an operational research model to determine how much
revenue is being driven by each criterion. The main factors are schedule,
master brand preference, membership of Executive Club, corporate policy
and price. Schedule is pre-eminent on short haul, but on long haul, if there
is a daily flight, other factors are more important.
This modelling allows BA’s Relationship Marketing Department to
determine the additional revenue that the Club’s activities are likely to
create and by deducting the cost of the programme, the additional profit
generated for BA is calculated. By 1996, the Relationship Marketing
Department was the largest of the BA marketing departments, with a six-
fold increase in staffing since 1991. Details of the marketing department’s
organization structure for 1995 are given in Figure 6.2.5.

Customer service
BA argues that its success is based on cutting costs and changing the
company’s culture to provide first class customer service. At the heart of
the customer service ethic is the concept of service recovery. It is not just
enough to aim to get it right first time, now staff needed to be able to

Creating and implementing relationship marketing strategies 483

Director of

Marketing

GM

Marketing

Communications

GM

Marketing

(Acting)

Product

Development

GM

Marketing

Brands

GM

Marketing

Relationship

Marketing

GM

Marketing

Information &

Entertainment

Figure 6.2.5 Marketing department organization structure, 1995.