In order to create value and build strong customer relationships, marketers must work closely with a variety of marketing partners. Thus they are now focusing on partner relationship management, which helps them work closely with partners in other company departments and outside the company to jointly add more value to customers.
Traditionally, marketers have been charged with understanding customers and representing customer needs to different departments. However, in today’s more connected world, every functional area can connect with customers. New thinking is that no matter what your job is in a company, you must understand marketing and be customer focused.
Marketers must also partner with suppliers, channel partners, and others outside the company. Marketing channels consist of distributors, retailers, and others who connect the company to its buyers. Through Supply Chain Management, companies today are strengthening their connections with partners all along the supply chain.
The companies understand that their fortune rests on more than just how well they perform. Success at delivering customer value rests on how well their entire supply chain performs against their competitors.
