Marketing and Management Report: Entrepreneurship & Customer Loyalty

This report examines key aspects of marketing and management, drawing insights from entrepreneurial experiences shared at the National Retail Federation and analyzing the customer relationship management system of 1800flowers. The report highlights the positive aspects of entrepreneurship, such as fostering inclusivity and self-empowerment, as well as the importance of customer-centric strategies. The analysis of 1800flowers' customer service reveals strategies for building customer loyalty, including personalized service, reward programs, and proactive issue resolution. The report emphasizes the significance of adapting to the evolving retail landscape and the need for businesses to prioritize customer satisfaction to achieve success. The report also includes references to academic literature to support the analysis.

Running head: MARKETING AND MANAGEMENT
Marketing and management
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Question 1:
From the readings, it can be found out that there are certain people who are as stubborn as
the entrepreneurs are. From the stories and experiences shared by the entrepreneurs at the
National Retail Federation, it can be found out that this career direction leads to a culture of
positivity and self- empowerment. The career as an entrepreneur helps in promoting inclusivity
and pleasure in the surrounding neighborhood where he sells his products and services. A
program organized by an entrepreneur helps in assembling similar minded people where ideas
and thoughts are shared among them. For instance, Michael Lastoria of &pizza arranges
programs with the like- minded entrepreneurs to fulfill the consumers’ wish for valid
experiences. Even though the entrepreneur had not invested in any form of marketing or
advertising but still more than 5 lakh people have visited Museum of Ice cream (National Retail
Federation, 2018).
There were other entrepreneurs such as Marcia Kilgore and Dan Levitan in the session.
Kilgore is a great entrepreneur who is responsible for creating one great brand after the other. He
is a great mentor for the budding entrepreneurs, as he knows the ways applicable in making a
successful business. The area of entrepreneurship has being appealing due to the words spoken
by these great people. As per Dan Levitan, co- founder and general partner of Maveron, “it is
hard to collect data about what people think that they should wear. We underestimated and
thought backwards by considering retail as an experience, not respecting the size of the market.”
Therefore, it can be said that the retail industry is growing in the recent days and it will be a good
idea to consider the same as a career plan (Burns, 2016). The retail industry will become stronger
than ever and those retailers who will allow the consumers to personalize the products will have
a better opportunity to excel in the coming days.

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Being an entrepreneur, an individual can be his own boss. There is no need for an
entrepreneur to be under the control of anyone. This is the most attractive part of being an
entrepreneur. It lays on the hands of the entrepreneur the work he wants to do and likes to do.
The biggest advantage of being an entrepreneur is that he can plan to do such tasks, which will
be able to improve his skills, and he can work on his strong areas for improvement (Kansikas et
al., 2012). The sole responsibility of the company is on the hands of the entrepreneur and he
needs to face the challenges all by himself. This might be exciting for the entrepreneur as
everyday will be a new journey for them. Planning is an integral part of the entrepreneur’s life.
They need to plan beforehand about their work schedule by maintaining all the other
commitments such as family time and personal works. In terms of salary, the entrepreneur earns
money that is dependent on his efforts. Work is love for the entrepreneurs and not a burden
(Aguinis, H., & Glavas, 2012).
Question 2:
From the website of 1800flowers it can be found out that they have a well- organized
system of customer relationship management. Every member of this company aims to deliver
happiness to their customers in the form of original flowers and gifts. The gifts and flowers are
sent on behalf of the company founder and president to the specialist growers and the brilliant
floral designers. If the customers, who are on the other end of receiving gifts have any kind of
issue then they can immediate escalate the concern and it will be immediately addressed
(1800flowers.com, 2018).
The team of local delivery florists and the logistics take special care for on- time delivery
of the gifts and flowers within the normal working hours. However, in the peak festive season

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such as Christmas or any other special day, the delivery hours are extended than the usual. This
area needs to be improved by the company in order to retain the customer service management.
The customer service executives do everything possible in their hands to help the customers in
resolving their issue (Kim, Park & Wier, 2012).
The reward system I the company enables saving of a $20 pass against the earning of
every 200 points. The points can be earned by shopping with 1800flowers, which helps in
enhancing the balance with special bonus offers. The company builds and maintains a good
rapport with the customers by presenting them with free anniversary gifts for being a loyal and
dedicated customer. All of the flowers and gifts of the company have a 1005 smile guarantee
which appeals to the customers and the company takes pride in it. 1800flowers are always ready
to solve any kind of issue on their part and convince the customers to forfeit that. The strategies
to increase customer loyalty include giving a refund, re-delivery or exchange offers. They
believe in making the customers satisfied and that is the reason they implement those strategies
mentioned (Pruett, 2012). Their objective is to provide the customers with a lifetime experience
every time they shop from them.
Moreover, the company provides promotion code to the customers along with
membership number so that they do not switch to other companies. Discounts are always a
lucrative offer to the customers and they immediately get hold of it. The company values their
customers a lot and do not want to lose them at any cost. Therefore, they keep a track of their
birthdays and anniversary dates and send them wishes by eGift cards. These are the tactics used
by the company but they need to continue with this superior service (Servaes & Tamayo, 2013).
It will help them to retain the loyal customers and improve their business in the market. Their on-
time delivery is an advantage so they need to keep up to that even on the festive days.

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References
1800flowers.com. (2018). Flowers | Flower Delivery | Fresh Flowers Online | 1-800-
Flowers.com. [online] Available at: https://www.1800flowers.com/ [Accessed 20 Mar.
2018].
Aguinis, H., & Glavas, A. (2012). What we know and don’t know about corporate social
responsibility: A review and research agenda. Journal of management, 38(4), 932-968.
Burns, P. (2016). Entrepreneurship and small business. Palgrave Macmillan Limited.
Kansikas, J., Laakkonen, A., Sarpo, V., & Kontinen, T. (2012). Entrepreneurial leadership and
familiness as resources for strategic entrepreneurship. International Journal of
Entrepreneurial Behavior & Research, 18(2), 141-158.
Kim, Y., Park, M. S., & Wier, B. (2012). Is earnings quality associated with corporate social
responsibility?. The Accounting Review, 87(3), 761-796.
National Retail Federation. (2018). Retail’s most innovative brands are learning from each
other. [online] Available at: https://nrf.com/blog/retails-most-innovative-brands-are-
learning-each-other [Accessed 20 Mar. 2018].
Pruett, M. (2012). Entrepreneurship education: Workshops and entrepreneurial
intentions. Journal of Education for Business, 87(2), 94-101.
Servaes, H., & Tamayo, A. (2013). The impact of corporate social responsibility on firm value:
The role of customer awareness. Management science, 59(5), 1045-1061.