Introduction
In this research paper, Walmart International has been the company of choice due to its many available stores in the United States of America. Therefore, the main context of this paper involves describing how Walmart treats its customers, any consumer complaints to the retail store and interventions that has been put in place by the organization. On the broader meaning, customer relationship management includes all the strategies, technologies and practices that a company adopts to manage and analyze customers. The ye concepts of CRMA involve consumers loyalty, satisfaction, organization profitability and retention of customers. This research paper, therefore, seeks to evaluate various consumer channel elements, cultural impact on the company, and category of customers to the businesses about the organization’s customer relationship management.
Background of the study
Walmart is an American international company with a wide variety of groceries and supercenters offering discount prices of goods and services. This company was formed by Sam Walton in the mid-19th century in rogers and was incorporated by the Delaware general corporation law at the end of 1969. from previous reports, Walmart International has recorded approximately 10,585 clubs and stores in 24 countries. The company has been run as a family business by the Walton family since the founder’s demise (Sam Walton). Moreover, as per 2019, Walmart grocery was considered to be the largest retailer, with over 65 per cent of sales coming from stores in the united states (Vélez,2020)..in all the stores registered under the company, consumers can access a wide variety of goods and service such as foodstuffs, electronics, furniture, sporting goods, baby products, movies, jewellery and books. Since its establishment in 1962 by Sam Walton, the company has risen to be the leading international company in the country, with its many stores in and outside the country’s borders.
Customer relationship analysis
In this section, the research paper will be divided into three segments, each that is, the first topic outlining the main factors that enable Walmart international company to successfully negotiate with its clients and the channels available for the consumers. The second topic outlines the cultural influences and diversity of the company’s business relations and operations. The last issue in this research will comprise the integration of Walmart’s external, internal and customers interface. The methodology used in this research includes secondary material from different scholarly sources, articles and journals.
Factors that help organizations demonstrate an ability to negotiate successfully.
For a company to be successful in negotiating with customers, clients and stakeholders, certain factors must be considered. Any business organization will be effaced with different types of negotiation from time to time, irrespective of the kind of market it operates under. First, effective communication is a significant factor that controls the majority of the company’s negotiations. The organization’s utilization of good negotiation skills involves engaging in civic discussion with the associates and coming to agreeable terms for mutual benefits. Planning is the second factor determining the success of the negotiation the organization engages in its daily operations. Proper planning means it’s possible to outlook favourable terms on the bargaining table.
Moreover, a good plan of action by the company means that ether is an added advantage ahead of the other negotiating parties in coming to agreeable terms. The company should also outline its strategy, which is an understanding of effective negotiation techniques. This factor involves defining the organization’s value, role and counterpart’s vantage point. Therefore, the company will have a clear action plan ahead of the negotiation toward attaining a common goal.
Additionally, trust and relationship are other criteria that determine the success of negotiations between the company and the other associate like customers. in this aspect, Walmart company should win the trust of the customers by providing them with necessary products and services so that there will be better negotiation outcomes when information is shared between the parties and a mutual understanding of each party perceptive. Suppose there exists a good relationship between the two parties. In that case, there is a high chance of better outcomes in the negotiation in that, e organization considers the clients’ feelings.
Walmart’s consumers’ channels
The central consumer channel whereby consumer complaints and resolutions are listed includes; face-to-face in-store desk services, the use of the organization calls centre and social media blogs. In this case, Walmart’s consumer channel will be outlined, involving how consumers table their complaints. If a customer has a question or an issue to address, Walmart has a customer service team that operates at all times. The company uses a telephone contact (1-800-295-6278) whereby the customer service team will receive calls from customers regarding the products, services, complins and improvements suggestions.
Moreover, Walmart has an email whereby consumers can use to address any complaint and also, and there is an official website whereby consumer concerns can be channelled. While replying to or answering the consumer complaint in this company, effective negotiation skills need to be applied. Good negotiation skills will enable the customer service team to build a good relationship with the customers. In this case, active listening, speaking clearly and seeking clarification are some verbal negotiation skills that can be adopted in successful solutions to complaints addressed through the phones. Additionally, customers should be addressed in suitable language and not in an authoritative language that could annoy them. After many years of complaints facing the company regarding their customer service strategy, they have recorded improvements in how they respond to their customer’s issues. The application of the new mobile technology has made it possible for shoppers to use the Sam voice assistance app to ease their work (Pandey et al., 2021). Technology adoption is very effective in solving customer complaints since it efficiently serves many customers in a day through a mobile phone or access.
Impact of culture and diversity on the business relationship
Culture is a crucial criterion under consideration in that it impacts employees, and managers are controlled based on priorities and values. Moreover, culture affects the companies’ market interaction, supplies and distribution methods. Decision-making and company analysis can also be affected by cultural interactions. Walmart’s cultural impacts are varied and rich. The company has been practising the culture of servant leadership, listening to the associates and making customers their numbers priorities. The company also complies with the set ethic and codes in society for the substantiality of the business. The employers and employees embrace the culture of bettering customer needs and improving people’s lives in the community through creating shared values.
On the other hand, the approach of Walmart concerning diversity includes the inclusion of all people irrespective of race, appearance, finance or background. To 2020 reports, the company workforce incorporates more than 1.4 million associates made up of 5 per cent Asian Americans,21 per cent African Americans, 1 per cent American Indians, and 17 per cent Latin X associates. Moreover, the company express its diversity by having 56 per cent of its associates made up of women. However, this international company has been involved with issues violating the federal discrimination laws according to the Americans with disabilities act of 1990. Walmart was fined with damages regarding the disability discrimination act by the equal employment opportunity commission in the United States. The incident erupted when a 16-year-old Walmart employee suffering from down syndrome was fired due to changes in her schedule, whereby she could not manage the new working hours (Siegel et al., 2022). According to the United States Court jury, Walmart was accused of damage worth over $ 125 million. However, the company defended itself, claiming that the maximum amount to be paid under federal laws is $300,000.
Additionally, the company has been faced with defying federal laws according to age discrimination in the employment of 1990. Walmart in Texas united was charged with over $ 150,000 to settle the discrimination based on age and disability. According to reports, an employee was directly ridiculed by the retail store supervisor with insults, addressing him as “old food guy” and “old man”. Moreover, according to federal laws, the company defied the Americans with disability act, whereby the organization denied the employee accommodation due to his diabetic health complications (Pace, 2020).
Walmart has been implementing measure that supports customer diversification with their culture of inclusion for all with no remarkable differences. one example of Walmart’s effort in embracing customer diversity was observed with the introduction of the Aira app, designed to help customers with visual problems. Using their smartphones, blind customers and those with low vision can touch buttons that make them reach required products in the retail stores with the product labels. With the closure of 269 stores in countries like Germany and South Korea due to indifference sin culture, Walmart has embraced the Latin American and Asian cultures with its expansion in countries like Brazil and China (Hunt et al., 2018). The positive response in this market is embracing the different cultural groups of customers, primarily through the online platform.
Internal, external and interface customers of Walmart company
External customers in this company involve a customer who is not directly associated with the organization apart from purchasing purposes. Walmart’s highest sales include groceries, and the highest percentage of their external comprises shoppers between the ages of 45 and 54, comprising over 20 per cent of total customers. Due to the high demand for grocer products and household items from these giant stores, most of the business’s external customers lie between that age. With the lowering price strategies, Walmart also offers three cash-back rewards cards which allow customers to make money while shopping with the retail stores rather than just saving money. Additionally, the company offers promotions and discounts with the inclusion of effective customer care service so as to retain customers makes and make them loyal to the company.
Customer defection arises when the service and product providers fail to hour the initial agreement. There are many reasons why customers defects, such as; pricing issues whereby the company raises the price of a product without alerting the consumer, and poor quality of service offered. Customers are sensitive to the service provided, and a decline in the quality of service offered could lead to a defect (Yan et al., 2021). Moreover, poor quality products also lead o the termination of the consumer-organization agreement. Building a good relationship between the organization and customers creates a conducive platform whereby both parties can negotiate any adjustment needed in the business.
Walmart’s internal customers comprise managers, accountants, junior staff and shareholders. The company builds a good relationship by offering products at discounted rates and giving bonuses where necessary, such as during holidays and festive seasons (Pandey et al., 2021). Walmart’s customer interface system comprises websites, mobile phone contacts and emails. The majority of customer feedback by the company is generated through the online platform. The customer service team replied to the questions asked by customers immediately, and therefore, it was customer friendly. The use of the new technology to access the service of the company is effective since the majority of the people is aware of the use of the internet.
Conclusion
This research paper aimed to assess customer relationship management with the example of Walmart. as outlined in this research paper, the company has made various efforts to make their customers feel included in their decision-making. The company adopts a low pricing strategy implemented for consumer attraction and retention. However, different scenarios have indicated the breaking of some ethical codes as indicated by the federal was in the United States. As the company mission states, improving customers’ lives by saving their money and including customers in decision-making significantly leads to the business’s success (Pandey et al., 2021).
References
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