Kundrelationsarbete i den industriella försäljningsprocessen

Sammanfattning

The purpose of this thesis was to examine how the build-up of customer

relations can be characterized at the end of the industrial selling process

and how companies engage their cross-functional selling teams into this

relationship building effort. Through a case study of Omega, a

multinational

company engaged in the selling of products of an industrial character, it

was revealed that the build-up and maintaining of the customer relationship

is of acute importance, as it presents the company with a window of

opportunities. Through its relationship with the customer the company can

be

able to sell other products, which are related to the original purchase

made

by the customer. For the company’s competitors the established relationship

might also serve as a barrier when attempting to enter the market or

increase market share. The build-up of the relationship, however, was found

not to be a clearly defined process, but more of a continuous process

throughout and beyond the industrial selling process, where the members of

the company’s cross functional teams participate. We found the industrial

selling process to be a long-term process, where the relationship is the

core, in which transactions occur continuously. We also found that the

cross-

functional teams participate in the build-up of the relationship

continuously throughout the process. Our study also indicates that

companies

can form either temporary or permanent cross-functional teams, depending on

the complexity of the customer’s needs.