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Program Name: MBA Project Management Course Name: Strategic Marketing

Student ID Number: 20231374 Student Names: Ayanda Khumalo

Postal/ Email Address: ayahkhumalo@gmail.com Phone Number: +263775190413

Date Submitted:02/11/2023 Lecturer Name:

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QUESTION 2
Marketing management is not just about advertising products; it’s a comprehensive approach that
involves understanding consumer needs, developing products that provide real value and communicating
benefits through various channels

Explore how a startup company can comprehensively understand the consumer need, develop products
that can add value and communicate effectively to its market target
Introduction
Every business organization`s success depends on the satisfaction of the customers. Whenever a business
is about to start, customers always come ―first‖ and then the profit. Those companies that are succeeding
to satisfy the customers fully will remain in the top position in a market. Today’s business company has
known that customer satisfaction is the key component for the success of the business and at the same
time it plays a vital role to expand the market value. In general, customers are those people who buy
goods and services from the market or business that meet their needs and wants. Customers purchase
products to meet their expectations in terms of money. Therefore, startup companies should determine
their pricing with the quality of the product that attracts the customer to maintains the long-term
affiliation.

The character of the marketing function in many organizations makes it a ready candidate for budget cuts,
even as it is entrusted with managing such valuable assets as brands and customer relationships (Stewart,
2019; Williams, 2016). However, because such intangible assets as brand and customer relationships are
not carried on the firm’s balance sheet, they are easy to ignore. This state of affairs is changing, and with
this change, the marketing discipline has an opportunity to redefine itself. Indeed, marketing as a
discipline stands at a crossroad where it can choose to emphasize its strategic role or become a largely
tactical function. Two recent phenomena have brought marketing to this crossroad: the tremendous
growth of intangible assets as a proportion of the value of firms and the development of international
standards for the evaluation and valuation of brands. Thereon we will focuses on the implications of these
two phenomena for the future role of marketing and the evaluation of marketing’s performance and how a
startup company can comprehensively understand the consumer need, develop products that can add
value and communicate effectively to its market target. In evaluating these two phenomena and their
implications for marketing, it is useful to do so in the context of an understanding of the historical roots of
the marketing function.

In addition, The role of customers in traditional marketing seemed to have been limited to a passive
recipient of products as buyers and users. However, this traditional perception has been challenged by a
new perspective in which customers are active co-creator, co-developer, and co-producers of the product
they intend to buy and utilize. Customers have become active participants in the co-creation activities of
organizations either in services or product development or in the promotion of the products and services.

The traditional new product development approach, in which firms are solely responsible for idea
generation and for deciding which products should be marketed is increasingly being challenged by
academics and practitioners in the field of innovation management (Von Hippel, E., & Katz, R., 2002).
Researchers like Von Hippel advocated the concept of democratizing innovation by giving customers a
more active stake in new product development. The ability to develop and market a new product is critical
for a firm, especially those in technology-related businesses. Research on new product development has
shown that one of the most critical factors in new product development is to understand the customers’
needs and integrate them into the new product design ( Cooper R, G, 1979). One of the bases for new
product development research is determined on the view of the success and failure of the development. (
Cooper R, G, 1979)argued that the absence of innovativeness (that is product benefits that are unique to a
given product and are perceived as meaningful by customers) is an important basic explanation for new
product failure. Some researchers opined that the rate of failure of new product development is high
because it is a complex and difficult task ( Cooper R, G, 1979)
Problem statement
What is notable about today’s media environment is that it is at once variegated and monolithic. It is
variegated in the sense that where we once had print, radio, TV, and outdoor, new communication
channels, formats, and technologies have proliferated. In today’s media zoo, attempts to categorize any
particular format as fish or fowl can easily founder. The monolithic part explains why this is so:
underlying virtually all of today’s advertising formats is software (Hofacker, 2019). Marketers create their
communication using software, the messages are then delivered over software, the formats are defined
and executed by software, and the consumer consumes the messages on software platforms. Marketers
create their communication using software, the messages are then delivered over software, the formats are
defined and executed by software, and the consumer consumes the messages on software platforms. There
are so many advertising formats because software is, well, soft. Humans can create anything they want
with it.

According to eMarketer (2019), U.S. digital advertising spending will surpass traditional formats in 2019,
hitting close to $130 billion. With startling rapidity, interactive channels have begun to dominate the
marketing communication landscape. While some of us may be nostalgic for the feel of paper in our
hands, the millennials, and those younger still, have lived their entire media lives in a world in which the
digital is banal to the point of not being notable. (Bodo B. Schlegelmilch and Russell S. Winer, 2021)

There are so many advertising formats because software is, well, soft. Humans can create anything they
want with it. In current business activities, the success or failure of any business organization hinge on
how best such organization can fulfill its customers and this act places huge task and responsibility by
way of marketing on any organization intending to excel at satisfying their customers and clients. The
duty involves identifying the precise needs of their customers/clients and deciding on how best to handle
their products and services so as to satisfy the wants of both prospective buyers and sellers (as represented
by clients/customers). The main concern of every business organization is to maximize profit and to
achieve this objective; it befits the marketing manager of any rational business organization to plan and
implement policies which will maximize the income per unit of capital employed in the business. It is
said that understanding of consumer needs and wants is important to successful marketing just as
competition is significant at influencing how successful an organization's business enterprise can be. It is
imperative to note that it is not simply a matter of producing a good product or service alone that meet the
customers' wants and needs that give customer satisfaction, but how well the product or service is
introduced to them. In one way or the other, some firms and companies are able to do this but some are
more.
Although many stakeholders are strategically important to the firm, customers are probably the most
important group. Customers provide not only obvious financial support but also recommendations that
promote word- of- mouth, cultural recognition, and social approval that provides legitimacy. Consumers
can be advocates, product developers, and a valuable sounding board, not merely buyers. For this reason,
it is critical that marketing strategy account for both short and long term relationships with customers, be
sensitive, if not entirely socialized, to how consumers see the world (Foroughi, 2012), and meet
customers where they are— fulfilling existing, unmet needs better than competitors.

Embedded in small business management practice is the need to undertake appropriate marketing. As
research has revealed, one of the significant causes of small business failure is a gross lack of appropriate
marketing strategies. In fact, it has been pointed out that the root of this lack of proper marketing
strategies, in emerging economies lies within poor education and understanding of small business
management practices. In South Africa, it has been found that a lack of marketing strategies and skills
contribute to business failures on an ongoing basis. The idea that marketing must be done to support the
growth of business, is lacking, causing businesses to fail (Scheers, L. V. , 2010). (Petrus, 2009) also found
that a combination of factors, namely poor access to the market, and deficient marketing strategies, was a
leading cause of small business failure in South Africa. In addition, a lack of business acumen about
issues such as marketing, contribute to business failure in South Africa. Although several studies have
been conducted to ascertain the reasons why SMEs fail, research on the use of social media marketing
strategies to support the growth of small businesses has been lacking in South Africa. In fact, research by
(Stow, 2012) on the effective integration of multiple communication systems, including social media,
found that social media integrated marketing systems could allow for a two-way communication pattern,
which builds clients’ communication, thus resulting in the loyalty of clients over a broader range of
products and services.
Objectives
This study aims to explore how a start up how a startup company can comprehensively understand the
consumer need, develop products that can add value and communicate effectively to its market target.
Marketing planning is always seen as a systematic process that involves assessing marketing
opportunities and resources, determining marketing objectives, and developing a plan for implementation
and control. Managing the marketing function starts with a thorough analysis of the company's situation.
To find attractive opportunities and avoid environmental threats, startup marketing managers must
analyze their marketing environments. These analyses should help in deciding which opportunity can be
successfully pursued. In addition, these analyses feed valuable information to each function of the
marketing management. Once a marketing opportunity is defined, the marketing manager must then plan
an appropriate strategy for taking advantage of it.
Marketing managers must have clear and realistic objectives to achieve the following
 Establishing marketing objectives
 Marketing managers should identify and select their target market(s) before deciding on specific
strategies in the marketing area.
 Marketing managers are responsible for developing the marketing mix which is the set of
controllable variables that must be managed to satisfy the target market and achieve
organizational objectives.
Startup marketing management must realize that, maximizing the effectiveness of these variables should
be broadly based on segmentation findings, as well as other strategic variables (e.g., company resources,
management's values and policies, potential risk and return, etc.). Unlike the external environment, firms
have complete control over the marketing methods they employ to meet their objectives. Those managers
should understand that the marketing mix is the core of the marketing management process.
Methodology
As was mentioned before, the main objective of this article is to determining the impact of strategic,
psychological, and sociological concepts most important to understanding consumer behavior and
influence. started by reviewing books and articles. The literature review was the cornerstone of this
research and its aim was to establish a base on what has been done before on customers’ involvement in
product development addressing of customer needsand effective communication and to identify factors
that are important for the firm to its target market
Literature review
Concept of Marketing Management ; According to (Owomoyela, S.K, Oyeniyi, K.O & Ola, O.S, 2013),
the aim of the development of an organization’s marketing strategy is to establish, build, defend and
maintain its competitive advantage. Managerial judgment is important in coping with environmental
ambiguity and uncertainty in strategic marketing in its target market.

It must be pointed out here that Marketing involves activities that provide satisfaction to consumers. It is
a matching process. Marketers must recognize and understand consumers’ needs and wants and then
determine how best to satisfy them. Satisfaction becomes available through the process of exchange in the
society. Marketing, with its emphasis on satisfaction, exists because society has needs that must be met
and wants that must be satisfied. Thus, the goal of marketing is to facilitate exchange so that satisfaction
is increased for all the parties involved. Exchange requires two or more individuals or groups that have
certain want satisfying products. In order for exchange to come about, each party must want what will be
received more than what will be given up; that is, both parties must fell that their total satisfaction will be
enhanced as a result of the exchange.

To develop a new product or an existing product, many startup companies have realized the importance of
collaborating with suppliers or customers for creating and sustaining a competitive advantage in the
market. Market competence requires understanding what the customers need (Lagrosen, S, 2001)). The
market has now focused on collaboration with customers to co-create value . One of the most important
things in collaboration is to create value through product development or innovation. For startup
companies to develop a product that meets the customers' needs, company-customer interaction is very
important (Von Hippel, E. , 2005). For a company to succeed in product development, the company needs
to understand the needs of the customers, which can be understood through interactions. There is now an
increasing interest in the creation and delivery of value to customers and valuable management of the
customer relationship.

(Oyebamiji, F. Kareem T.S & Ayeni G.O, 2013) characterized startups as follows: 1) The same manager
or proprietor finds it difficult to raise short or long term capital from the organized capital market, instead
relies on personal savings or loans from friends, relatives or money lenders. 2) The same
manager/proprietor handles/supervises the production, financing, marketing and personnel functions of
the enterprise. 3) The manager/proprietors vision is confined to the local community in which he carries
on his line of business. There is little or no knowledge of the wider or distant markets. 4) The rate of
business mortality is high probably because of strong mutual distrust and dominance of the sole proprietor
which militates against the formation of partnerships or limited liability companies. 5) The enterprise is
generally poorly equipped as the small scale industrialist feels reluctant to accept outside help owing to
prejudice or fear that information about the enterprise might reach the tax authorities or a nearby
competitor. 6) Little or no account of business costs or revenue is kept and the banking system is hardly
utilized. The result is that banking facilities for business financing and expansion are extended to only
very few of the industrialists. 7) The level of education of the proprietor is usually very low with a
consequent low level of business management technique, skill or market (Oyebamiji, F. Kareem T.S &
Ayeni G.O, (2013), 2013)information.

The relationship between strategy and consumer needs has to substantiated at startup of firm and
functional levels (Porter, 1979), although there is often overlap between the two. They identified several
generic strategic approaches and were developed and utilized as a theoretical basis for identifying
strategic groups in industries. (Porter, 1979)generic strategy typology also looks competitive and
marketing dimensions and has been widely tested. According to Porter, a business can maximize
performance either by striving to be the low cost producer in an industry or by differentiating its line of
products or services from those of other businesses; either of these two approaches can be accompanied
by a focus of organizational efforts on a given segment of the market. Presumably, differentiated
businesses should emphasize marketing as a means of distinguishing their products and services from
those of their rivals. Likewise, Porter’s focus orientation is consistent with the marketing themes of
product positioning and target marketing. Walker (2004)outlined elements in the chain of marketing
productivity model as follows: (1) marketing strategy and tactic such as loyalty program, cross selling and
up-selling; (2) customer impact, such as customer awareness, customer association, customer attitudes,
customer attachment and customer experience; (3) marketing assets such as brand equity and customer
equity; (4) Market impact such as elasticity literally more small, the level of retention, larger loyalty and
longevity of customers; (5) financial impact such as Return on Investment (ROI), Internal Rate of Return
(IRR), etc. Craven (2009) stated that the performance marketing is the contribution of the implementation
of marketing strategies and the creation of value on corporate profits measured by sales, operating profit,
and market share.

Performance can be measured based on growth, market share and profitability. The higher the indices
indicates the greater the performance of the business and vice versa. Performance of SMEs has to do with
both behaviour (activity) and results. This explanation covers achievements of anticipated levels as well
as objective review and setting. When the behaviour of management is right, then the anticipated levels of
output would be achieved and vice versa for failure. This is connected with the concept of customer
orientation. It is a concept which transforms the marketing into potent competitive weapon, shifting
organizational values, beliefs, assumptions, and premises towards a two- way relationship between
customers and the firm. When behaviours of management towards marketing strategies are geared on a
right direction, then this positively affect the performance of SMEs. Some strategies which could affect
performance of businesses are the product quality, pricing, marketing promotional communication and
efficient delivery of goods and relationship marketing.

(Kotler, P. & Amstrong, G, 2012) define a product as anything that can be offered to a market for
attention, acquisition, use, or consumption that might satisfy a want or need. Product influences have a
significant impact on business performance (Gbolagade, Adesola & Oyewale, 2013). However, in all
circumstances a product's quality should be consistent with other elements of the marketing mix. For
example a premium based pricing strategy will require a quality product possibly branded to support the
price change. Consumers buy products frequently, with careful planning, and by comparing brands based
on price, quality and style. (Kotler, P, 2003) sees a product as about quality, design, features, brand name
and sizes which influences purchase. (B Mustapha, 2013) also assert that product is the physical
appearance of the product, packaging, and labelling information, which can influence behaviour whether
consumers notice a product in-store, examine it, and/or purchases it. Prior researchers have clearly
suggested that product influences have a significant impact on business performance (Owomoyela, S.K,
Oyeniyi, K.O & Ola, O.S, 2013)

Customer relationship management is a management approach to understand and determine customer

behavior through significant communication in order to improve customer purchase, customer retention,
customer loyalty, and customer profitability (Swift, R S. , 2000). Understanding how companies can
profit from their customer relationship is highly important for both marketing practitioners and
academics. Customer relationship management is rebuilding the marketing field and advancing as a part
of marketing’s new dominant logic. The customer relationship process involves getting customers,
knowing them better, providing service to them, and expecting their needs. Customer relationship
management helps the company to understand customer behavior and needs in detail. It facilitates the
company to obtain comprehensive information about its customers and then utilizes knowledge gained
from the information to meet the customer's needs in a better way than its competitors.

Customers are now more informed and enlightened; their basis for selection is unbending due to the great
capacity of choice (Vega-Vazquez et al., 2013,). Because of this, it is very significant to take customer
satisfaction into consideration in new product development. According to Anderson et al (1994),
customer satisfaction is defined with two viewpoints: cumulative viewpoint and transaction-specific.
Cumulative viewpoint is the gross evaluation of the assessment of the total purchase and consumption of
goods or services while transaction-specific is the customer satisfaction regarding the post-choice
assessment of a specific purchase event ( Cooper R, G, 1979). For this research, the cumulative viewpoint
is more precise since it provides more evidence on the company’s past, and current performance with a
focus on the customer’s relationship with the company. (Anthony Robert. N & Vija, 2007)) suggested
that improving customer satisfaction must be an investment instead of an expense due to the revenue
loyalty customer satisfaction can provide.
Discussion of the solution to the problem statement
Some studies have focused on the importance of effective communication as a means to achieve and
retain competitive advantage (Tucker, M. L., Meyer, G. D., & Westerman, J. W, 1973). In today’s global
business environment, effective internal and external communication has a significant impact on the
success of the organization (Chiou et al., 2004). This paper explores recent research to identify some of
the building blocks such as efficiency, innovation, and customer response that enable a company to gain
advantage over its competitors. The influences of communication on the factors that govern competitive
advantage are analyzed. The paper demonstrates that effective communication is the common bond and
unifying thread linking all the relevant factors to achieve and retain competitive advantage in a
multicultural environment. Conversely, it also shows that ineffective communication can result in erosion
of customer confidence and a subsequent deterioration in the organization’s ability to compete effectively.

Considerable research has been conducted to analyze the effects of elements such as information
technology, efficiency, and innovation on the performance of a company (Bhatt, G., & Grover, V, 2005).
However, company success is dependent on effective communication particularly in a multicultural and
competitive global environment yet the types of effective communication that impact competitiveness
have not been well explored. Although companies are aware of the importance of communication, far less
attention is paid to promoting the use of effective communication within and outside the organization as
compared to other factors.
In considering the social system that produces word of mouth communication, consumer researchers have
come to see that not all people in the system are equal. Specifically, cultural and social capital play a role
in determining who in the communicative system has power. Word of mouth online enables marketers to
reach narrow publics such as running enthusiasts, communities of makers, quilters, or any other number
of very specific groups.

The conventional marketing strategy framework encompasses the environment consisting of the five Cs –
customers, collaborators, competitors, context, and company (the firm). A firm analyzes the environment
within which it operates and makes the aspiration decisions of how to segment the market and target the
right segments with an appropriate positioning strategy. The action plan, consisting of product, price,
promotion, and distribution strategies, is developed in such a way that it aligns clearly with the targeting
and positioning strategies. These strategies and tactics impact the business outcome in terms of impacting
customer acquisition, retention, and margins and firm level metrics of sales, profits, growth rate, brand
equity, and market position. Digitization alters the environment and the strategic decisions in significant
ways (Kannan, P.K. and Li, H.A, 2017).
In terms of communication, One might argue that traditional offline communication formats will be
around for some time, and that is certainly true, but print has peaked, and even outdoor is going digital
(Vecchio, R.P. & Stephen H. Appelbaum, 1995; Levine, B, 2017). Can anyone doubt that multiple new
formats, channels, and platforms are just around the corner? Given that, it might be more productive to
avoid enumerating formats per se and stick to thinking in terms of strategic categories. In this, I will
follow (Anthony Robert. N & Vija, 2007), who focused on the intrusiveness of the ad as a way to
conceptualize the strategic options available for marketing communication. In that case, it will make
sense to distinguish between push and pull communication. By push, I mean intrusive advertising that is
firm- initiated. We can also think of it as outbound marketing or interruption marketing. One might argue
that push is the heir to the once- dominant paradigm of mass media advertising. By pull, I mean inbound
marketing and customer- initiated communication. One might argue that pull is heir to the Yellow Pages
of years gone by.

Finally, in order to make strategic options stand out, startups will also use the now traditional distinction –
if anything about digital can be considered traditional – of owned vs. paid vs. earned media. Marketing
communication using owned platforms tends to allow disaggregate data modeling and therefore is
focused on customer lifetime value. It is often more difficult to acquire disaggregate data from paid media
sources, and we are therefore more likely to see general demand modeling when we look at response to
paid media campaigns. As one example, Google will show you only aggregate response – the click
through rate – to a search ad. Earned media or earned communication sometimes allows disaggregate
modeling, since social media platforms have public application programming interfaces as part of their
value propositions for firms.

In this combination, we find two different communication levers. Let us start with direct marketing
channels like SMS, chat, email, and other private one- to-one formats like mobile notifications. For the
purposes of this chapter, we hopefully assume that these are opt- in marketing activities based on the
―house list‖, that is, the information about its customers hosted in the firm’s database. In practice, the
house list might be augmented with purchased information of various sorts. What’s more, geolocation
information when combined with mobile push formats (notifications, SMS) creates a very unique sub-
category here. In general, given the modest marginal cost of digital communication, the cost of reaching n
recipients is generally flat with respect to n with moderate up- front, fixed investment costs. Key metrics
start with exposure to the communication. With email, exposure is usually referred to as opens. From
exposure, the firm ordinarily hopes for a click or tap, which leads the user to more information. Finally,
the click or tap may lead to some action, such as a sale. The second type of push- owned communication,
social feeds, is public in nature and utilizes one- to- many communication. Such feeds emanate from the
firm’s official accounts on the well- known and lesser- known social media platforms like Snapchat,
Instagram, Twitter, WeChat, Facebook, YouTube, et al. The communication cost curve for social feeds is,
if anything, even flatter than direct marketing communication. It is likely that a company communication
on a social feed would feel less ―push- like‖ to the recipient than the same communications copy received
via a private channel. (Bodo B. Schlegelmilch and Russell S. Winer, 2021)

In owned- pull communication, it makes sense to separate out firm resources by software assets. On the
one hand, corporate Web sites are the quintessential example of a firm asset used to pull in consumers
sitting at computers. Beginning in the middle of the 1990s, corporate Web sites have served as the
minimum entry point for digital marketing communication, providing incoming searchers with utilitarian
information like store hours, or providing incoming surfers with hedonic stimuli like lushly photographed
company offerings. On the other hand, corporate apps are newer software assets used to pull in consumers
holding a mobile phone, which is to say, all consumers. Like Web sites, the company app might offer
some combination of utilitarian or hedonic benefit that the consumer gains by opting- in to the
communication process.

In terms of roles of customers in product development, differences from the traditional approach of
customer’s involvement where they serve as information sources, the new form allows the customer to be
involved in the new product development process as co-developers, and they are engaged in joint
problem-solving with the company’s employees to generate product solutions. According to the literature,
customer roles can be characterized into two forms: customer involvement as an information source and
customer involvement as co-developer. In this approach of customer involvement as an information
source, the product development team collects information on customers’ needs through interviews, focus
groups, and market surveys (Griffin, A. & Hauser, J. R, 1993). A customer provides information by
sharing knowledge on the needs or wants for a new product. Then, the development team applies the
information

industrial development. SMEs in developing countries, like Zimbabwe are struggling to survive under
intense competitive environments both domestic and international. Small and Medium Enterprises
(SMEs) in Nigeria have not performed creditably well and hence have not played the expected vital and
vibrant role in the economic growth and development of Zimbabwe. They note that the situation has been
of great concern to the government, citizenry, operators, and practitioners. These challenges could be as a
result of perceived ineffective marketing strategy which is having negative effect on the organization’s
performance, product quality, customer satisfaction and profitability. Small and medium enterprises
(SMEs) operators need to provide a quality product with good packaging that satisfies customer needs,
offering affordable price and engaging in wider distribution and back it up with effective promotion
strategy in order to survive the pressure from global market competitive environment.

It has been observed that the situation has been of great concern to the government, citizenry, operators,
and practitioners. These challenges could be as a result of perceived ineffective marketing strategy to
address these issues which may have resulted negatively on the organization’s performance, product
quality, low customer satisfaction, inappropriate and affordable pricing, ineffective promotion and
distribution strategies in order to survive the pressure from global market competitive environment. Every
enterprise’s major reason for existence is to make profit. Firms therefore, face the challenge of knowing
the appropriate type of strategy, which they could use for their product. Hence this study will assess the
effect of marketing strategy on performance of small scale businesses in Zimbabwe.

Studies regarding the relationship between marketing investments and business performance are mainly
emphasizing the positive impact of marketing investments and market measures of firms. Analyzing firms
in the period from 1975 to 2003 and covering five recessions, (Graham, R.C. & Frankenberger, K.D,
2011) found out that advertising and promotion expenditures are marketing communication investments
that contribute to current and future earnings. Besides, (M, Joshi A. & Hanssens D., 2010) have shown
that advertising expenditures positively influence the market value of firms and the responses of investors
beyond the expected increase in sales and profits. Advertising expenditures have a positive impact on the
number of investors and the liquidity of the common stock of a company. Stock prices are correlated with
value chain and changes in the brand value is associated with the changes in value of a company, so
strong brands display statistically significant performance advantages relative to other brands (Madden,
T.J., Fehle, F., & Fournier, S, 2006).
Conclusion
Startup companies have traditionally focused their time, money, and energy on factors other than
communication to promote and enhance their viability and compete in a market place. Although
communication is a strong and an economical tool to implement, accessible to all, organizations have not
embraced it with the same enthusiasm as they have other factors. Companies that realize that
communication is integral to their strategic success will not only gain a competitive edge but also retain it
despite adverse conditions. Furthermore, communication is the distinguishing factor to satisfy customer
needs, engage and motivate employees, drive innovation, improve efficiency, display social responsibility
during crises, and protect the organization’s interests from adverse rules and regulations.
In order to exceed the expectations of customers and not merely meet them, companies should emphasize
communication to identify consumer needs and obtain feedback on existing and potential new products.
In addition, firms should create a truly open and interactive organizational culture, promote transparency,
emphasize active listening skills, and organize cultural sensitization workshops. Problems should be
addressed without concern to hierarchy or barriers. Employees that provide exit interviews that may help
identify communication problems within an organization should be assured of their privacy and
anonymity. Also, companies should solicit feedback from suppliers and partners to synchronize the entire
value chain, thereby increasing efficiency. Since crises by their very nature can occur at any time it is
vital to have the right communication among people, processes, and systems in order to respond
effectively. Finally, organizational interests can be protected against adverse legislation or regulation
through effective communication.

Meeting customer’s needs and providing customer satisfaction is pivotal for the long-term sustainability
of a company. Economically, from the finding, customer involvement in the development of product
reduced the cost of the development whereby meeting customer needs and satisfaction.
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