Gerardo Metallo

Relationship Management in the Business of Quality and Communication

Abstract Enterprise quality systems represent an indispensable development for modern businesses: the procedures formalisation seems to produce more direct effects on the operations rationalisation, while it also proposes several critical observations (and less direct effects) on proposal management. This study offers an analysis of a set of questionnaires that have been proposed to entrepreneurs and managers of SMEs that operate only in B2B markets. The research highlights that personal relationships play a fundamental role in business relations, in which technical aspects of communication prevail on emotional ones. The research target verifies that business customer loyalty is mainly due to effective relationship-marketing policies, most of all for SMEs, which are more vulnerable to the aggression of moneyed advertising and information campaigns on behalf of large competitors. Thus, the suggestion is to provide proposal management procedures with CRM systems.

Building brand equity: the genetic coding of Mediterranean brands

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to stimulate reflection on the concept of Mediterranean brands, to map and qualify their specific genetic make up and their influence on brand equity.Design/methodology/approach – From an overview of the available literature and using the brand genetics model, conceptual dimensions inherent to the Mediterranean brand are identified, so as to evaluate their contribution in the building and transfer of brand value.Findings – This paper shows how the properties of Mediterranean elements are reconciled with branding models and more in general, with sustainable business.Originality/value – The paper highlights the generating drivers of value from a Mediterranean marketing perspective. Management has to govern these strategically in order to retain lasting competitive advantage.