Customer, Partner and Stakeholder Management

This course will cover the capability of the Customer, Partner and Stakeholder Management, focusing on how leaders can utilise effective relationship building skills to develop rapport and successfully manage business relationships. The key sections which we will consider are:

• the core skills required for effective business relationships;
• the management of relationships with customers;
• the management of relationships with stakeholders, and;
• the management of relationships with business partners.

Why are business relationships important and which kinds of relationships exist?

Organisations, and the individual staff or leaders within them, do not operate entirely in a self-contained environment. Instead of isolation, both organisations and their employees or leaders will operate a number of different business relationships with multiple individuals and agencies. These individuals and agencies can generally be broken down into one of three categories:

1. Customers – those who purchase or utilise products or services from a business. These can be internal (other teams, divisions and departments within the organisation), or external (individuals/companies outside the organisation). 
2. Partners – business partners refer to organisations or representatives who enter into a professional relationship for their mutual benefit. These are usually operated over the long term in order to maximise effectiveness, with both parties sharing the rewards and/or risks between them for the duration. 
3. Stakeholders – anyone else who has an interest in an organisation or its specific activities. In general, this covers internal staff, but also external suppliers, shareholders, contractors, government agencies, any nearby/local residents, and even also encompasses customers as a subset. Their interest in activities can therefore vary significantly, but it is still crucial that relationships are maintained and solidified with each identified stakeholder group.  

This section will aim to educate users in the skills and techniques required for effective customer and stakeholder relationship management.