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more beneficial than transactional marketing than when the converse
is true. As an example, a specialty car manufacturer in the UK would
clearly benefit from relationship marketing with current and potential
customers when one considers that customers must wait patiently for up
to five years to have their cars made from the time they place their order.
At the same time, relationship marketing recognizes that a firm need
not seek to establish long-term relationships with all of its customers,
as not only do some customers prefer to avoid such relationships, but
other customers, depending on their wants, needs, purchase histories,
and expected future purchases, may not provide the firm with sufficient
value as to warrant the effort.
KEY WORDS Customer retention, long-term relationships
IMPLICATIONS
A better understanding of the relationship marketing approach, as
expressed in the considerable amount of marketing research devoted to
the study of its effective use, can do much to assist a marketer with iden-
tifying, developing, and implementing strategies, methods, techniques,
and tactics that help the marketer’s firm to identify, create, and retain
profitable customers. Given that the offerings of many firms are the sub-
ject of ongoing, periodic desire by their customers, it behooves marketers
to look regularly for ways that relationship marketing approaches can be
put to effective use.
APPLICATION AREAS AND FURTHER READINGS
Marketing Strategy
Foss, B., and Stone, M. (2001). Successful Customer Relationship Marketing: New Thinking,
New Strategies, New Tools for Getting Closer to your Customers. London: Kogan Page.
Gronroos, C. (1996). ‘Relationship Marketing: Strategic and Tactical Implications,’
Management Decision, 34/3, 5–14.
Zineldin, M. (2000). ‘Beyond Relationship Marketing: Technologicalship Market-
ing,’ Marketing Intelligence and Planning, 18(1), 9–23.
Marketing Management
Gummesson, E. (1994). ‘Making Relationship Marketing Operational,’ International
Journal of Service Industry Management, 5, 5–20.
Services Marketing
Berry, L. (1995). ‘Relationship Marketing of Services: Growing Interest, Emerging
Perspectives,’ Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 23, 236–245.
Tax, S. S., Brown, S. W., and Chandrashekaran, M. (1998). ‘Customer Evaluations of
Service Complaint Experiences: Implication for Relationship Marketing,’ Journal
of Marketing, 62(2), 60–76.
Business-to-Business Marketing
Nevin, J. R. (1995). ‘Relationship Marketing and Distribution Channels: Exploring
Fundamental Issues,’ Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 23, Fall, 327–334.
Shani, D., and Chalasani, S. (1993). ‘Exploiting Niches Using Relationship Market-
ing,’ Journal of Business and Industrial Marketing, 8(4), 58.
Online Marketing
Gilbert, David C., Powell-Perry, Jan, and Widijoso, Sianandar (1999). ‘Approaches
by Hotels to the Use of the Internet as a Relationship Marketing Tool,’ Journal of
Marketing Practice: Applied Marketing Science, 5(1), February, 21–38.