Relationship Marketing

Abstract

The relationship marketing approach is presented here as a contemporary basis upon which to consider business marketing. It is regarded as a successor to the 4Ps approach, which is considered by many to be irrelevant and outdated. The development of collaborative and mutually rewarding relationships between buyers and sellers is considered to be fundamentally more appealing and an intuitively appropriate interpretation of business-to-business marketing. This view also sees the development of partnerships with other organisations as more suitable than former adversarial ideas based on competition and where the sole focus is on customers. Organisations are shown to have a portfolio of relationships with a range of stakeholders, most notably suppliers, employees, customers and shareholders. This chapter considers the nature, development and characteristics of interorganisational relationships and examines the potential of technology to enhance relationships with customers and suppliers based on trust and commitment.