Relationship Marketing

Abstract

Whilst it has long been acknowledged that the fundamental purpose of marketing is the ‘getting and keeping of customers’, the truth is that more attention has been paid, typically, to attracting customers than to keeping them. More recently there has emerged a recognition that marketing needs to encompass not only those activities necessary to capture business in the first place, but also to develop processes that will enhance long-term customer loyalty. This viewpoint is the foundation for the development of the concept of relationship marketing, at the heart of which lies the proposition that the fundamental purpose of marketing is the creation and development of longterm, profitable relationships with customers.