Relationship marketing

The core of modern marketing revolves around managing relationships with customers and interest groups. This topic is frequently explored in academic journals and conferences, highlighting its significance. Relationship marketing transcends theory; it is essential for service firms and business-to-business companies, which now adopt long-term orientations and implement elements of this concept. Even in the consumer goods sector, traditional brand equity approaches are increasingly being enhanced by relational strategies. As noted by Berry, relationship marketing is a "new old" concept, with key aspects already present in marketing literature, including constructs like customer satisfaction and elements such as complaint management and after-sales services. While the term "relationship marketing" may not always be explicitly used, a long-term orientation is evident in various approaches, including the network perspective in industrial marketing, the work of Gronroos and Gummesson at the Nordic School of Services Marketing, and the broader concept of customer-focused marketing. This evolution underscores the importance of nurturing customer relationships in today's competitive landscape.