Purpose – This paper aims to, building on the concept of relational benefits, relationship marketing investments, gratitude, satisfaction and favorable reciprocal behaviors, examine the mechanism of cultivating relationships with valued customers at an upscale restaurant.
Design/methodology/approach – To capture the traits of the population (upscale restaurant customers who perceive relationship marketing investments by experiencing relational benefits), upscale restaurant customers with membership cards were contacted in the survey. Structural equation modeling was used to test measurement and structural models.
Findings – Empirical findings indicated that confidence and social benefits positively contributed to relationship marketing investments, whereas special treatment benefits were not significantly related to relationship marketing investments. In turn, relationship marketing investments positively affected both gratitude and satisfaction; relationship marketing investments were also more associated with gratitude than satisfaction. Gratitude positively evoked favorable reciprocal behaviors; however, satisfaction did not trigger favorable reciprocal behaviors.
Originality/value – The integration of relationship marketing investments and gratitude into the conceptual model would allow the current findings to generate rich theoretical and practical implications that the extant hospitality literature has not elucidated.
Introduction
Relationship marketing is a marketing paradigm (Beetles and Harris, 2010; Grönroos, 1994) in which the significance of developing and sustaining long-lasting customer relationships has become a norm in the marketing literature (Hennig-Thurau et al., 2002). Relationship marketing refers to the process by which a firm develops and maintains enduring customer relationships (Morgan and Hunt, 1994) to retain profitable customers via continuing relational exchanges (Sheth, 1996). The concept of relationship marketing implicitly represents ongoing reciprocity with selected valued customers. The reciprocity principle focuses on returning favors to individuals who give us benefits (Morales, 2005). With regard to selective customers, this principle involves treating valued customers preferentially. Relationship marketing stems from the view that a service provider cultivates relationships with regular customers by offering customized and differential benefits (Vargo and Lusch, 2004), which drives sustainable marketing relationships (Lacey et al., 2007).
Data collection
To capture the traits of the population (i.e. upscale restaurant customers who perceive relationship marketing investments by experiencing relational benefits), upscale restaurant customers with membership cards were contacted in the survey. A nationally recognized upscale restaurant brand agreed to support the current study. Two branches of an upscale chained restaurant in Seoul, Korea, were sampled for 25 days. The surveyed restaurants issue membership cards to selected customers based on a consumption bill. Upon presenting the card, a customer enjoys a 20 per cent discount on the consumption of food and beverage (F&B) and accumulates points for future redemption of rewards. In addition, servers are trained and empowered to greet regular customers by their names whenever possible. A voucher for a free meal is periodically mailed to regular customers with membership cards. The voucher value varies with the level of patronization in the past. A survey was conducted when the customers were eating dessert or waiting for the bill. Customers who did not have membership cards were screened out. Potential respondents were briefed on the background of the research. Participants who preferred to fill out the questionnaire themselves were given a self-administered questionnaire. For participants who did not prefer a self-administered questionnaire, field researchers completed the questionnaire through personal interview.
