Abstract
Purpose – This paper aims to develop the foundation of a model for assessing relationship marketing readiness (RMR) and provide directions for such an assessment. Design/methodology/approach – Based on the promise theory and service logic, the importance of the customer–firm touchpoints and interactions to relationship marketing as an equivalent to the product variable in a conventional marketing approach is discussed. Then, a relationship marketing model and an RMR assessment model are developed. Findings – The paper suggests an RMR assessment model based on two variables, namely, whether management’s focus is on the customers’ or the firm’s resources and processes and whether it is on the customers’ or the firm’s definition of quality. An indicative list of measurement factors is proposed. Originality/value – The paper emphasizes the need to broaden the scope of marketing and offers a novel measurement approach, which both in theory and practice helps the development of relationship marketing understanding.
Concluding remarks
As the promise theory demonstrates, for marketing to be successful, promises that have been made must be properly fulfilled. In relationship marketing, as an ongoing process, there is no singular product, as in a conventional marketing model, that guarantees successful promise keeping. Instead, the interaction process in the relationship marketing model, depicted in Figure 1, is responsible for how promises are fulfilled as well as how relationships are maintained and enhanced. Therefore, in the present commentary, I have concentrated on this critical aspect of a marketing process. Unless a firm is prepared to keep promises successfully – in conventional marketing through a product and in relationship marketing through an ongoing interaction process – it is not fully prepared to implement marketing. Because of its critical importance to the successful marketing process of how promises are fulfilled, the RMR assessment model presented here covers the firm’s readiness to keep promises. In parallel, assessments of how well promises – made through, for example, sales, marketing communication and price offers – are fulfilled are of course also important. For relationship marketing to be successful, marketing has to be reinvented. The management of the whole interaction process must be included in the marketing process. A singular product concept is not enough to encompass the many different facets of the promise-keeping process. To paraphrase Lynn Shostack’s (1977) demand from 40 years ago, marketing must break free from product marketing. Doing this will lead to an almost revolutionary change in how marketing is conceptualized, organized, resourced, planned and managed (Grönroos, 2015). This is, however, beyond the scope of this commentary.
