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Suddenly, it all clicked: customers are emotional beings on a journey through relationship stages in relationship marketing. Customer relationships are human relationships, and human relationships seem to follow certain patterns. The patterns in human relationships are like Campbell’s monomyth narratives and are likely to be etched into the very structure of our brains as we undergo evolution in social groups. It would be surprising if we did not find journeys, stages, and themes of maturity in every aspect of the human endeavor, even in the marketplace.
Only a handful of marketing scholars had even made the analogy that customer relationships may follow a marriage model—with all of the emotional intricacies, minute reassurances, and negotiations of trust—that long-term relationships take. Now I knew how I could provide a unique contribution to the field I so loved: I could empirically test the stages theory and follow the customer’s emotional journey. This project has certainly been my journey: “A journey of a thousand miles starts with one step” (Lao-Tsu, 6th century BCE).