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Gaining insight into the customer’s journey based on stage may help relationship marketers understand and meet customers’ needs, build trust basted on stage, generate genuine affection and satisfaction, and unlock the potential for increasing sustainable profits.
Significance of the Study
This study is important because it may contribute to improvements in relationships between marketers and customers. If relationship marketers learn how to be partners in the customer’s journey, marketers may earn a sustainable competitive advantage from committed customers. Marketers can use the findings to manage key emotional-relational success factors at each critical stage in the relationship, and incorporate study results into strategic planning. Earning customer commitment can lead to increased profits; however, more importantly, a holistic paradigm of sustainable, healthy relationships can deepen the firm’s definition of success to encompass meaning. Finally, the outcome of the study will benefit marketing theory so that the field can build upon prior knowledge: This study contributes an emotionally based developmental-stages perspective to a relationship marketing context.
Research Question and Hypotheses
Hypotheses as well as propositions are posed to frame the empirical investigation into the customer’s journey. The hypotheses and propositions are based on the literature review presented in the next chapter. Customer stages are conceived as the following variables: awareness, exploration, growth, and commitment.