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Defining Relationship'

Relationships are composed of interactive episodes over time that involve actions and responses between parties. A relationship is a social construct that exists when both parties perceive and act as if a relationship exists, whether uni-lateral or reciprocal. Major relationship attributes include trust, which emerges from shared experiences, and commitment, which is the belief that maintaining the relationship is worth maximum effort.

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Vishal Goyal
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26 views

Defining Relationship'

Relationships are composed of interactive episodes over time that involve actions and responses between parties. A relationship is a social construct that exists when both parties perceive and act as if a relationship exists, whether uni-lateral or reciprocal. Major relationship attributes include trust, which emerges from shared experiences, and commitment, which is the belief that maintaining the relationship is worth maximum effort.

Uploaded by

Vishal Goyal
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PPT, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Defining ‘Relationship’

• A relationship is composed of a series of interactive episodes


between parties over time

• Episodes are time bound (they have a beginning and an end)


and are nameable

• Episodes are composed of a series of interactions. Interaction


consists of action, and response to that action

• Is a relationship more than interaction-over-time?


– What about emotional content ? Do relationships have
some type of affective connection, attachment or bond
Relationships as Social Constructs

• Relationship is “perceived”
– Just because I have a loyalty card, I might not think that I am in a relationship
with a company

• A relationship is a social construct


– A relationship exists if people believe that a relationship exists
and they act accordingly

• Relationships can be uni-lateral or reciprocal


– Either one, or both, parties may believe they are in a relationship
Dwyer, Schurr & Oh’s Model of
Relationship Change
Relationships may (and does) change over time

1. Awareness

2. Exploration

3. Expansion

4. Commitment

5. Dissolution
A Relationship Life Cycle Model
High cooperation
Low competition Pre- Development Maturity Decline
relationship stage stage stage
stage

Low cooperation
High competition

Time
(Wilkinson and Young, 1997)
Major Relationship Attributes
• Trust
– E.g., Agency-Client relationship
– “Trust” can reside in a key employee on the client/agency
side
– The client may feel that they have a champion on the
agency side if a relationship grows with the client contact
– This feeling of trust may suffer when this person leaves
the organization
– As a result, conflict and uncertainty might rise, and
cooperation might fall

• Commitment
– Reduces exit barriers
How Trust Emerges
• Trust emerges as parties share experiences, and interpret and
assess each other’s motives

• As they learn more about each other, risk and doubt are
reduced

• For these reasons, trust has been described as the glue that
holds a relationship together across time and different episodes
Commitment Defined
• Commitment is shown by “an exchange partner believing that an
ongoing relationship with another is so important as to warrant
maximum effort to maintain it; that is, the committed party
believes the relationship is worth working on to ensure that it
endures indefinitely”
The Customer Journey
Suspect Does the potential customer fit your target market
profile?
Prospect The customer fits the target market profile and is
being approached for the first time.
First-time The customer makes a first purchase.
customer
Repeat The customer makes additional purchases. Your
customer offer plays a minor role in the customer’s portfolio.
Majority The customer selects your company as supplier of
customer choice. You occupy a significant place in the
customer’s portfolio.
Loyal customer The customer is resistant to switching suppliers,
and has a strong positive attitude to your company
or offer.
Advocate The customer generates additional referral dollars
through positive word-of-mouth.

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