Search results

With well over 250,000 registered UK charities vying to attract generosity, fund‐raising has become a fiercely competitive and professional activity. This article empirically analyses the popularity of different fund‐raising techniques and shows that specific fund‐raising methods are preferred by distinct market segments. The managerial implications for fund‐raising strategies are outlined and suggestions for future research are made.

The relationship marketing paradigm has emerged as a major tool by which marketers may examine and conceptualise relationships with consumers, however its application to the business‐to‐business dimension of retailing has been largely neglected. The current work examines one particular aspect of business‐to‐business marketing: the franchisor‐franchisee relationship in the context of international fashion retailing. This relationship is examined in the light of the relationship marketing literature, with particular reference to the relevance of the marriage analogy. Employing a case study approach, this paper considers international fashion retailers' response to the need to develop business‐to‐business relationships in international markets via the franchising mode of market entry. The paper concludes that the marriage analogy is useful in the context of franchise relationships if properly defined by core and intended relationship benefits.

Relationship marketing (RM) was conceived as an approach to industrial and service markets, and was considered inappropriate in other marketing contexts. Recently, however, the domain of RM has been extended to incorporate innovative applications in mass consumer markets. Much has changed in a few short years. Recent applications of RM in consumer markets have been facilitated by developments in direct and database marketing within an increasingly competitive and fragmented marketplace. This paper presents a critical review of the history of RM in consumer markets, and incorporates important conceptual, practical, empirical and popular contributions. A number of critical issues which remain unresolved are identified in the paper. These form the basis of ten research propositions which are crucial to justifying and advancing the domain extension into consumer markets.

This paper aims to contribute to the empirical validation of the relationship model as it applies to the case of major national brands positioned in the frequently purchased packaged goods markets, and propose the perceived brand relationship orientation concept as an additional antecedent of trust, affective commitment and attitudinal loyalty. Yet, for a relationship to exist, the parties need to be mutually considered as potential relational partners. This paper seeks to introduce the concept of perceived brand relationship orientation, which is considered, along with perceived quality, as a significant direct antecedent of relationship quality (trust and affective commitment) and, indirectly, attitudinal loyalty.

The empirical application involves major national brands positioned in frequently purchased packaged goods food categories (ice cream and frozen meals). The conceptualization and measurement of the perceived brand relationship orientation bears on a qualitative analysis of marketing experts and consumers. Refinement and validation of measures are applied to a convenience sample of 153 students and finally to a sample of 404 consumers, using exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses. Structural equation modeling is used to test the model and hypotheses.

First, the authors validate the relationship marketing model in the case of strong national brands positioned in the frequently purchased packaged goods sector. The authors show that perceived quality impacts relationship quality (trust and affective commitment), which in turn influences attitudinal loyalty. Second, in addition to the effects of perceived quality, the authors show that perceived brand relationship orientation has direct positive impacts on trust and affective commitment and, in turn, has an indirect impact on attitudinal loyalty. However, this effect is limited to the case where consumers have a high (versus low) level of attitude toward the brand.

The application is limited to only two product categories and to strong national brands that enjoy high levels of perceived quality and attitude. Also, the model could be connected to behavioral loyalty metrics, in addition to attitudinal loyalty. The moderating impacts of relational disposition toward the brand should also be tested in future research.

To develop consumers' attitudinal loyalty, brands must invest in programs converting efficiently perceived quality into trust and affective commitment as bases for differentiation and competitive advantage. Implications for brands' communication and distribution policies come along together with the necessity of enhancing the contacts and dialogue between the brand and the consumers. This confirms the potential outputs of brands' CRM strategies in the case of frequently purchased packaged good categories.

The conceptualization of BPRO in the case of frequently purchased packaged good categories is a new step in the consumer‐brand relationship understanding.

It is contended that the theory and practice of qualitative research is an integral part of a comprehensive marketing course. Both postgraduate and undergraduate students of marketing may be expected to be familiar with, and have experience of, qualitative techniques. Focus groups are arguably the most frequently employed qualitative technique, and as such are used as a starting point for the study of qualitative research. Their accepted advantages of speed, flexibility and economy, together with the rich data generated, make qualitative methods eminently suitable for student research, with its attendant limitations on time and money. A detailed practical guide to the procedures for planning, conducting and analysing focus groups is presented.

Describes the importance of plastic payment cards at the point of sale (POS) and the evolution of the credit card in general and affinity cards in particular. Suggests reasons for both the growth of plastic card payments (the cashless society) and the threats to affinity cards (the interchange fee). Places the affinity credit card within the paradigm of relationship marketing and emphasises the triadic nature of these relationships. Discusses the development of the research into affinity credit cards and the issues of branding and trust that impact upon the triadic relationships. Explores the potential for affinity marketing and reports on research into trust and ethics which is relevant to this concept. Places affinity marketing within the retail arena and finally draws conclusions on the future for payments at the POS, relationships operationalised via plastic cards and triadic affinities.

Developing a strong, positive image has become essential to the maintenance of sustained competitive advantage. Research into store image has allowed retailers to create positioning strategies and enabled them to differentiate their stores in terms of the products, prices or services on offer. This paper presents the findings of a survey based on responses from 860 customers of multiple retailers selling womenswear fashion clothing. It examined the principal dimensions involved in store image, utilising a multi‐attribute model, and compares results with qualitative store choice statements. The paper concludes by exploring how retailers could manipulate image variables to maintain or defend their market positioning.

The purpose of this paper is to provide a critical review of research on customer experience management (CEM). The objectives are as follows. The paper first introduces the concepts involved in CEM by identifying definitions and dimensions of the customer experience. Second, the paper describes the evolution of CEM research from a theoretical perspective in generic businesses and then in the hospitality and tourism (H&T) sector. Third, the paper investigates the methodological approaches used in CEM research and addresses the challenges in measuring the customer experience. Fourth, this study addresses cultural issues in CEM research. The identification of gaps in CEM research in the general business and H&T sectors leads the authors to consider directions for future research. Managerial implications are also provided.

The paper takes the form of a review of the extant literature in the general businesses and the H&T industry.

Despite the emergence of CEM as a vital research area, a large portion of its studies remain conceptual, which indicates that further empirical investigations are necessary. Importantly, the uniquely experiential nature of H&T products/services calls for systematic, theory-driven research. The paper identifies future research topics, which include total customer experience, transcendent experience, transformational experience, authentic experience and the co-creation of experience. This study delineates potential methods and measurement scales that can be used in CEM research and some challenges in the development of future measurement scales of customer experience. Recognizing a lack of CEM research from a cultural perspective, this paper calls for future studies that consider cultural factors in the identification of the underlying reasons for various perceptions of experiences.

Companies need to take a holistically integrated approach to creating a memorable experience in which multidimensional value can be delivered through multiple, sequential stages of experience. The co-creation of experience can lead to a sustainable experience that can be life transforming or perspective transforming.

Acknowledging the importance of excellent CEM in the contemporary H&T industry, this paper provides a compilation of literature on CEM and offers a foundation for advancing future CEM research in the H&T industry.

Woopies (Well Off Older People), otherwise recognised as mature consumers who are reasonably prosperous, have been largely ignored as a market segment so far. As their numbers increase, which they will do into and beyond the foreseeable future they will become an even more significant segment. Their views on money, holidays and transport are examined, and it is concluded that these people have specific needs which are not at present being met.

Older consumers, that is, those people nearing or at retirement age, are increasingly being recognised as an important market segment. This segment is reviewed and some ways for the marketer to approach it are suggested.