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Considers which interactive marketing behaviours will result in the broadest word‐of‐mouth or the largest volume of new client referrals. Suggests that the intensity and variety of client participation during the service delivery process is predictive of positive word‐of‐mouth and referrals. Reports on a study examining participation during service delivery which highlighted four key factors – tangibility, attendance, empathy and meaningful interaction. Maintains that these results support interactive marketing management in the field of complex services and can help the creation of a specific service delivery system.

Banking marketers are becoming alert to opportunities among the small to medium enterprises (SMEs) that in the USA alone generate 40 per cent of the GNP and make $1 trillion in annual purchases. In this study, sociographic segmentation (based on a cluster analysis of purchasing determinants) of 1,021 US SMEs revealed three significant and stable market segments. Return Seekers (40 per cent of the market) are most likely to be price‐sensitive, to create competitive conditions among the banks that serve them, to adopt new products and to use more banking services than other segments. Relevance Seekers (33 per cent) tend to be sceptical and conservative, need to be assured that any proposed service is of direct relevance to business, and lag in new banking‐product adoption. Relationship Seekers (16 per cent) give great weight to the personal referrals of colleagues; seek personal support; and are highest in institutional loyalty.

In developed economies worldwide, small‐and medium‐sized businesses (SMEs) account for over 90 per cent of all businesses and 40 to 50 per cent of GNP. Bank marketers targeting this strategic segment should be aware that the buying behaviour of SMEs is very different from that in larger corporations. Presents a new model of SME buyer behaviour and provides critical success factors for those marketing financial services to this segment.

Demonstrates that quantity of provider/customer interaction – specifically interaction intensity and information intensity – is associated both with satisfaction and repurchase intentions, by studying 224 high net worth buyers of two banking services. Lends additional support to the field of interactive marketing.

There are increasing signs that business‐to‐business marketers are targeting the 50 percent of all US companies which are family firms. New theory from the family business studies field creates a reasonable expectation that the buyer behavior of family firms is distinctive, but there has been, to date, no empirical validation of this hypothesis. This exploratory study of 124 businesses contrasts family and non‐family firms on four dimensions of purchasing and finds that family business engage in more protracted pre‐purchase search processes, and require more interaction with their providers but reward providers with higher propensity to engage in positive word‐of‐mouth behaviors and repurchase intentions. These findings are both consistent with emerging theory in the field and relevant to marketers to family businesses.

In the increasingly complex international private banking system, intermediaries are often used to connect client and service provider for investment and advisory services. In the creation of offshore trusts, for example, intermediaries are often used to identify and screen the foreign investment institution to be used for financial investment services and asset administration. Private bankers need to manage such intermediary channels strategically. Presents an in‐depth study of intermediaries responsible for the referral of affluent clients to private banks for offshore trust services. Describes their participation in referral networks which determine their private bank selection decision‐making processes and institutional loyalty patterns

Service providers worldwide are seeking competitive advantage through the creation of long‐standing customer relationships. Current theory holds that interactive marketing contributes most to customer satisfaction which, in turn, provides customer motivation for long‐term relationships. However, relatively little attention has been devoted to the specific provider and customer behaviors that constitute interactive marketing. Explores the frequency and significance of 15 specific interactive marketing behaviors among 396 chief executive officer (CEO) clients of commercial loan services in five countries. Results demonstrate that higher levels of interaction are associated with higher levels of satisfaction and that there are between‐country variations in the types of interactive behaviors most associated with satisfaction.

Uses benefit needs to segment the online marketing market. Employs focus groups and a random sampling survey to search for consumer benefit needs and then segments the market by these benefits sought by customers. Shows that the various segments display significant differences in the benefits sought, lifestyles and demographics etc. Suggests that this work can assist marketing managers to focus on one or more segments that show salient consumer preferences for the benefits provided by their products or services.