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Asserts that an organisation’s ultimate goal of maintaining a loyal customer base transcends the obvious primary relationship of the organisation and its customers. The customer’s estimation of the value of the product/service is influenced by the inter‐relationships (secondary relationships), as it is these relationships that ultimately denote the value (core competence) of the product/service package. Identifies the firm’s secondary resource network and highlights the need for the marketing and management of various alliances for the firm’s long‐term prosperity, growth and leadership.

Reports that tourism today is a global business in which the competition and the customers span international boundaries. Replication of tourism products and services in this turbulent marketplace, has become an inevitable facet of business. Organizations such as Shotover Jet in Queenstown, New Zealand, with their intense focus on the customer and the quality of the experience that they wish to offer, have convincingly proved their leadership in spite of intense competition. Proposes that Shotover Jet thus serves as a model company for tourism establishments around the globe.

While service quality has proved an essential ingredient in convincing customers to choose one organisation over another, many organisations have realised that maintaining excellence on a consistent basis is imperative if they are to gain customer loyalty. This long‐term perspective has created a strong shift in orienting service strategy towards a service promise. Moreover, in the present competitive setting, if one were to understand the lifetime value of a customer, creating and maintaining long‐term relationships with the customer and other stakeholders is paramount to an organisation’s market leadership. Relentless advances in technology have rendered products and services with ever shorter life cycles and, hence, diminished customer appeal. This paper argues that firms are required not only to improve, but to innovate products and services and anticipate customer needs on a continuous basis. It is highlighted here that, in order to maintain a long‐term relationship with the customer, firms need to demonstrate their ability to think for the customer, and to conceive and implement new ways to serve them better. Moreover, in order to develop and maintain customer relationships, an organisation needs the assistance and partnership of their respective stakeholders; for example, employees, suppliers and distributors.