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The calculations which underlie efforts to balance marketing spending on customer acquisition and customer retention are usually based on either single‐period customer profitability or forecasts of customer lifetime value (CLTV). This paper argues instead for risk‐adjusted CLTV, which is termed the economic value (EV) of a customer, as the means for marketing to assess both customer profitability and shareholder value gains.

Reports on the empirical measurement of EV of customers through a collaborative case study analysis of business‐to‐business relationships in the financial service industry.

One direct consequence of measuring this risk and the EV of key account customers was a customer portfolio review which led to changes in their relationship marketing strategies and improvements in shareholder value for the firm.

Selective customer retention through lifetime value analysis and a risk‐adjustment process may be the means for developing relationship marketing strategies.

This paper contributes to the field by extending the discussion on customer risk and demonstrating a method that managers can readily adopt to evaluate the risk of their customers.

Marketers' sustainability is highly dependent on providing their customers with a memorable experience. This experience manifests the care taken by marketers while interacting at every stage of customer's journey from need recognition to post-purchase behaviour. Customer experience's (CX) significance demands that it be measured succinctly to monitor it at various levels, beginning at the customer level and extending to the financial outcome of this interaction(s). This study has attempted to conduct the same, by measuring Net Promoter Score of the customers and the financial ramifications of good/bad CX. Evidence of financial implications of good/bad CX has been presented through secondary research. Customer level study was empirically conducted at two well-known retailers of India, one in the footwear category and the other in general merchandise. Finally, some successful examples from the Indian retail sector have been added to highlight the significance and impact of Indian retailers' measures to enhance their customers' experience.

The specific advantages of the Internet as a transaction and communication channel present new opportunities for businesses to create a long‐term relationship with their customers. The level of e‐service quality is an essential component of this customer‐centric strategy. The paper presents a predictive method to establish the optimum level of e‐service quality, taking into consideration customers’ satisfaction, customers’ profitability, the competitive conditions of the market, and company's capabilities. However, the effective use of this method requires the implementation of e‐CRM systems, structured around a customer‐centric approach. Therefore, the re‐design of the company structure and processes using a customer‐focused philosophy is also assessed in a stage‐by‐stage analysis.

This paper explores the reasoning surrounding relationship value and quality, and further provides a blueprint on how positive word-of-mouth behaviour can be promoted through different routes.

Survey strategy was employed with focus on quantitatively developed questionnaires. Informants were recruited through mall intercept. All diagnostic tests, path analyses and, by implication, research hypotheses were conducted using the SEM-PLS technique.

All the hypothesized relationships were supported. Relationship value directly relates to trust, satisfaction and word-of-mouth behaviour. Value was also indirectly related to word-of-mouth behaviour through the relationship quality construct, but trust stood-out as a better mediator. Trust and satisfaction also came out as antecedents of positive word-of-mouth behaviour.

The relationship between relationship value and the relationship quality construct remains largely under-researched in literatures. This paper serves as a springboard for future research projects to extend understanding on how both constructs interact especially in a Business-to-Consumer (B2C) level. In addition, the paper offers a comprehensive insight on the behaviour of the relationship quality construct when it is tested as a mediator in a causal–effect model.

This study holds that by engineering superior value, a telecom provider is better positioned to build a sound relationship quality network and stimulate positive word-of-mouth through different routes.

Given the dearth of research on this area, this paper represents the first attempt to map out relationship value as an antecedent of relationship quality and word-of-mouth behaviour on a B2C level, and simultaneously explore the direct and indirect behaviour of both constructs in promoting word-of-mouth behaviour in a non-Western setting.

This paper aims to answer a prominent question that arises for the manager who wishes to recruit a salesperson to maintain and develop a portfolio–customer relationship: Under which condition is this decision profitable for the firm? Though several authors have underscored the importance of the salesperson's role in the creation of purchaser–salesperson relationships, in the author's knowledge, no study has focused on the salesperson's profitability in the relationship approach. This issue is significant for sales managers because the investment in sales force is greater, and the relationship profitability with customers is not guaranteed.

Econometric model based on transaction cost economics theory and dynamic exchange between firm, salesperson and a customer. Specifically, this model links between customer life value, firm financial value, salesperson cost and relationship time.

Three zones are identified that can characterize the dynamic salesperson profitability. It was shown that only one zone can be profitable to the firm.

This result is important because it can solve the equivocal posit between scholars with regard to the success or the failure of relationship marketing. This study also specifies the critical retention rate, the critical duration time in which a salesperson begins to be profitable.

In the author's knowledge, this study is the first to use an exchange model to show in which conditions the salesperson will be profitable in relationship marketing.

A direct service representative persuades a family to switch service providers for their mobile phones to reduce costs and simplify the payment process. One family member later finds out that her phone is not compatible with the StayConnected (name disguised) network, rendering it almost useless until the problem is resolved.