Sustainable relationship Marketing Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 6000 words

Sustainable relationship Marketing - Assignment Example It transcends the boundaries between specialist functions and disciplines.† Gummesson (1999:73). Relationship marketing is closely intersected with sustainability – â€Å"a form of development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs† (Benn & Martin, 2014:742). Nowadays, the role of RM is recognized by many different organisations, operating in various industries. Increasing number of organisations strive to focus on customer retention, to emphasize customer service, to maintain high contact with customers, and to pursue long-term relationships (Christopher, Payne, and Ballantyne, 1991). Relationship marketing is viewed as a multidimensional discipline, which has many different models applicable to various situations. Five major models discussed in this report are: (1) Relationship Marketing’s Six-Markets Model; (2) Sustainable Marketing Model; (3) Ethical Relationship Marketing Model ; (4) The Morgan-Hunt Model of Relationship Marketing; and (5) Return on Relationship Model. Combined use of these five models enables to understand various aspects of relationship marketing, interrelationship and connection of different elements. A company implementing RM strategy gains increased opportunities for retaining existing customers and build profitable long-term and sustainable relationship. In order to test this hypothesis, there was chosen McDonalds Corporation for further analysis. The research shows that initially McDonalds has made a focus on customer-centric approach early before the concept of relationship marketing has gained wider popularity. However, by 1990s the company has failed to ensure excellent customer service and value-added approach because of quick geographical expansion of its restaurants. However, soon the company has recovered its position on the market by developing comprehensive relationship marketing strategy, focusing on three major markets: customers,