Sborník 2009 díl 2. - Fakulta informatiky a managementu - Univerzita ...

RELATIONSHIP MARKETING AND ITS IMPORTANCE IN THE
CONTEMPORARY MARKETING MANAGEMENT
Dr Grazyna Rembielak-Vitchev
University of Salford
G.Rembielak-Vitchev@salford.ac.uk
Key words:
Traditional – marketing – relationship – contemporary – management
Abstract:
In the paper the issue of modern marketing has been discussed, starting from the idea of
traditional marketing concepts, such as: production orientation, product orientation, and
sales orientation, and proceeding to the relationship marketing approach, which is
focused on satisfying individual consumer’s needs and expectations and maintaining a
direct contact with the consumer. The author has discussed the importance of the
relationship marketing in the contemporary tough market situation with a high
competition.
1. The concept of marketing
The term ‘marketing’ is not a modern invention; it has been in use in the English
language for some considerable time. Webster’s Dictionary of 1880 gave a meaning as
‘the act of purchasing in a market’ [12: 2].
The idea of ‘marketing’ first appeared in the economics literature at the end of the
nineteenth century and was developed as ‘merchandising and selling’ in the scientific
management of Frederick Winslow Taylor. The concept became widely applied in the
middle of the twentieth century [11, 12: 3] In 1931 the American Association of
Marketing and Advertising Professors issued an official definition:
all the business activities implicated in the flow of goods and service from
producer to consumer, with the sole exception of activities that imply a change
of form. [8: 292]
2. Evolution of the marketing concept
The marketing concept is a fairly recent one. It has been preceded by other business
philosophies, such as: production orientation, product orientation, and sales orientation,
or as Dibb, Simkin, Pride, and Ferrell [4: 17] divide it: ‘preceded by the production era
and the sales era’
Production orientation is characterised by a belief that people will buy anything,
provided it is cheap enough. Product orientation means believing that an ideal product
can be manufactured; however the product would be equipped with additional features,
not necessarily needed or required by customers. Sales orientation is characterised by a
belief that a customer will buy every product provided that he is persuaded to do it by a
skilled salesman.
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