Transformational Customer Relationships: Building Trust and Brand Loyalty by Aligning Client and Corporate Values

1. Transformational Customer Relationships:
Building Trust and Brand Loyalty by Aligning
Client and Corporate Values
JOSHUA KELLER
05/07/2012

2. Introduction
• Many organizations in financial services claim to
have a focus on long-term relationships with the
customer but fail to follow through (Hawkes, 1995).
• Distinction between relationship models and
transactional models.
• Transaction theory seeks to increase the immediate
payoff and achieve short term gains whereas
relationship theory aims to build and maintain an
ongoing mutually beneficial partnership.

3. Background of the study
Social Concern Theoretical Concern
• Relationship marketing •There is insufficient research on
overlooks short-term losses to
build long-term gains. some issues and relationships
Relationship theory would between certain attributes of
benefit society by an increase relationship marketing; especially
in mutual benefits for both on the correlation of these
the customer and commercial
industries rather than attributes between agencies who
reinforcing the opportunistic provide relationship marketing
and cutthroat approaches and those who do not.
embodied by transactional
theory. •The conditions of trust
• In time, time a short term development and customer need
gain hurts both whereas a expectation need to be met for
long term gain helps both. relationship marketing to exist.

4. Problem Statement
• Studies show that it is essential for organizations that are
service oriented to create and share value with the customer
during an exchange (Christopher, Payne, & Ballantyne,
2002).
• At this time it is unclear if these transactional systems are
being used as an intentional alternative to a company
supported relationship marketing approach.
• The problem is that even though relationship theory has
been shown to be more effective in the long term success of
the organization, many companies choose to not employ the
approach (Bruhn, 2002, Hawke, 1995, and Barwise, 2005).

5. Purpose of the Study
• Quantitative correlational research study to show the
relationship between trust development and expecting
customer needs (independent variables) as measured by
the developed research marketing tool which seeks to
determine the relationship to the company’s style of
marketing (dependant variable) (Morgan & Hunt,
1994).
• Population is middle management and customers of
financial service company in Central CA
• Demonstrate misappropriation of training, marketing,
advertisement, and management budgets.

6. Significance of the Study
• General
• This study is significant as it presents an empirical tool to measure
trust development and expecting customer needs, two essential
elements of relationship marketing.
• Leadership
• Will give leaders unique tools to develop trust and meet customer
needs thereby making better use of dollars for advertising and
marketing, training, and customer relations budgets.

7. Nature of the Study
• Research methods
• Quantitative method is appropriate as it shows the relationship between the
independent and dependant variables.
• Research design
• Design is appropriate as it will first identify a company that uses relationship
marketing (by using a pilot test) and then test the independent and
dependent variables. Study will then determine if the data shows a
relationship between the IV and DV.

8. Research Questions
• How important is developing trust and expecting the needs of
the customer to the patrons? To the company itself?
• Did the company achieve their goal of providing relationship
marketing?
• Are trust development and needs expectorations accurate
measures of relationship marketing?

9. Hypotheses
• Null Hypothesis
• There will be no relationship between the independent variables of
development of trust and customer needs expectation and the
dependent variable of the style of marketing.
• Alternative Hypothesis:
• There will be a statistically significant relationship between the
independent variables of development of trust and customer needs
expectation and the dependent variable of the style of marketing.

10. Conceptual Framework
• Relationship Theory
• Transformational and loyalty theories
• Transactional theory
• Business process management
• Similar studies and related theories
• Attempts to show that millions of dollars in training and management
budgets are being misappropriated by lack of understanding of the full
dynamics surrounding customer reaction to business-patron interactions.

11. Summary and Conclusion
• Questions on the customer questionnaire will be directed
at the respondent’s feeling that the organization
anticipated their needs and their behaviors were in an
effort to build and maintain a long term relationship with
the customer.
• Discussion on study’s implications and potential
differences between the company and customer
impression.
• Similarities will be exposed between feedback from
customers and companies to determine if there are some
areas that can be addressed using a BPM approach.

12. References
• Bruhn, M. (2002). Relationship Marketing:Management of Customer
Relationships (1st ed.). Basel, Switzerland: Prentice-Hall.
• Barwise, P. (2003). Simply Better: Winning and Keeping Customers by
Delivering What Matters Most. CITY PUBLISHER
• Christopher, M., Payne, A., & Ballantyne, D. (2002). Relationship Marketing:
Creating Stakeholder Value. Woburn, MA: Butterworth-Heinemann.
• Hawkes, A. (1995). Relationship Marketing in the Financial Services
Industry. CITY PUBLISHER
• Morgan, R. M., & Hunt, S. D. (1994). The commitment-trust theory
of relationship marketing. Journal of Marketing, 58(3), 20-38.