Relationship marketing - Essay Example

It also entails additional risk when compared to domestic marketing. Many factors like culture, statutory obligations, working styles and environment, availability of technology and skilled manpower, and a host of other factors have to be taken into account. This paper is a study of relationship marketing in the context of retail trade in international markets. In the process it will provide a broad outlook on the various factors that a company has to take into account to be successful in international markets.

Baker quoting Moller and Wilson defines this concept as “understanding, creating, and managing exchange relationships between economic partners, manufacturers, service providers, various channel partners, and final consumers” (Baker 2003, 33). In effect relationship marketing is just not about having profitable and mutually beneficial relationships between the retailer and the end consumer. Christopher et al, states that there are six different markets to be analyzed, referred to as the ‘six market domains’.

They are customer, recruitment, referral, internal, influence, supplier & alliance markets (Christopher, Payne & Ballantyne 2002, 202). Most of these terms are self-explanatory and hence some examples of a couple of markets is given here. According to the authors, Mercedes, Rolex, and Dell are examples of products that benefit from referral sales. Influence markets are those where a company needs to exert influence on a person, organization, trade unions, or even government. The authors illustrate this with the example of how Johnson & Johnson managed the Tylenol disaster.

The company managed to save its international reputation through practical and effective steps. International marketing can have different dimensions or approaches. According to Doole & Lowe, companies can just market their products internationally which is the simplest form of such marketing. In a more complex approach, companies set up their own manufacturing, and