Relationship marketing as a paradigm shift: some conclusions from the 30R approach

Stresses issues brought up in the first World Wide Web conference on relationship marketing. Based on research on relationship marketing going back to the early 1970s which resulted in the definition of 30 relationships in marketing ‐ the 30R approach. Brings up inconsistencies in marketing, among them the mix‐up between relationship marketing as a phenomenon and a term; values and ethics; practice versus theory and education; differences between Europe and the USA; and the ghost‐hunt for an unambiguous definition. Concludes that relationship marketing requires a dramatic change in marketing thinking and behaviour; it is a paradigm shift, not an add‐on to traditional marketing management.