According to McKenna, “relationship marketing has become one of the most important determinants of corporate success. Retaining customers and maximizing lifetime customer value are critical to long term revenue and profitability.”
“Successful companies develop relationships with the whole market, not just customers. This is the market infrastructure, and it includes analysts, developers, retailers, journalists, suppliers, and other organizations who are mutually dependent. McKenna describes these as structural relationships. Strategic relationships with partners are important. For larger companies, the relationships reduce development costs and speed up time to market. For smaller companies, the relationships provide credibility and access.”
McKenna, Regis, Relationship Marketing, Successful Strategies for the Age of the Customer,
Cambridge, MA: Pearson Books, 1993 and Business the Ultimate Resource, 2006, p.1154.