The Effects of Communication Mode in Relationship Selling

Northern Illinois University The last two decades have ushered in a new era in selling one in which the focus has shifted from singular customer transactions to enduring customer relationships. Relationship selling, encompassing those activities directed towards the establishment and maintenance of profitable customer relationships (Johnston and Marshall, 2008), has been adopted as the strategy of choice in many organizations. As spanners of the link between buying and selling organizations, salespeople play a prominent role in enacting this strategy as they assume the responsibility of guiding customers through the relationship development process (Cannon and Perreault, 1999; Weitz and Bradford, 1998). Their personal interactions and ongoing efforts to build and maintain the relationship largely determine the level of value and satisfaction provided the customer (Jap, 2001). We have therefore seen a considerable amount of research dedicated to identifying the means through which salespeople can make these relationships more effective and enduring (e.g., Beverland, 2001; Marshall et al., 2003).