The concept of relationship marketing has been discussed among marketing academics and managers since the early 1980s. But instead of reaching its maturity stage, relationship marketing is nowadays encountering its next upsurge. Due to a confluence of trends driving the global business world-including the transition to service-based economies, faster product commoditization, intensified competition worldwide, growth among emerging markets, aging populations, advertising saturation, and (above all) the digital age-strong customer relationships are more than ever vital to company strategy and performance. Relationship Marketing in the Digital Age provides a comprehensive overview of the state-of-the-art of relationship marketing, offering fruitful insights to marketing scholars and practitioners. In seven chapters, divided into two main sections on understanding (Part I) and effectively applying (Part II) relationship marketing, an introductory and a concluding chapter, readers learn how to successfully manage customer-seller relationships.

The concept of relationship marketing has been discussed among marketing academics and managers since the early 1980s. But instead of reaching its maturity stage, relationship marketing is nowadays encountering its next upsurge. Due to a confluence of trends driving the global business world-including the transition to service-based economies, faster product commoditization, intensified competition worldwide, growth among emerging markets, aging populations, advertising saturation, and (above all) the digital age-strong customer relationships are more than ever vital to company strategy and performance. Relationship Marketing in the Digital Age provides a comprehensive overview of the state-of-the-art of relationship marketing, offering fruitful insights to marketing scholars and practitioners. In seven chapters, divided into two main sections on understanding (Part I) and effectively applying (Part II) relationship marketing, an introductory and a concluding chapter, readers learn how to successfully manage customer-seller relationships.

​In hierarchischen Loyalitätsprogrammen bekommen einige Kunden einen bevorzugten Kundenstatus vom Unternehmen geschenkt, anstatt diesen wie üblich aktiv zu erreichen. Ob sich der geschenkte bevorzugte Kundenstatus ebenso positiv auf die Kundenloyalität auswirkt wie der erreichte, ist unklar. Auf Basis sozialpsychologischer Theorien und Konzepte leitet Lena Steinhoff Hypothesen zur Loyalitätswirkung des geschenkten bevorzugten Kundenstatus ab und überprüft diese anhand zweier experimenteller Studien empirisch. Die Autorin zeigt, dass die Effektivität des geschenkten bevorzugten Kundenstatus von seiner Gestaltung abhängt. Verfügt der Kunde über Entscheidungsfreiheit sowie große Nähe zur Statuserreichung, stellt der geschenkte bevorzugte Kundenstatus ein innovatives und dabei gleichermaßen wirksames Instrument zur Loyalitätssteigerung dar wie der erreichte bevorzugte Kundenstatus.