The focus of marketing is shifting away from transactional marketing and toward relationship marketing. Companies are beginning to recognize the economic value of stable, long-term customer relationships based on a high degree of customer satisfaction, trust, commitment, and loyalty. The book provides a comprehensive overview of both fundamentals and important recent developments in this fast-growing field. It also presents examples of successful relationship marketing in practice."This book makes a landmark contribution in assembling some of the best contemporary thinking about relationship marketing illustrated with concrete descriptions of companies in the automobile industry, consumer electronics, public utilities and so on, which are implementing relationship marketing. I highly recommend this to all companies who want to see what their future success will require."Prof. Philip Kotler, Northwestern University, Illinois

Relationship Marketing provides a comprehensive overview of the fundamentals and important recent developments in this fast-growing field. "This book makes a landmark contribution in assembling some of the best contemporary thinking about relationship marketing illustrated with concrete descriptions of companies in the automobile industry, consumer electronics, public utilities and so on, which are implementing relationship marketing. I highly recommend this to all companies who want to see what their future success will require." PROF. PHILIP KOTLER, NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY, ILLINOIS

Bei Alltagsstress und Enttauschung suchen viele Menschen Troestung im Konsum. Vor allem ihre Identitatsprobleme in der heutigen Multi-Kulti-Gesellschaft verlangen nach einer Stabilisierung des Selbstwertgefuhls. Die heutigen Konsumpraktiken der Wohlstandsgesellschaft versprechen hier Kompensation und Belastungsbewaltigung. Insbesondere die gutersymbolischen Vertrauenseigenschaften der Markenartikel bieten dem bedrohten Selbstbild bestatigende und optimistisch stimmende Konsumerfahrungen. So entstehen Konsumstile wie die Konsumorientierung, die als Strategie der Lebensfuhrung traditionelle Orientierungssysteme ersetzt. Dies ist jedoch nicht unproblematisch und kann zu materialistischer Lebenseinstellung und sogar zu Konsumsucht fuhren. Der Grund ist in einer Behinderung der kognitiven Entwicklung der Persoenlichkeit, insbesondere zu besserer Konsumkompetenz, zu suchen.