Relationship Marketing Re-Imagined

CHAPTER 1

Introduction

Marketing is arguably amidst a paradigm shift. Marketing orientation is shifting away from creating exchanges (sales) to creating value (satisfaction) and relationships (cocreating value). Ultimately, the main objective of all marketing activities is value creation.¹ Figure 1.1 illustrates this paradigm shift in marketing orientation.

In the vast majority of cases, value is cocreated by several agents, especially the marketers and customers. For example, a healthy patient in the United States is an outcome of the joint efforts of marketers who inform the customer and doctors of the benefits of available medication or treatments and distribute the offering, the doctors who diagnose and prevent illnesses and endorse medications, ...