ILORIN JOURNAL OF MANAGEMENT SCIENCES VOLUME 5, NO. 1, JUNE 2018 42 From Transactional Marketing to Relationship Marketing: A Paradigm shift in Business Thinking and Practices. RAHIM, Ajao Ganiyu (Ph.D.) Department of Business Administration, University of Lagos, Lagos, Nigeria. arahim@unilag.edu.ng or abdulrahimajao@yahoo.com +23408033199942 And OMOERA, Charles Ighedoise (Ph.D.) Department of Business Administration, University of Lagos, Lagos, Nigeria. comoera@unilag.edu.ng +23480223898721 Abstract In response to the dynamic and competitive nature of the contemporary business environment, the transactional approach of attracting and retaining customers, through advertisement, sales promotion among others, are becoming inadequate in engaging customers for profitable growth. Against this background, this paper examines “relationship marketing” (RM) as a paradigm shift from the philosophical perspective of acquiring to retaining customers for mutual benefits. This paper employed descriptive research approach, using mainly secondary sources of information. The paper discovered that the frontier of relationship marketing in the contemporary literature has undergone dramatic changes in terms of approaches and applications. The paper also provided a strong confirmation of trust, familiarity, commitment, marketing communication, shared values, reciprocity and bonding as the major variables that are associated with relationship marketing success. Thus, these variables are necessary for building and enhancing stronger business relationships between firms and customers. The paper concluded that relationship marketing as opposed to transactional marketing encompasses mechanisms that focus solely on how firms can build sustainable mutual relationships with customers. On the basis of the aforementioned conclusion, the paper recommended that: (i) firms must be committed to relationship building to be able to influence and drive customers’ value, and (ii) the success of the RM practices significantly depends on mutual interdependence between organisation and their customers. Keywords: Transactional marketing, relationship marketing, paradigm shift, interactions, exchange, traditional marketing approach. mailto:arahim@unilag.edu.ng mailto:abdulrahimajao@yahoo.com mailto:comoera@unilag.edu.ng ILORIN JOURNAL OF MANAGEMENT SCIENCES VOLUME 5, NO. 1, JUNE 2018 43 Introduction From time immemorial, relationship has always formed the basis of human and business existence. To emphasise the importance of relationship to business success, Gronroos (1994) quoted a popular adage in the Middle East that says “as a trader, you’d better have a friend in every town”. As a matter of fact, all exchanges, by illustration, warrant a relationship; for the simple fact that, if there will be no relationship between the firm and its key business partners (customers, suppliers, distributors, etc.) there will be no basis for exchange and hence, no business at all (Czepiel, 1990; O’Malley, 2014; Sin, 2015). Relationship Marketing (RM) emerged in the 1980s as a paradigm shift from one philosophical perspective to another within the marketing theme, and reflected the evolving nature of customer’s needs/ expectations (Andrei, 2009; Tereza, & Monika, 2015). Over the past decades, relationship marketing has echoes renaissance in marketing and it has propelled exemplary changes in several fields of study and industries (Elisa & Cecilia, 2015; Hardeep, Dangwal & Swati, 2015). Several marketing academics recognise RM as a contemporary business philosophy and have initiated effort to propagate it devotedly as faithful supporters (Gronroos, 2007; Egan, 2008). As a practice, RM alters the predominant views of marketing solely as a chain of transactions, based on the recognition that many exchanges, mostly in the contemporary business world, were hitherto relational by nature (Gummesson, 2008; Thelma, 2015). Early proponents of RM viewed the concept as a ‘constellation’ of relationships and being much wider in scope and application than just relationships with customers (Harker & Egan, 2006). RM encompasses all the relationships which a business must manage, both internal and external, in order to remain competitive and effectively meet customers’ needs (Gummenson, 2008; Rahim, Dixxon-Ogbechi & Salome, 2013; Ukwattes & Abeysekera, 2015), RM can be viewed as a mechanism through which firms create personal ties with customers, whilst customers on the other hand, consider RM as an opportunity to have their needs fulfilled (Gronroos, 2004). According to Berry (1983), RM is the process of attracting, maintaining, and enhancing customers’ relationships. Ndubisi (2004) views RM as a process through which firms attract, maintain and enhance customer relationships. Gronroos (2007) defined RM as the process of creating relationships with customers and other parties at a profit, through mutual exchange and fulfilment of promises. The focus of RM, according to Sheth and Parvatiyar (2005) is to develop mutually beneficial long-term relationship with its key business partners, ILORIN JOURNAL OF MANAGEMENT SCIENCES VOLUME 5, NO. 1, JUNE 2018 44 through the identification and application of important marketing variables that determine marketing performance and success. Benefits associated with RM practices consist of improved sales performance (Reynolds & Beatty, 1999), positive words of mouth communication (Kim & Cha, 2002), improve customer responsiveness to marketing initiatives (Hwang & Kandapully, 2015), improved client base (De Wulf, Odekerken-Schroeder, & Iacobucci, 2001), competitive positioning (Zineldin, 2006), and most importantly, customer advocacy (Tuominen, 2006) among others. Over the years, it has been advocated that businesses across all sectors should modify their approach to marketing in order to improve business relationships and interactions (Roland, Christine, & Gaurav, 2010; Benazir, Urooj, Sanober, Tania, & Muhammad, 2019). Such marketing approach, according to Gronroos (2007) is different from the traditional approach of marketing through the 4Ps (i.e. price, product, place and promotion), which is transactional in nature. The transactional marketing approach has been criticized due to its prescriptive nature (Thelma, 2015) and lacking human/relational touch which often holds back businesses (Gummenson, 2008). In addition, the transactional marketing is narrow in scope and its application does not fit particularly well with services marketing where personal relationship and networking are often more important, hence, it is unreceptive and does not permit interaction, nor capture relationships as the basis for customer retention (Gummenson, 2008). According to Moller (2006), the transactional marketing mix philosophy largely focuses on the sellers’ approach toward achieving set goals and fails to consider customer interest. Founded on the above arguments, the traditional marketing mix, which is the focus of transactional marketing, can be regarded as outdated in the quest for sustaining business performance (Hunt, 2000). According to Sheth and Parvatiyar (2005), studies on RM have been restricted to the review of the development of the notion, argument on the maxims of the diverse schools of relationship marketing and propositions on some future research directions. Numerous factors have been used to measure successful relational exchanges, including trust, commitment, co-operation, keeping promises, shared value, and communication among others, but their application and suitability have been proved to be contextual (Arnett, German, & Hunt, 2003; Sheth & Parvatiyar, 2005). In addition, quite a number of business enterprises claiming they are relationship marketing oriented, are not actually devoted to it, given the growing rate of customers attrition across industries. Also so many organisations experience challenges implementing RM tactics (Tereza ILORIN JOURNAL OF MANAGEMENT SCIENCES VOLUME 5, NO. 1, JUNE 2018 45 & Monika, 2015), which call for more understanding and appreciation of RM as a paradigm shift. Given the above discussions, this paper seeks to contribute to knowledge and deepen understanding of what the paradigm shift from transactional marketing to relationship marketing connote for business thinking and practices. The specific objectives of the paper were to: identify the dimensions of relationship marketing, and examine major differences between transactional and relationship marketing by business organizations. To accomplish the aforementioned objectives, the following research questions were formed. 1. What are the dimensions of relationship marketing? 2. What are the major differences between transactional and relationship marketing? Literature Review An Overview of Relationship Marketing The origin of relationship marketing was documented over three decades ago in a conference paper on service marketing delivered by Berry in 1983 (Moller & Halinen, 2000). As expressed by Gronroos (2004), the claim that relationship marketing is entirely a new idea no doubt ignores and negates the experience of many notable academicians and business practitioners; because the practice of building and nurturing relationship in business is an old phenomenon and practices that dated back to ancient period. Similarly, Palmatier (2008) notes that RM has been around for too long and was the norm for most of recorded business history. Brown (1997) maintains that the recognition of RM propelled many marketing scholars to scrutinise their activities in order to gain recognition. Egan and Harker (2005) submitted that RM is considered as “the monarch’s favourite attires” with the way and manner many editors of prominent journals across the globe were engrossed with the concept. Since the conceptualisation of RM by Berry in 1983, there remains confusion about the nature of relationship marketing and the benefits that accrue to the organisations and their customers. According to Payne (1997), the scope and future direction of RM is largely disputed. Fournier, Dobscha and Mick (1998) concurred Payne’s (1997) view and claimed that though, relationship marketing is powerful in theory, but troubled in practice. Kumar, Bohling and Ladda (2003) shared a different opinion; they claimed that relationship marketing is not a new paradigm but an indispensable, complementary approach to transactional marketing. Since the introduction of RM into marketing field, there is no consensus regarding its conceptualisation and determinants. Scholars and practitioners have offered different definitions ILORIN JOURNAL OF MANAGEMENT SCIENCES VOLUME 5, NO. 1, JUNE 2018 46 of RM. Rahim et al., (2013) defined relationship marketing as a form of unified strategy for identifying, sustaining, and building up a network with individual customers for the reciprocal benefit of both customers and business. Sin (2015) proposed a strategic view of relationship marketing and highlights the need to put customer first in the scheme of firm’s affairs, in an attempt to re-aligning the role of marketers from influencing the customer to sincere customer engagement. Boateng (2019) posited that relationship marketing is a strategy geared toward being market oriented and to build resilient and long lasting relationship with customers. Parowicz (2019) opined that relationship marketing is a way through which organisations understand and manage on-going supportive business relationship with customers. Gummesson (2008) conceptualized relationship marketing (RM) as marketing activities from the perspective of relationships, networks, and interaction to enhance value as well as achieving long-term profitability. Palmatier (2008) claimed that relationship marketing is the practice of identifying, developing, and sustaining relational exchanges to enhance business performance. Grundey (2009) viewed relationship marketing as the combination of customer service, quality and marketing. Achumba (2006) opined that relationship marketing symbolises an important paradigm shift in marketing, which heralded a movement from thinking solely in terms of competition towards mutual support and cooperation. Given the plethora of definitions of RM, it should be noted that the essence of relationship marketing is to involve and integrate customers, suppliers and other key stakeholders into firm’s marketing plans and programmes (McKenna, 1991). Relying on the broader view of relationship, that assume varying form of connections between people as constituting relationships, early scholars such as Hinde (1979) asserts that countless number of interactions between customers and employees could be considered as relationships. According to Dwayne, Kevin, and Stephen (2001), all interactions do not constitute relationship, because relationship assumes meaning that is broader than the frequency of interaction. In other words, firm’s customer relationship goes beyond repeated encounters. Also while some scholars acknowledged the reality of one overall RM theory, others disagree that RM is context-specific, hence, it is imperative to emphasise that business relationship drives and is driven by the context where it take place (Fournier, Doswes, & Mick, 1998). Similarly, literature remains detached on how best to describe circumstances in which one or the other approach (transactional vs. relational) is more relevant (Reinartz & Kumar, 2000). In view of the sharp differences in the factors that encourage the application of ILORIN JOURNAL OF MANAGEMENT SCIENCES VOLUME 5, NO. 1, JUNE 2018 47 relationship or transactional strategies, Zolkiewski (2004) put forward a set of probing questions, how many transactions parallel a relationship - one, two, recurrent, or intermittent? Does it infer that both participants (firm’s/customer) have to be active? Can inactive customers ever be involved in genuine relationships? Pels (1999) in his contribution raises the question: what is the level of interaction required to reflect a particular exchange situation as transactional or the commencement of a relationship? Based on the contentious issues surrounding whether a transaction is solely exchange or an attempt to create a relationship, and the misconception, misapplication and even abuse of the term “relationship” in marketing (Zolkiewski, 2004), contemporary studies such as Tareq (2017) and Parowicz (2019) have advance a more balanced view of relationship marketing by emphasising that relationships are two-way continuum – that is as much as marketers strive for value from customers, customers are equally very conscious of the value they derive from the relationship with the firm (Rust, Lemon & Narayandas, 2005). Therefore, the quality of relationships to a large extent influences the present and future value obtainable by firm and customers (Achumba, 2006). From the aforementioned this paper advocated that relationship marketing encompasses the process of identifying, building and maintaining successful business relationship that is beneficial to both customer and business organization. Dimensions of Relationship Marketing The marketing literature has put forward numerous variables that underpin relationship marketing orientation. In the opinion of Arnett et al., (2003) extant literature deliberates different dimensions of relationship marketing most of which are sector/context specific. According to Theron and Terblanche (2009), relationship marketing embraced dimensions such as empathy, bonding, trust, caring, shared value, reciprocity, information sharing, customisation, conflict handling, and communication. Sin, Tse and Yau in their study in 2002 enumerated six key dimensions of relationship marketing which are: trust, marketing communication, shared value, empathy, reciprocity, and bonding. Hunt, Arnett, and Madhavaram (2006) identified six influential relational factors of relationship marketing success including trust, commitment, cooperation, keeping promises, creating shared values and communication. Arneett and Badrinarayanan (2005) documented trust, commitment, and communications as supportive factors for the success of relationship marketing. According to Amine, Chakori, and Alaoui (2012), prominent factors that affect RM success are communication, trust and commitment. ILORIN JOURNAL OF MANAGEMENT SCIENCES VOLUME 5, NO. 1, JUNE 2018 48 Chattananon and Trimetsoontorn (2009) proposed shared values, bonding, and reciprocity as major variables underpinning relationship marketing success. Similarly, Bahri, Sabahi, Taheri, and Hatami (2013) opined that factors such as trust, commitment and communication are fundamental to relationship marketing practices. Yeh (2005) believed that relationship marketing encompasses communication, trust and commitment. Some of the major dimensions of relationship marketing found in literature are discussed below. Trust Trust is the belief and dependability in or confidence and capability of someone or something (Callanghan, MCphail, & Yau, 1995). In the business context, trust is the tendency to rely on a business partner, which is the foundation of long-term relationships (Juscius & Grigaite, 2011). In other words, trust is the element of a business relationship that defines the level to which each party feels they can rely on the integrity of the promise offered by the other (Chattananon & Trimetsoontorn, 2009). Commitment Commitment is another dimension of relationship marketing, and is a vital concept for evaluating the prospect of customer loyalty and envisaging future purchase frequency. Moorman, Zaltman, and Desphade (1992) viewed commitment as a persistent wish to preserve a valued relationship. Over-all, commitment relates to a form of orientation that a particular intentions and behaviours transmit to the creation of value to business partners over a long term (Vesel & Zabkar, 2010). Marketing communication To create a beneficial and mutual relationship, there is need for effective communication that will aid the dissemination of relevant information between the firm and customers (Morgan & Hunt, 1994). In relationship marketing context, communication means keeping in touch with customers, providing timely and dependable information on service and service delivery process. Ndubisi (2004) maintains that when there is effective communication between firm and its customers, an improved relationship will result and customers will display loyalty tendency. Bonding ILORIN JOURNAL OF MANAGEMENT SCIENCES VOLUME 5, NO. 1, JUNE 2018 49 In a relationship context, especially the one between firm and customers, there is need for close tie, otherwise termed bonding that unite them together and propel them to act in a more cohesive manner. The starting point of relationship bonding is when the firm initiate marketing plan and effort to secure customer patronage, and the desire of a buyer to purchase the product repeatedly in order to satisfy their needs (Chattananon & Trimetsoontorn, 2009). Shared values From marketing point of view, marketing initiatives and activities are considered to be successful only when it offers satisfaction and value to the customers (Kotler, 2014). Value, according to Kotler and Keller (2013) mirrors the intangible and tangible benefits/costs to customers based on their evaluation of quality, price, and service delivery. Accordingly, shared value is a vital element in building buyer–seller relationships (Heffernan, O’Neill, Travglione, & Droulers, 2008). Empathy Empathy, according to Wang (2007) is the tendency to see a situation from another person’s viewpoint. In literature, empathy has numerous related conceptualisation such as – the golden rule, the ethic of care and “others” orientation. In the opinion of Sin et al., (2002), empathy is the aptitude to share, comprehend and connect with customer in business dealings. Reciprocity Reciprocity is a major relationship dimensions that advocate that parties in a relationship owe one another because of their previous actions or dealings (Sin et al., 2002). In other words, reciprocity permits either party to offer favours or benefits to the other party(s) in return for similar favours or benefits in the future (Chattananon & Trimetsoontorn, 2009). The link of reciprocity to relationship marketing has been deliberated as a basis for promoting the interface between exchange transactions and relationship marketing activities. Debate concerning Transactional and Relationship Marketing The importance placed on the relationship marketing as opposed to the transactional based exchanges, is currently redefining and reshaping the domain of marketing (Egan, 2008). According to Gronroos (2004), a major shift in the fundamental of marketing is taking place with the emergence of relationship marketing and the shift is so intense. Thus, marketing activities and strategies are moving from strategies relying solely on brands and product lines to strategies based upon relationships building (Rust & Thompson, 2006). According to Maxim (2009), the ILORIN JOURNAL OF MANAGEMENT SCIENCES VOLUME 5, NO. 1, JUNE 2018 50 reign enjoyed by transactional marketing was propelled by mass production philosophy. Based on this roadmap, Gronroos (2007) observes that the idea does not count on the practicability of a relationship strategy or of a transactional tactic but rather on the appraisal of the applicability of relationship strategy as against transactional approach. Therefore, the choice of relationship marketing as against transactional marketing purely relies on economic justifications regarding the benefits it brings to the client and to the company (Alina & Nicolae, 2007). Thomas Kuhn (cited in Gronroos, 1994) leverages on the theoretical structure of Backhaus (1997) to articulate two crucial situations which relationship marketing must embrace to exemplify a paradigm shift in marketing theory. These conditions are: (1) as a fresh paradigm, it must shield all issues and facts in the field, and (2) propel a new approach for theoretical enquiry. On this note, Backhaus (1997) further maintains that relationship marketing (notwithstanding its undoubted prominence) does not satisfy these circumstances and does not qualify as a paradigm shift. Some scholars further claimed that there is nothing new in relationship marketing (Fullerton, 1988; Brown, 1998; Jones & Richardson, 2007). As expressed by Sheth and Sisodia (1999), there is no such thing as a “general theory” of relationship marketing, and perhaps will never be. Gronroos (1995) and Ronald et al., (2010) maintained that the more business organisations pull themselves away from the transactional situations, the more the market develops outside the basic product or service. Therefore, relationship marketing may not be applicable in some exchange circumstances where hit-and-run strategies are more suitable, particularly where firm can rely on established constructs and solutions such as customer satisfaction, and trust, rather than creating new relationship (Sheth & Sisodia, 1999). Although a large number of scholars have questioned the validity of the transactional approach as a general marketing theory (Berry, 1983, Sheth & Parvatiyar, 2005). In the opinion of Gronroos (2007) and Gummenson (2008), the socio-economic changes compelled a shift of the marketing attention from transaction to relationship building. They further maintained that proponents of RM do not entirely cast-off the transactional paradigm and that some degree of manipulation will always be required. Gronroos (2007) further acknowledged that even though the relational strategies are relevant in any sector, not all customers are fascinated in building relationships. In his opinion, customers may opt for transactional approach (they care for results that are economical and do not desire further contact aside the transactions). Gummesson (2008) ILORIN JOURNAL OF MANAGEMENT SCIENCES VOLUME 5, NO. 1, JUNE 2018 51 on the other hand, believes that certain notch of manipulation, which is usual for transactional marketing, will continually be indispensable in marketing, even though it may be less dominant. Consistent with the above claims, Moorman et al., (1992) argued that the fascinating view of RM has been extended too far. According to them, relationships with high level of collaboration, acquaintance and experience can nurture a belief that will hinder fair and objective assessment of the parties involved in the relationship. Gruen, Sumner and Acsto (2000) advocated that partners in a long-term relationship may possibly develop the feeling of “what have you offered me in recent time”, a feeling which ironically makes them more sensitive to short-term costs and values. Grayson and Ambler (1999) contended that partners may also suspect that their loyalty is being rewarded, thus, nursing the desire to source relationship. Despite the aforementioned criticisms, Brown (2000) expresses a fascinating view concerning transactional and relationship marketing debate. According to him, relationship marketing (despite its undisputed prominence and applications) may not meet all the required circumstances to symbolise a paradigm shift in marketing theory. Founded on the above claim, Darpy and Isabelle (2008) offered a balanced view regarding the application of relationship and transactional marketing. According to them, for exceedingly highly disposed customers, traditional relationship marketing tactics should be adopted, whilst for the exceeding low relationship prone customers, transactional approach is the optimal strategy. In view of the above presentation, Henning-Thurau and Ursula (2000) highlighted major differences between relationship and transactional marketing as depicted in Table 1. ILORIN JOURNAL OF MANAGEMENT SCIENCES VOLUME 5, NO. 1, JUNE 2018 52 Table 1: Major differences between Transactional and Relationship marketing Criteria Transactional marketing Relationship marketing Primary object Single transaction Relationship (repeated transaction) General approach Action related Interaction related Perspective Static Evolutionary-dynamic Basic orientation Decision-oriented Implementation-oriented Long-term vs. short term Short term perspective Generally takes a long-term perspective Fundamental strategy Acquisition of customers Maintenance of existing relationships Focus in decision process Pre-sales activities All phases focus on post-sales decisions and action. Intensity of contact Low High Degree of mutual dependence Generally low Generally high Measurement of customer satisfaction Monitoring market share (indirect approach) Managing the customer base (direct approach) Dominant quality dimension Quality of output Quality of interaction Production of quality Primary concern on production The concern of all Role of internal marketing No or limited importance Substantial strategic importance Importance of employees for business success Low High Production focus Mass production Mass customisation Source: Adopted from Henning-Thurau and Ursala, 2000, p.5 Methodology This paper employed descriptive research approach, using mainly secondary sources of information. To accomplish the research objectives of this paper, desk research which relies on review of literature was adopted. This imply that the information used in this paper have been collected, recorded, and used for other purposes by previous researcher(s) and therefore, does not require field study (Harris, 2001). This paper drew data and conclusion mainly from scholarly articles, reports and online blogs. The justification for using this approach is founded on the fact that desktop research approach review previous literature which is vital to connect the research with facts recognised from practice. Discussion and Implications To compete successfully in a fierce and overcrowded business terrain, firms are compelled to look beyond the traditional marketing mix (price, product, promotion, and place), which are the building blocks of transactional marketing (Sin, 2015). On this note, RM has become a feasible approach for firms to build and maintain robust relationship with their customers. To survive in an increasingly volatile and dynamic business environment, relationships are very important because, many products and services are becoming much more similar and identical (Vargo, & Lusch, 2004; O’Malley, 2014). Relationship marketing is built on many important dimensions ILORIN JOURNAL OF MANAGEMENT SCIENCES VOLUME 5, NO. 1, JUNE 2018 53 such as trust, commitment, shared value, familiarity, marketing communication, reciprocity and bonding. All the major dimensions of RM promote mutual-corporation as opposed to competition and conflict emanating from lack of trust, poor commitment, and poor communication among others (Gronroos, 2007). There is a consensus among marketing scholars and practitioners that relationship marketing is quite different from transactional marketing in managing business relationship (Alina & Nicolae, 2007; Sin, 2015; Huang, 2015; Boateng, 2019). Traditional approaches (often termed transactional) are now being widely criticised for lacking relational touch and are gradually paving way for a new era of marketing. Transactional relationship for instance, encompasses a solo, short-time business encounter with a distinct beginning and ending. In contrast, relational exchange (relationship marketing) comprises numerous interrelated dealings spreading over time and usually contains both economic and social bonds (Sheth & Parvatiyar, 2005). In particular, the transactional marketing approach encourages businesses to spend more time and resources to acquire new customers with little attention on how to retain existing ones (Berry, 1983; Zinkewicz, 1999). Hence, traditional or transaction-based view of marketing is being challenged because, (1) the short term focus of many marketing practices has been unsuccessful to foster customer retention, and (2) also corporate self-interest has not been fulfilled because, it cost more to attract customers than to retain them (Buttle, 1996). Conclusion This paper examines the paradigm shift from transactional marketing to relationship marketing and what this shift connotes for business thinking and practices. From the accounts earlier presented, the transactional views of marketing are now being defied and are gradually paving way to a new era of marketing termed “relationship marketing”. Relationship based exchange accentuates the tendency of evolving and retaining an effective level of organizational-customer relationship in other to mutually meet the needs of both parties. RM has propelled marketing theory and initiatives that are significantly different from the schemes and obstacles conventionally associated with transactional marketing, which focuses on attracting new customers, rather than maintaining and retaining the existing ones. Nevertheless, transactional marketing may still be useful in some marketing situations, because not every exchange has the potential to transform into a relationship (Hardeep et al., 2005; Alina & Nicolae, 2007; Tereza & ILORIN JOURNAL OF MANAGEMENT SCIENCES VOLUME 5, NO. 1, JUNE 2018 54 Monika, 2015). The aforementioned narratives reinforces the fact that some marketing tasks remain to be realised through transactional marketing approach which proposes that business organisations will intermittently exploit hybrid or portfolio of strategies which encompasses not only relationship tactics but also transactional approaches in accomplishing marketing goals. Similarly, it has become widely recognised that if managed tactically, RM programs can truly pay off both socially and financially. Likewise, evidences have also shown that relationship marketing has the would-be to become the dominant paradigm without necessarily throwing the transactional approaches into bin. Recommendations On the basis of the aforementioned discussion and conclusion, this paper offers the following recommendations. 1. As a result of stiff competition in contemporary business world, business organisations need to look beyond the use of the traditional marketing mix (product, price, place and promotion) to engage customer for mutual and profitable growth. It is vital for businesses to develop strategies towards building mutual cooperation, as opposed to tactics that will create competition and conflict which undermines value creation. 2. To leverage and fully maximise the potential benefits associated with RM practices, there is need for business organizations to leverage on all the major dimensions of relationship marketing such as trust, commitment, bonding communication, and shared value among others to gain new customers and retain existing one for sustainable growth of the organization. 3. To fully accomplish the benefits associated with relationship marketing, business organisations should modify the way and manner customer is being treated by initiating bilateral communication to foster customer engagement. By treating customers as a partner, rather than users of a product and or service, firms will be in a better position to have a wider view and understanding of how best to meet customer’s needs and expectations. References ILORIN JOURNAL OF MANAGEMENT SCIENCES VOLUME 5, NO. 1, JUNE 2018 55 Achumba, I.C. (2006). The dynamics of consumer behaviour (new eds). Lagos, Nigeria: Mac- Williams Publishers Limited. 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