Relationship Marketing - Case Study on IKEA

Seminar paper from the year 2008 in the subject Business economics - Marketing, Corporate Communication, CRM, Market Research, Social Media, grade: 1,7, University of Abertay Dundee, 43 entries in the bibliography, language: English, abstract: This report has shown that Ikea is likely to establish a vital relationship marketing.
They put the customer at the heart of the company and align their interaction with other stakeholders like suppliers and employees by customer’s needs and wants. They are aware of an uniform value communication towards the customer and offer customers relational benefit. In turn the customer, according to theorists like Gwinner, Morgan and Hunt etc, is likely to develop a long term relationship loyalty with IKEA.
Although IKEA therefore seems to establish a fundament for customer loyalty, it cannot be used as an evidence for their striking relationship marketing.
Firstly, IKEA stresses on corporate communication, service and social benefits but fails to introduce monetary benefits for customers as a point discount system attached to their IKEA Family Card. Secondly, the reasons for customers long term relationship with companies can be hardly measured and finally even harder evidenced as a result of efforts put in to relationship marketing solely.