Impact of relationship marketing on creation of customer loyalty: Study of an application in an air transport company

The world got more and more small, customers became more conscious, different geographical markets concept disappeared and the world turned out to be a single and great market where enterprises can rival to each other. It has become rather difficult to orient customers to be loyal to enterprises with which they are in business relation. To manufacture only high quality goods and render reliable services is no more sufficient for enterprises aiming to be present on the market for so many years. Customers wish to be in business relations valuating them as individuals.Traditional marketing has started to give place nowadays to relationship marketing, based on reliability and creating long-term and permanent relations. This new paradigm which places the customer on focus point of all activities has become one of important competition tool for enterprises willing to preserve their existence and profitability for many years. Common objective for relationship marketing either on manufacture or service enterprises is to create customer satisfaction and customer loyalty. Enterprises who comprehended the extra cost of obtaining new customers when compared to preserve existing ones recompense their frequently buying customers with discounts and free products. They moreover provide the establishment of long-term customer relations by developing social relations which can difficultly be imitated.Relationship marketing approach which provides to enterprises countless advantages such as increasing sales, decreasing costs, life-time value of customers and customer loyalty; in 21st century where competition is increasing more and more due globalization too, provides many functional and social benefits for customers such as facility during decision making process, decreasing risk and economical advantages.Key Words: Relationship Marketing, Customer Satisfaction, Customer Loyalty, Loyalty Programmes