The application of a relationship marketing perspective in retail banking

This article considers the development of relationship marketing in retail financial services. it begins by examining the relationship marketing liter ature and considering its application to the retail banking industry: Follo wing a discussion of the research methodology, four in-depth retail bank ca se studies are presented. These cases form the basis of a qualitative analy sis of the state of relationship marketing in retail banking. Many banks ha ve already reached a higher level of relationship marketing than businesses in other sectors. Yet generic relationship marketing models such as the on e applied in this research do not necessarily reflect these differences. A modified version of a relationship marketing model, which caters for the pa rticular characteristics of retail banks and which may be applicable to oth er services businesses, is therefore proposed.