Retail marketing strategy : The role of marketing intelligence, relationship marketing and trust

Purpose – To show why retail marketing strategists and planners need to develop long‐term relationships capable of building business partnerships based on mutual trust. To show how the relationship marketing principle underpins the implementation of retailing strategy. Design/methodology/approach – A detailed review of the relevant literature, with commentary on the application of principles in practice. Findings – A successful retailing strategy will be embedded within a customer‐driven general business strategy. Marketing managers should plan to develop and sustain long‐term trust‐based working relationships, which take into account organizational and national values. Successful partnership arrangements depend on mutuality and resilience, as well as trust. Marketing intelligence is a vital ingredient in the formulation and implementation of plans to achieve these goals. The “organizational resilience value system” framework proposed here can be used by marketing planners to link organization learning to relationship marketing, and thereby establish a customer relationship management policy that provides the organization with a sustainable competitive advantage. Research limitations/implications – Next, cross‐industry and cross‐cultural studies might be undertaken, to examine the similarities and differences in retailing strategy formulation and implementation across national boundaries. Practical implications – Practitioners and academics must collaborate closely, with the aim of developing new insights into procedures and practices for linking organizational learning policy firmly and formally with the development of customer‐driven retail marketing strategies. Originality/value – A synoptic view of role of marketing intelligence and relationship marketing in the building of trust‐based relationships and partnerships in international retailing, backed by more than 100 references to relevant published literature.