Amy Carson Sauers is Director of Marketing, Customer Analytics for the financial startup, Revolution Money, Inc., an organization that is working to radically shift the balance of power into consumer’s hands in the credit, debit, and payment arenas. Dr. Sauers contributes her marketing science expertise to uncover customer potential and help drive business strategy. Before joining Revolution Money, Dr. Sauers founded The Customer Dr., a market research consulting and growth strategies firm. She was also a consultant for the Swedish firm, Georgson Strategy and Brand Management Group. Dr. Sauers earned her Ph.D. in Marketing Communications from the University of Connecticut. She is a winner in the International Association of Business Communicators’ “Call for Papers” Program, and has presented her research at various conferences.

Preface

Executive Summary

Acknowledgments

Introduction to Customer Relationship Study

Statement of the Problem

Purpose

Significance of the Study

Research Question and Hypotheses

Chapter 1: Background and Theory

Literature Review

Customer Relationship Stages

Relationship Marketing Stages

Awareness Leads to Exploration

Exploration Leads to Growth

Growth Leads to Commitment

Relationships Between Awareness, Prosocial, and Reptilian Emotion

Emotion

Awareness—Emotion Link

Relationship Between Exploration and Individualistic Emotion

Relationships Between Growth, Prosocial, and Reptilian Emotion

Relationship Between Commitment, Prosocial, and Reptilian Emotion

Relationship Between Growth and Trust

Relationship Between Trust and Commitment

Relationships Between Growth, Satisfaction, and Commitment

Relationship Between Commitment and Purchases

Defining Key Terms

Chapter 2: Methodology

Hypotheses

Population and Sampling

Population

Power

Sample

Procedure

Measures

Pretest

Study Factor Analyses

Last Stage Items

Stage Now Items

Dependent Variables Items

Chapter 3: Results

Analysis Summary

Hypothesis Tests

Summary of Hypothesis Tests

Investigation of Key Variable Propositions

Summary of Proposition Findings

Structural Equation Modeling

Customer Relationship Development Model

Chapter 4: Discussion and Recommendations

Summary

Discussion

Stages

Trouble With Exploration

Support for Prior Research

The Structural Equation Model: Customer Relationship Development

Scope and Limitations

Recommendations

Managerial Implications

Strategic Planning for Stages

Internal Relationship Marketing for Employees

Exploration Stage Management

Beyond Is It Legal

Conclusion

Research Implications

Summary

Appendices

Glossary

References

Index