پرورش مشتری-روابط آژانس : چشم انداز رفتار خرید کسب و کار

Account acquisition and retention is an ongoing problem facing advertising agencies. Literature in this area has focused on the criteria used in agency selection, the factors fostering continuity, and the forces prompting the break-up of client–agency relationships. However, this classic industrial service relationship has not been examined from a business-to-business buying behavior perspective. A study was conducted with top agency account acquisition personnel. This study found strong support for the notion that business buying behavior models can be applied to client–agency relationships. Furthermore, they may be applied to business-to-business service transactions as well. Many forces considered unique to business buying behavior were prevalent for the selection of agency services according to sales personnel involved in cultivating new business. The findings suggest that agencies need to emphasize nonspecific campaign forces effecting agency selection. Moreover, the study also points to the importance of identifying the effect of internal organizational forces and the roles buying center members play, side by side with campaign-specific factors. Directions for future research are noted and managerial implications for business-to-business new account acquisition and selling are also provided. Acquiring and maintaining accounts for advertising agencies has always been important Aaker, Batra, and Myers 1995, Russell and Lane 1996 and Wackman, Salmon, and Salmon 1987 and crucial to the survival of agencies Beard 1996, Michell and Sanders 1995 and Michell, Cataquet, and Hague 1992. The wave of mergers and acquisitions has placed the structure of the advertising industry in a flux and the competitive intensity faced by agencies has not subsided (Ducoffe and Smith, 1994). Creative consultancies have developed, complementing conventional agencies, while the emergence of media independents reflects the breakdown of the agency-commission system (Michell, 1984). Therefore, the agency's role as a business service provider demands they must optimally ease the communication between the advertiser and agency personnel Cook 1989 and Tauber 1986. In addition, the selling side of agency–client relations has witnessed the creation of positions within agencies that are solely responsible for soliciting new accounts (New York Times, 1990).