ABSTRACT
In a business-to-business (B2B) relationship, there may be many interpersonal relationships formed between people on both sides. Relationships change over time. This discussion of relationship development highlights two attributes of highly developed relationships: trust and commitment. These have been the subjects of a considerable amount of research. The development of trust is an investment in relationship-building which has a long-term payoff. Commitment is an essential ingredient for successful, long-term relationships. Research into relationship quality generally cites trust and commitment as core attributes of a high-quality relationship. The fundamental reason that companies want to build relationships with customers is economic. Eircom has a team of analysts working with data mining tools that allow them to explore both structured and unstructured data. Customer lifetime value (CLV) is even more important if you consider that a small number of customers may account for a high proportion of the entire value generated by all customers.
