Mixing business and pleasure : can customers be friends?

Abstract

The existence, benefit, and management of marketer-customer relationships have been given increasing academic attention over the last decade. In their studies, researchers have found evidence of customer intimacy and feelings of friendship. Descriptions of friendships like "We got along quite well, had a lot in common, [were] fairly close in age, [and] had gone to a couple of football games together" seem to mirror many researchers' findings of how employees view their relationships with their customers.