Understanding customer attractiveness to sellers

Abstract

What makes a customer attractive to a supplier in a B2B situation? This is an important questions since benefits can only accrue to buyers that are able to manage their firm's attractiveness. The concept of customer attractiveness is not new in marketing relationships. Either the buyer or the seller can become attractive to the relational partner and each can attract the other's attention. Ask sellers what makes a customer attractive and the most likely answer will be about how much profit they derive from that customer. An emphasis on profit as value appears conceptually straightforward but the determination of economic value is less simple than what may at first appear to be the case. Becoming a preferred customer provides positive returns to a seller in a relationship. Therefore, understanding the factors that influence the attractiveness of customers to sellers can provide a useful basis for the allocation of resources. Such an understanding can help customer firms to priorities relationships over others and achieve a more effective customer-supplier relationship.