Column 11 · Relationships and Customer Equity · Era 2, Planning (1970s)
Marketing as Exchange
Implementation, process · Landmark · Cluster IV, Customer and Brand Assets
Description
Bagozzi defined exchange as the core concept of marketing, distinguishing restricted, generalized, and complex exchanges and utilitarian, symbolic, and mixed forms, giving the discipline a general theoretical foundation.
Managerial Implications
Every transaction is an exchange of value in both directions, and value includes time, effort, information, and trust, not only money. Map what customers give and what they get at each stage of the relationship. Reducing what they must give, such as onboarding effort or data disclosure, often creates more value than adding features, and exchanges that feel unfair end relationships quietly.