{"id":1105,"slug":"palmatier-2006-relationship-marketing-meta-analysis","title":"Palmatier, Dant, Grewal, Evans 2006 (JoM) — meta-analysis; seller expertise + similarity are strongest antecedents; word of mouth is the most consequential outcome","kind":"reference","scope":"business","status":"current","audiences":["kevin","candid-team"],"topics":["buying-committee","trust-repair","persuasion-design"],"reference_body":"**Claim:** Palmatier, Dant, Grewal, and Evans (2006) meta-analyzed factors influencing relationship-marketing effectiveness:\n\n- **Seller expertise** and **similarity** had the strongest effects on relational mediators (trust, commitment, relationship quality)\n- **Word of mouth** was the most consequential outcome of strong relationships\n- **Service contexts** produced stronger relational effects on outcomes (r = .58) than product contexts (r = .43)\n- **Individual relationships** produced stronger cooperation effects (r = .68) than organizational relationships (r = .55)\n\n**Source:** Palmatier, R. W., Dant, R. P., Grewal, D., & Evans, K. R. (2006). \"Factors Influencing the Effectiveness of Relationship Marketing.\" *Journal of Marketing* 70(4): 136–153. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1509/jmkg.70.4.136\n\n**Confidence:** Verified.\n\n**For Candid — three implications:**\n\n1. **Trust is built primarily through demonstrated competence-relevant similarity and domain expertise** — not through generic charm or brand polish. Pitches that lead with construction-domain knowledge (the actual mechanics of how a residential GC operates) outperform pitches that lead with general marketing strategy.\n2. **Service-context premium.** Candid is selling a service, not a product — Palmatier et al. predict relational effects matter more in our category than in product B2B.\n3. **Word of mouth as the highest-leverage outcome.** A satisfied GC client telling another GC at the HBA chapter meeting is doing more work than any paid distribution. This is consistent with the foundation brief's [[rule-hba-chba-peer-channels-as-primary-distribution]].","rationale_body":null,"metadata":null,"links":{"outgoing":[{"slug":"research-brief-risk-aversion-post-failure-may-2026","title":"Research brief: risk aversion, loss aversion, and post-failure decision patterns in GC and trades-business decision-makers (May 2026)","kind":"reference","scope":"business","link_type":"relates-to"},{"slug":"rule-hba-chba-peer-channels-as-primary-distribution","title":"Rule: treat HBA / CHBA / RenoMark / peer channels as primary distribution, not soft-marketing tactics","kind":"rule","scope":"business","link_type":"relates-to"}],"incoming":[{"slug":"cialdini-six-principles-audited-for-gc-buyer","title":"Cialdini six principles, audited for the loss-averse trades buyer — reciprocity, commitment, social proof, authority, liking work; scarcity backfires","kind":"reference","scope":"business","link_type":"depends-on"}]},"created_at":"2026-05-25T13:13:31.019Z","updated_at":"2026-05-25T13:13:31.019Z"}