Recreating cheers: an analysis of relationship marketing as an effective marketing technique for quick‐service restaurants

Purpose This paper reviews brand equity and customer satisfaction as they relate to customer loyalty and relationship marketing in an effort to understand and mitigate some of the challenges facing quick‐service restaurants (QSRs) today. Design/methodology/approach The authors reviewed over 30 articles on the subjects of brand equity, customer equity, customer satisfaction, customer loyalty, communal relationships, relationship marketing, and pseudo‐relationship marketing, as well as researched and evaluated current marketing techniques used by selected QSRs. Findings It is concluded by the authors that customer satisfaction, brand equity, and loyalty are invaluable to the formation of customer loyalty, as is the understanding that customers' relationships with companies need to be treated with the same respect as personal relationships. Practical implications Customer loyalty has been shown to be beneficial to a company, both tangibly and intangibly. Companies are cautioned in their use of relationship marketing techniques used to foster customer loyalty and encouraged to use methods that benefit both themselves and their customers. Originality/value This paper analyzes many different factors that affect customer loyalty, as well as discusses how relationship marketing techniques can be utilized by the QSR industry.