Using motivation as a basis for understanding and improving direct marketing relationships

This article describes a practicable framework for research directed toward understanding and improving direct marketing relationships. Rhetorical theory is used to describe the vocabularies of motive underlying the formation of buyer–seller relationships. The perspectives and adaptive strategies revealed in buyers’ language form the basis for understanding the demands and requirements of direct marketing strategies intended to improve buyer–seller relationships. The use of the framework is illustrated by identifying and comparing language in a business-to-business direct marketing context. We conclude the article with a discussion of managerial implications and directions for future research.