Social relationship and transactional marketing policies---maximizing customer lifetime value (Q1035943)

The authors use the methodology of optimal control -- in particular, the theory of linear control systems -- to derive optimal policies and the conditions under which they are either commitment (state) -- dependent or independent. They further use an idea established in the paper of Fruchter and Messinger to analytically pinpoint the relationship between marketing policies and commitments over time. The results also indicate how best to allocate resources for the two types of marketing efforts in building and maintaining the relationship.