Recent literature on B2B interactions highlights the importance of touchpoints and their influence on B2B relationships, yet fails to test empirically the long-term effects of specific touchpoints on essential measures of customer perceptions. The purpose of this study is to compare the short- and long-term impacts of different provider-controlled touchpoints on B2B customer perceptions. Specifically, this study assesses the impact of touchpoints related to sales force, product, consulting, communication, tangibles and standardized contacts on customer perceptions of firm expertise, service reliability and service excellence.

To test the proposed model, data from a multinational insurance company are used to obtain a random panel dataset of 2,175 companies over five years. The results confirm that sales force and product touchpoints are crucial in maintaining long-term positive customer perceptions, while the effect of touchpoints related to consulting, tangibles and standardized contacts on customer perceptions is weaker over time.

The findings of this managerial-oriented study provide empirical evidence of how the impact of touchpoints on customer perceptions changes over time. The implications are crucial for academia and best practice alike, as this research analyzes the changes and identifies the interactions that will have the most important long-term effects on the B2B customer–provider relationship.