Training clients in digital marketing: The key to a feel-good B2B relationship with SMEs

This paper examines the relationship between small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and their outsourced Digital Marketing Service Providers. It aims to: (1) investigate whether training SME clients enhances the quality of their relationship with Digital Marketing Service Providers; (2) determine if the effect of training varies across relational and transactional relationship types; and (3) explore the mediating roles of positive emotions and trust. Two studies were conducted: a quasi-experimental design involving surveys of Australian SMEs (n = 413), followed by a qualitative design involving interviews with Australian Digital Marketing Service Providers (n = 14) and Australian SMEs (n = 13), guided by agency theory. Both studies tested and explored the roles of training, relationship types, positive emotions, and trust in improving relationship quality. The findings indicate that training significantly enhances relationship quality, with the strongest effects observed in transactional relationships. Additionally, positive emotions and trust act as key mediators in this association. This research is the first to examine how training can foster positive relations in digital marketing outsourcing, demonstrating its potential to improve relationship quality.