Blog Post

Relationship Marketing and Customer Loyalty

Marketing Mondays with Marci B.

Losing customers can be an expensive headache for business owners. One of the most efficient ways to eliminate customer churn is through relationship marketing. According to Marketing-Schools.org, "Relationship marketing is about forming long-term relationships with customers. Rather than trying to encourage a one-time sale, relationship marketing tries to foster customer loyalty by providing exemplary products and services. This is different than most normal advertising practices that focus on a single transaction; watch ad A and buy product B. Relationship marketing, by contrast, is usually not linked to a single product or offer. It involves a company refining the way they do business in order to maximize the value of that relationship for the customer."

I started my professional career in sales, and a popular saying in the industry was "Think Lifetime Customer". An abbreviation for that is TLC, which is also a popular expression for Tender Loving Care. During my time in marketing and sales I have learned that Thinking Lifetime Customer begins with taking Tender Loving Care of your customer's needs at all times. When all things are equal or even similar between you and the competition, the customer relationship becomes the tie-breaker.

Here are a few tips to make sure you are taking advantage of relationship marketing to ensure customer loyalty.

Technology

  • CRM and Marketing Automation software are both great options for implementing relationship marketing. CRM databases allow you to collect pertinent information on clients that will be useful for future communications. Combining information such as birthday or anniversary with contact details allows for more personal communications. Marketing automation gives you a multimedia platform to share relevant content that will keep customers interested in your brand.
  • Email marketing provides an opportunity for you to improve the customer relationship. Paying special attention to small details such as addressing the customer by first name or sending them sales that are specific to items they purchase most often are effective ways to build customer loyalty.
  • Social Media is a great way to share information with your customers and show them that you are easily accessible. Most customers use social media as a forum to brag and complain about customer service. If your business offers a product or service that could end up on a review site, make sure you monitor those regularly and respond to customers in a timely manner.
  • Loyalty Programs offer customers incentives to customers for repeat purchases. You can find loyalty programs on everything from books to shoes to travel. Customers love to save money, and will often shop first at the place where they can earn loyalty points that can be redeemed for discounts, cash back or even free items.
Customer Service
  • Consistency is key when you are building customer loyalty through relationship marketing. Customers should be able to depend on a standard of quality from your business, and it should be consistent regardless of whomever they speak with, the media or the form of communication. This consistency is developed through company policy, training and customer feedback.
  • Mystery Shopping is a great way to find out if your employees really are offering the experience to customers that you expect. Mystery shopping is popular with large companies, but small benefits looking to compete with major brands can also benefit from hiring mystery shopping companies. Mystery shoppers will blend into your establishment like any other customer, and provide a detailed report of their interaction with your employee. Mystery shopping reports provide great coaching opportunities for your staff as well as offer insight on what exactly your customers are looking for.
For more details on developing customer loyalty through relationship marketing, contact Marci B. Marketing & Management at 248-838-9458 or marci@marcibmarketing.com.

Further Reading:
http://searchcrm.techtarget.com/definition/relationship-marketing
https://www.pm360online.com/the-ins-and-outs-of-relationship-marketing/
http://www.marketing-schools.org/types-of-marketing/relationship-marketing.html#link3
http://www.forbes.com/sites/marketshare/2013/05/09/this-is-the-most-important-word-when-it-comes-to-...

Photo Credit

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