Attracting new customers and retaining existing customers is one of the most difficult and expensive tasks. Businesses mainly focus on retaining potential clients as acquiring new consumers involves a lot of effort and money. Starting from acquiring customer’s attention, to creating a convincing pitch, to accompany sales involves a lot of expenses in every step. Let us see about Relationship Marketing. 

However, retaining existing customers is not a simple task, it involves a lot of planning, understanding, and efforts. 

This guide will make you understand what is relationship marketing, proven strategies, and real-time case studies of established brands. 

What is Relationship Marketing and why is it very important?

Relationship Marketing is a long-term relationship with the existing customers, rather than a short term business deal. Hence, the strategy mainly focuses on customer relationship value, marketing new service/products, and encouraging the customers for repeated business. 

Elements of Relationship Marketing: Creating a long term relationship involves great effort and commitment. In addition to creating a world-class product, the marketing strategy of the businesses should concentrate on providing a valuable and pleasant experience. 

The key elements of relationship marketing are:

• – Meaningful conversations
• – Product recommendations
• – Special offers
• – Personalized service
• – Creating a wonderful business experience

Difference between Relationship Marketing vs. Transactional Marketing

The basic ideology of all marketing efforts is to attract customers and increase profit rates. However, both transactional marketing and relationship marketing has a unique way of approaching.  

The transactional marketing concentrates mainly on the single sale, product features, and short term benefits such as cost/ profit percentage for every sale. 

Whereas relationship marketing mainly focuses on customer retention, brand identity, customer loyalty, and establishing a relationship with all customers that can directly or indirectly create an impact on the business marketing efforts. 

Relationship Marketing Impact on customer loyalty

The relationship marketing efforts are proven to have a positive impact on the customer’s mind. This is because, when businesses take all the efforts to offer the exceptional business experience they engage their target audience throughout the process and tend to initiate meaningful and valuable interactions. Here is how to create an impact on relationship marketing:

• – Meet customer’s level of expectation and provide after-sales support
• – By training your customer support executives to be friendly and knowledgeable, the customer’s sales -experience will result in a positive note
• – Several brands make use of tools like CRM and CDP to create an excellent customer experience. Because, these tools will help organizations in tracking the purchase patterns, preferences, interactions, complaints, etc.

• – Create positive and personal experience by acknowledging your customer’s special days like birthday or anniversary. For instance, Starbucks is great at creating a long-lasting relationship by creating a rewards program where customers can enjoy a beverage of their choice for their birth month. 

Effective relationship marketing strategy

Provide valuable information to the customers

While a few people would prefer to read a blog or newsletter while others lean toward watching recordings or live training. You additionally need to ensure that the content itself addresses the requirement of the target audience. Take some time to understand customer’s requirements and interests. Utilize that understanding to give data that is significant to them.  Incorporate case studies and examples that will help better in grasping the contents. 

Brands that have a proven relationship marketing never fail to use the right tone to convey their information. Whether the message should be conveyed in a friendly or a formal-tone have to be decided based on the target audience. 

Request for feedback

You ought to offer your clients the chance to leave their suggestions and rate their experience with your brand. In the long, this will help you to focus on the area of improvement and provide better value. 

Significantly, your business should stay open to both positive and negative critics. If somebody has an awful customer experience, you have to find a way to solve their issue and procure back their business. Never fail to demonstrate that you will go the extra mile to provide a better customer experience. 

Continuous follow-up after-sales 

After a client buys a product or service from your brand, it’s significant that you follow up to ensure they are happy with their experience. You can request them to share their feedback through surveys or ask them to give a review on your social media pages. In case if the experience did not meet up their expectations, take all the efforts to solve it. You may provide some extra information or suggest other products related to their purchase 

Offer exciting rewards 

Rewards are the better way of relationship marketing, as people like being recognized with rewards. It is an ideal way to give a reason to your customer to come back or make a frequent purchase. It will keep your stores loaded up with customers and your racks in consistent need of restocking.

 

 

Case Study: Brands that are great at Relationship Marketing 

Starbucks

As mentioned earlier, Starbucks has got a wonderful rewards program. This gives a reason for the people to load up money on their card and make a frequent purchase of beverages of their choice. Statistics state that in the first quarter of 2016 around $1.2 billion were loaded on their customer’s card. Additionally, it also states that over 41% of the transaction came from the Starbucks card. 

 

Domino’s 

Domino’s had incorporated a bold way of demonstrating their way of improvement. They had a series of Pizza turnaround where they displayed the negative reviews from their customer before promising an improved recipe. They also conduct various marketing campaigns like the Domino’s wedding registry. Ultimately, these campaigns intend to demonstrate their business values and provide a better experience for their loyal customers. 

 

 

Kohl’s

Kohl’s had made wonderful use of the latest technologies and apps. They utilized various apps and Big data analytics to track their customer’s past purchases and understand their customers. Based on it, they came up with special and customized offers, and discounts in their stores. Kohl’s are renowned for their focused customer experience. 

Lay’s

The Do Us A Flavor campaigns by Lay’s was a huge social media hit in the US along with related visuals and hashtags. In recent days Lay’s also incorporated fan tweets and short video clips as part of their relationship-marketing strategy. 

 

 

Direct Recruitment

Direct Recruitment never fails in surprising its customers with personalized birthday cards every year. This simple yet personal marketing strategy that makes customers feel special and that they value their association.

Takeaway

Relationship marketing helps you in filling any possible gaps in the customer experience or expectations that were possibly missed by other marketing approaches. This will help businesses to focus on their sales points by making the best use of technology. Ultimately the goal of any business is to provide their customers a seamless, positive, and unique experience. Relationship marketing helps in achieving it at the best possible degree.