How to Use Relationship Marketing to Its Fullest Potential
After reading this title you may be thinking that there’s no way we could come up with another marketing-type buzzword. There’s content marketing, B2B, B2C, and a host of other terms that it’s important to be aware of in order to be a consistently effective marketer. But, yes – relationship marketing is key. Not only is it important, but one could argue it’s more important than many other marketing concepts. Relationship is about as personal as it gets, and oftentimes, your relationship with your audience(s) will define every other marketing strategy you employ.
At its core, relationship marketing is the idea of placing a heavy emphasis on forming a lasting bond with customers as opposed to strictly defining sales as the measure of marketing success. You don’t need to use relationship marketing exclusively; rather, it is an ongoing process that requires commitment from everyone within the organization. Now, this can be a lot to unpack, so read on to discover the many benefits to relationship marketing as well as how you can learn to implement it to your organization’s fullest potential.
How to Use Relationship Marketing to Its Fullest Potential
Benefits to Relationship Marketing
Generate Leads with Ease
Using relationship marketing means you’re building a genuine bond with the customer. When this happens, you’ll have far fewer leads to try to generate because these customers will happily recommend you. You’ll find yourself spending far less money, time, and resources into advertising and other methods of brand exposure if you can capitalize on relationship marketing.
Lines of Communication
Another wonderful benefit to relationship marketing is that your existing customers will be comfortable reaching out to you. For example, if your product has an issue, a customer base you’ve built a strong relationship with will be more likely to reach out and explain the problem because they desire you to be successful. Customers who are only sold to may just choose to move on from doing business with your organization if they do not sense a genuine business connection built through a successful relationship.
Tactics to Relationship Marketing
Excel at Customer Service
Seems simple, but this one could go in many directions. One option is to have 24/7 availability on the phones. Even if customers don’t call around the clock, the thought of at least knowing they can have a question answered anytime is reassuring and builds transparency within the organization. Another form of effective customer service is always having an online chat available. Still another could be an offer to have SMS message services. If some customers are consistently busy, they’re likely to appreciate the opportunity to text back and forth at their own convenience. In this way, they could also send images of a problem as opposed to trying to discuss it over an email or the telephone.
Reward the Customer
One of the greatest ways to show you genuinely care about the relationship your organization has with its customers is to go above and beyond the idea of excellent customer service. Host a company-wide annual picnic as a treat where you offer free food and games for employees and their children. Offer a bonus around times of celebration such as Christmas or send out a happy birthday message through the mail. Another way of rewarding the customer is to offer some type of free incentive, or a reduced price after a certain period of time as a show of thanks that they continue to do business with you.
Reach out to us at RedMoxy Communications. If you’re looking for additional ideas on how to capitalize on relationship marketing, we can help. We help numerous clients capitalize on their full potential as marketers. Click here or call (262) 303-4238.