Relationship Marketing

Relationship Marketing

Introduction

Marketing is one thing that should be handled well in all organizations. This is because it is part of an organization’s backbone towards success. There are very many types of marketing. All the marketing types are designed to create some form of efficiency in pushing the goods and services of an organization more into the market (Kotler, Armstrong, Saunders & Wong 1999).  It is always important for leaders of entities to select the most appropriate form of marketing so as to achieve the highest level of efficiency in marketing.

The nature of relationship marketing

Relationship marketing is one of the many forms of marketing available for organizations to use. Relationship marketing is usually aimed at fostering a strong lasting bond between the organization and the customers (Berry 1983). This form of marketing puts more emphasis on retaining the customers of the organization. The retention of the customers is usually achieved through ensuring that they are satisfied always through the service or products presented to them. The organizations use this form of marketing so as to create firm connections with their customers at all times. These valuable connections are developed through ensuring that there is direct communication with the customers at all times. The direct communication is created through ensuring that specific and most suitable information is passed to the customers always. The most suited information is usually passed to the customers to ensure that the communication is made more efficient. Unnecessary information is ignored during the communication period. This ensures that the customers do not go through irrelevant information whenever it is released. This ensures that the process of making a decision by a customer is made easier. It is interesting to note that the organizations which utilize relationship marketing have high chances of getting feedback from their customers (Gordon 1999). This is because this form of marketing creates the opportunity of sharing opinions between the organizations and their customers.

This marketing arrangement ensures that there is a very satisfying exchange between a seller and a buyer. Relationship marketing ensures that the buyer does his or her purchases more personal and holistic (Wetherly & Otter 2008). This element of relationship marketing ensures that the ties between the buyers and the sellers become more firm and stable. This excludes the element found in other forms of marketing where the seller is aimed at becoming richer by increasing the number of sale units.  It is worth noting that this form of marketing is very useful as an alternative of the rough marketing strategies. This is because it creates a very smooth way of beating competition in the market.

Relationship marketing and technology

Relationship marketing has been able to use technology as an aid to its efficiency (Pangarkar 2011). With technology, relationship marketing has been able to gain some points in terms of efficiency. The technology has been able to assist relationship marketing in discovering more about the customers. The technology has been used through things such as the application of the appropriate software. The software which is commonly referred to as customer relationship software usually ensures that the organizations gather as much information about customers as possible. The information related to customers’ preferred things, favorite activities, tastes, likes, dislikes, and common complaints is gathered for analysis. This information ensures that the customers are understood better so that the organizations may work towards creating higher levels of customer satisfaction. This is usually done through the creation of well kept databases which make it easy to obtain any necessary information. It is interesting to know that the organizations usually utilize these databases in making estimates and predictions as to what the customers might require at given times. In the use of technology in achieving its objectives, relationship marketing ensures that it uses web applications to offer opportunities for customers to have wonderful experiences. The web applications give an opportunity for organizations to have person shops depending on the formed profiles from the generated databases. Using the concept of relationship marketing, the organizations give suggestions to the customers as to what they might be interested in. This ensures that the customers end up getting the most satisfying combination of products which is the objective of relationship marketing. Relationship marketing has also been able to use personalized marketing avenues to ensure that they reach to the bottom of the customers’ hearts. This has been through the use of personalized mails which meet a consumers, likes and preferences. This has been able to create more satisfaction and stronger bonds in the market.

Relationship marketing strategies

Strategy is something that helps in achievement of certain set of objectives. It is usually a roadmap towards achievement of the set goals of an organization. Relationship marketing has also been able to apply certain forms of marketing to ensure that the set goals and objectives are used. The strategies are developed depending on the questions of how best to create stronger customer relationships and what would be the best strategies for customer relationship marketing.

To ensure that relationship marketing succeeds, the strategies developed should also be much focused. Some of the useful strategies in relationship marketing touch on;

Making all customers interaction beneficial

To ensure that relationship marketing creates value for an organization, it is important to ensure that every single customer is valued. Every customer should be rated equally in the organization’s database. The potential of each customer should be harnessed to ensure that the possible benefit is obtained. This would ensure that no chance of failing to gain the benefit from a given client takes place because the specific client was not satisfied. Any singe interaction should be managed well to ensure that the most available benefit is obtained. No customer should be treated in a way which shows that he or she is not worthy much in terms of benefit to the organization.

Following-through products or services issues

As noted in the concept of relationship marketing, certain promises must be given to the customers. This means that the promises have to be fulfilled for the desired relationships to be achieved for the success of the company. The given promises should be met s as to gain confidence from the targeted customers for a stronger relationship to be formed. It is important for the management of an organization o ensure that the promises made are fulfilled all the time. It is advisable to shun from habits of claiming things that cannot be achieved by the organization. This is because this causes friction between the customers and the organization. This is usually achieved through ensuring that every promise or commitment developed is followed up to ensure that the best action to take. This is usually useful in ensuring that some promises made are not overlooked.

Focusing on customer desires

In relationship marketing, ensuring that the customer desires are taken care of works wonders. This is usually achieved through designing benefits and a type of value that responds wholly on satisfying the customer. This is usually a good way of ensuring that the customers realize that the business entity values them and has their welfare as priority. This will be assisted by the fact that the customers will be able to spread the word to each other. This will ensure that a large number in the market knows how good the business entity is in taking care of the customers thus extending a good relationship in the market.

Showing customers that they are respected and valued

It is worth knowing that looking for new customers is usually costly than maintaining the ones in the database. This means that customers should be taken good care of. Customers should be shown respect and handled in a way which depicts their value to the company (Gale & Chapman1994). With such kind of treatment, there is surety that the customers will keep making repeat purchases. The show of value and respect is made better by giving the customers’ valuable information day in day out. This makes the customers fully informed. With informed customers, understanding the business entity’s products and services becomes quite easy. This makes making purchase related decisions easy always.

Listening to customers

It is important to note that good relationships come with discussions. The discussions may emanate from the occurrence of complaints. If customers come forward with complaints, it is important to handle the complaints in good faith. It is important for all business entities to note that complaints be turn out to be positive. This is because they open up the mind of the management regarding the way to handle certain other things. The most important thing so that the relationship between the customers and business entity may remain and grow is through finding solutions to the complaints. This should be done immediately the complaints are lodged. This will ensure that the customer feels taken care of thus cementing loyalty. It is worth noting that a customer who is listened to feels important to the business entity thus making returns to do business. It is advisable to try and meet as many customers as possible face to face. This will ensure that the familiarity and understanding of each other takes place. This is very beneficial since it makes cementing and making the bond between easier.

Building a strong brand identity

It is always to note that the relationship between the business entity and the customers is the presence of a brand. It is important to note that the brand of the business entity is part of the glue that holds the relationship together. This ensures that there is reason to have the relationship exist. Therefore, the business entity should ensure that the brand is made stronger each day for the customer to realize the effort. This will keep the customer expecting for better things in terms of the services and products. The expectation will keep the relationship going on which is an element of relationship marketing. Taking time to rebrand usually does wonders in relationship marketing. This is because the customers feel that the business entity is taking care of their affairs.

Rewarding specific customers

Rewards have been identified as the best tools for motivating and showing appreciation. It is therefore very important for business entities to design rewards for some employees who have shown exemplary loyalty. This will go a long way in showing that their co-operation and working together with the business entity is noted. This will ensure that the customer loyalty gets to higher levels something which cements the relationship between the parties, which according to Christopher, Payne and Ballantyne (1991) is always what relationship marketing aims at achieving.

The Advantages of Relationship Marketing

It is important to note that relationship marketing comes with several benefits to an organization. These benefits are associated with the efficiency this form of marketing brings about in the processes of an organization. These benefits are viewed well by looking at the advantages of using relationship marketing for a business entity.

One advantage of relationship marketing to an organization is that it makes sales forecasts easy (Wheelen & Hunger 2010). This is because the level of customer purchases can be estimated with near precision. This is brought about by the fact that the customer preferences and other tendencies are well known. This is made easier by the presence of a database which contains valuable information about the customers of a business. The second advantage is that relationship marketing gives a business entity a good chance to plan the business. This is because whatever is required by the customers is known thus planning in areas such as budgeting is very easy. This makes an organization increase the level of efficiency in all areas thus being able to serve the customers properly.

With the many advantages associated with this form of marketing, proper analysis of its impact to the organization should be carried out. The appraisal of the value added through the use of this form of marketing should be done regularly. This would be useful in ensuring that there is maximization of the possible gains from the customers.

Despite the presence of the advantages of using relationship marketing, it is important to note that this is a very sensitive choice. According to Buchanan and Gilles (1990), the sensitivity comes from areas such as poor presentation to the customers since the world will know about such weakness. This will be very bad for the company since it means that the products and services of the business entity will be given a bad name by the potential customers in the market.

Conclusion

Marketing in a business entity should be carried out in a way which suits most. A business entity should be able to choose the form of marketing to apply so as to gain the most benefits. It is advisable for business entities to make choices which put the interests of the customers before anything else. This is because the customer is always the most important element of a business’s success. This means that the customer is the reason why the marketing process takes place. With this in mind, relationship marketing becomes useful. This is because it addresses the issue of customers’ value by building a strong bond for a lasting relationship. This should be handled by the application of the best strategic moves. This will ensure that the marketing process has a positive impact to the business entity, and according to Porter (2008) it will be easy to beat competitors.. This would be good in ensuring that the advantages and associated with relationship marketing are enjoyed. With the best strategies in place, the disadvantages of using relationship marketing will be reduced.

 

 

 

References

Berry, L 1983, Relationship Marketing. American Marketing Association, Chicago. p. 146. ISBN 0-87757-161-9.

Buchanan, R & Gilles, C 1990, “Value managed relationship: The key to customer retention and profitability”, European Management Journal, vol 8, no 4, 1990.

Christopher, M, Payne, AT & Ballantyne, D 1991, “Relationship Marketing: Bringing Quality, Customer Service and Marketing Together”, Oxford, Butterworth-Heinemann.

Gale, BT & Chapman, RW 1994, Managing Customer Value: Creating Quality and Service That Customers Can See New York: Free Press.

Gordon, I 1999, Relationship Marketing: New Strategies, Techniques and Technologies to Win the Customers You Want and Keep Them Forever. John Wiley and Sons Publishers. p. 336. ISBN 0-471-64173-1.

Kotler, P, Armstrong, G, Saunders, J & Wong, V 1999, “Principles of Marketing” 2nd ed. Prentice Hall Europe.

Pangarkar, N 2011, High Performance Companies: Successful Strategies from the World’s Top Achievers, John Wiley & Sons.

Porter, M 2008, Competitive Advantage: Creating and Sustaining Superior Performance, Simon & Schuster.

Wetherly, P. & Otter, D 2008. The business environment. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Wheelen, TL & Hunger, JD 2010. Concepts in Strategic management and business policy. 12th Ed. New Jersey: Prentice Hall.

 

 

 

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