Principles of Marketing

1
Relationship Development Strategies

Module 004 | Relationship Development

Strategies

Customer service is the act of taking care of the customer's needs by

providing and delivering professional, helpful, high quality service and
assistance before, during, and after the customer's requirements are met.
Objectives:
1. Understand the value of Customer Relationship
2. Understand the impact of Customer Service
3. Identify and Describe the Relationship Development Strategies

Customer Service is critical in competing effectively

In the past, people chose which companies they did business with based on
price or brand, but today the overall experience is the driver. Gartner reports
that 89% of companies now expect to compete mostly based on customer
experience, versus 36% four years ago. Customer support is a - major driver
of customer experience, but only if you expand the role of your support team
beyond the purely reactive role many of them play today. When support
agents are empowered to go above-and-beyond with customers, or have
a helpdesk solution that makes it easy for them to upsell or cross-sell
relevant services, they can create winning experiences that help you stand
out from the competition.

Customer are willing to pay more for a better experience

Focusing on the customer experience isn’t just the latest trend — it’s also
smart business. It turns out that making every touchpoint great doesn’t just
make customers love you; it can also increase your profits. Surveys have
shown that 86 percent of consumers would pay more for a better customer
experience. You may decide to tier your customer base if some are willing to
pay more for premium experiences, including support, early access to
features, or other benefits. Either way, your bottom line will benefit.

Customer Relationship-Building Strategies

Obtaining new business is important to the growth of a company, but
maintaining customer relationships drives revenue. By using strong
strategies to build customer relationships, you can retain repeat business
while creating new revenue streams with existing clients. It can take years of
experience to develop effective techniques to build customer relationships,
but these are necessary skills for any business professional.

Course Module
 Pick Up the Phone
Email and other forms of electronic communication make it easier for
business professionals to stay in touch with clients, but they are not an
effective way to build a relationship. To build a strong relationship with your
client, you need to pick up the phone and call at least once a week to discuss
the customer's satisfaction with your company and any improvements the
client would like to see. Set up personal meetings to present new product
information, sales presentations or close deals.
Stay Proactive
If you do not present your clients with new ideas to help them better manage
their business, then your competition will beat you to it. Rather than
presenting your client with a renewal contract that outlines the same
services from the previous year, turn the renewal into a presentation of new
ideas. To retain your client's business, you need to constantly be offering
innovative suggestions on how he can get a better return on his investment
in your company's product or service.
Become a Resource
Your client relies on you for the products and services that you supply
regularly, and she may start to come to you for items that seem associated
with your product line but you do not sell. For example, if you sell a company
its computer equipment, then they may start asking you about office
equipment such as copiers. Rather than telling the client that you cannot help
her, you should learn to become a resource coordinator for your client.
Collaborate with an office supply company and introduce that company to
your client. Not only do you address your client's concern with a qualified
vendor, but you gain a business partner in the office equipment company
that can refer you to its customers as well.
Provide Extras
Customers remember your great customer service, and they remember the
great time they had at your annual customer appreciation gathering. Reach
out to your clients with free promotional items from time to time such as
mouse pads, sticky pads or any office supplies that the client can use every
day. They help the client reduce his office supply costs and act as constant
marketing tools for your company. Hold special events for clients such as golf
outings, parties and family picnics that will allow the client to feel
appreciated.

How to Build Effective Customer Relationships

Building relationships with customers is critical to your business's success.

For example, 82 percent of customers cite that they no longer give a company
their business due to a negative experience with that company, according to
the 2010 Customer Experience Report conducted by RightNow Technologies.
Conversely, customers who deal with companies with which they have built a
relationship tend to provide referrals and repeat business. Put in the extra
work to make your customers feel valued, and your business could enjoy an
increasing influx of business for many years to come.
Interact directly with customers. This might mean putting on special
events, calling a customer to let her know that the style she's looking for is
 Principles of Marketing
3
Relationship Development Strategies

now in stock or simply spending time chatting with customers about topics
that aren't necessarily related to business.
Vary the type of communications you send your customers. All too often,
the only mail a customer receives from a company is promotional. Send
emails and direct mail that provide notice of special events, helpful tips or
that offer a reward or freebie. This approach can help you get back on
customers' radar when they've been feeling overwhelmed by too aggressive
an approach.
Strive to genuinely improve your customers' lives. First Interstate Bank
provides a good model for developing customer relationships. FIB employees
will tell customers where they can get the best loan, even if it is at a
competing bank, according to a 2001 report compiled by the U.S. Department
of Health and Human Services. Progressive Insurance also follows this model.
As a result, these companies enjoy plenty of return business because they
have cultivated an atmosphere of transparency and trust.
Hire people who genuinely care about your company and customers.
Frontline employees, especially, will help a customer form an opinion about
the company---including whether she wants to continue doing business with
it. Cultivate an environment in which customers experience consistent
excellent customer service to facilitate ongoing relationships.
Solicit customer input when making changes to your product or
services. This approach helps customers feel invested in the company and
that their opinion is valued. Asking for customers' opinions and ideas is a
trend that companies are well-advised to follow, as there are potentially
large gains to be made, states management expert Bo Edvardsson in his book,
"Involving Customers in New Service Development."
Use social media to stay on customers' radar. Offer specials available only
to online followers or friends, interesting tidbits about your business and
events in which your business is participating. With their permission, take
photos of customers and post them on your social media page. Customers
will check in to see who's being featured, and your business will generate
buzz.
 If you sell big-ticket items or have a few accounts that you manage, go
to social events where you might be likely to see your existing
customers or meet new ones.
 Never hesitate to send a handwritten note of appreciation to a
customer. It may be the detail that sets your business apart from
others.

Glossary
If you are proactive, you make things happen, instead of waiting for them to
happen to you.
Solicit - ask for or try to obtain (something) from someone.

Course Module
References
Online Supplementary Reading Materials:
1. Customer Relationship-Building Strategies;
http://smallbusiness.chron.com/customer-relationshipbuilding-
strategies-10858.html; April 8, 2017
2. How to Build Effective Customer Relationships;
http://smallbusiness.chron.com/build-effective-customer-
relationships-16628.html; April 8, 2017
3. Relationship Development Strategies;
https://www.slideshare.net/velibahceci/relationship-development-
strategies; April 8, 2017
Online Instructional Videos:
1. Custom Marketing Strategies and Relationship Development;
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H5cJTbBR2vE; September 8,
2017
2. Intelligent Relationship Marketing;
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cdMZrrzycxU; September 8,
2017
3. The 7 B's of Relationship Building | Mark Sanborn, Customer Service
Expert; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7-UfI2BZ0cU;
September 8, 2017
Books and Journals:
1. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services; Delivering Effective
Customer Service Final Report; Robert Horowitz, et al.; November 21,
2001
2. "Involving Customers in New Service Development"; Bo Edvardsson,
et al.; 2006
3. Customer Experience Report North America; RightNow Technologies;
2010
4. Negotiations; Building Client Relationships in Business; Keith Peel
5. Team Technology; 6 Steps from Customer Service; Susan Nash, et al.;
2005
6. "Entrepreneur"; 7 Relationship-Building Strategies for Your Business;
Kim T. Gordon; January 2004