Show Your Customers Some Love, with Relationship Marketing

My interview on Marketing Chat this week was with Cheryl Pliskin, owner of Jest Notes & Baskets. We talked about Relationship Marketing, which is a growth strategy that involves focusing on the needs of current clients and referral partners – as opposed to transactional marketing, which tends to focus on getting new clients all the time.
Who uses relationship marketing? Any business that values their customers and doesn’t want to lose them – car dealerships, hair salons, banks, realtors – as you can see, it’s not just “service” industries. If your company takes pride in the “experience” of working with your company, then you are probably already aware of some of the things that you should think about:
1. Consistency: from the way you take orders, to the way you confirm a delivery. If your clients like the way you handle things in a certain way – don’t stop! Do it the same way every time.
2. Employees’ Conduct: how they answer the phone, take a message, answer customer’s questions. Make sure your customers know what you expect of them.
3. Follow Up: If you say that you’ll call next Tuesday, then do just that. Deliver on your promise.
If you’d like to show a customer that you appreciate their business, or you’d like to thank a colleague for referring a new customer, there’s lots of ways to do it: a small gift can go a long way (under $15). The same goes for when something goes wrong, an “oops” gift can say, yes, you goofed, you’re sorry, and you really value their business (Cheryl says that in her years of sending “oops” gifts, she has a 100% client retention rate – no one has lost a client yet!).
Three Things That People Unintentionally Do to Ruin a Relationship:
1. No Follow Up: Instead, do what you say you’re going to do. Underpromise and overdeliver.
2. Poor Communication: Things such as endless voicemail messages that don’t link to a real person can make your client or prospect hang up and call someone else.
3. Shoddy Work: Above all, your work must shine.
Three Things You Can Do to Improve a Relationship:
1. Be Reciprocal: Show your clients that you’re thinking of them. Introduce them, or be a good resource for them.
2. Be Informed: Provide your customers with the answers they need – before they ask for it.
3. Keep It Easy: Make sure your staff is helpful, friendly and educated about your products/services.
To listen to this segment in its entirety, go to: Marketing Chat with Nancy Sipera, 2/26/13.
Source: Jest Notes & Baskets