Quote of the Week

By JoAnna Brandi 

Relationship Marketing. There is certainly a lot of talk about it these days; it’s the thing that most business- to-business marketers believe they are doing. And it's a giant part of what is termed CRM. But put your "customer hat" on for a moment and think about the last five to ten interactions you had with someone you buy from. How many of them felt (notice that "touchy-feely" word) good? How many of these encounters left you feeling like the company had made an effort to build a long-term relationship with you? Did you get the feeling that the company really cared about you and your business success?

My guess is that relatively few of those interactions came close to providing you with the warm feelings that are created when you genuinely care about building and sustaining a relationship. Maybe I'm wrong - and I hope I am.

I will admit, some companies are trying but so many fall so far short. Why is that? My guess is that there are many reasons. For one, many sales and marketing budgets are still loaded at the "acquisition" end and are too lean at the "retention" end. Even with all the talk about the importance of retaining customers, few companies seem to be able to get the funds appropriated to do the nitty-gritty, people and relationship related activities that provide the basis for long term customer loyalty. Or maybe they just can’t figure out how.

What’s becoming evident is that while many companies are stuck back in the old industrial age beliefs about relationships, others are finding innovative ways to get wired into their customers with their technology. Those who discover the potent mix of high tech and high touch will reap the benefits and the gap between those who have customer loyalty and those who don’t will widen even further. Those companies that have the foresight to work on their "relationship issues" now and develop a "lifetime value" mindset and back that up with the right tools and technologies will be light years ahead of their competitors in a short period of time.

Let’s get real about relationships. Customers are people, they are human, and they crave relationships where things like trust and respect and caring matter (yes, even in a business relationship and yes even over the internet.) They want to feel good about doing business with you. They want to trust that what you promise is what you will deliver (or more.) They are not "targets" to shoot for or "segments" to be penetrated.

Perhaps it’s time we stop sending our marketers to "boot camps" where they learn about warfare and start sending them to retreats where they learn about nurturing relationships with the high tech and high touch care they need to grow.

I was impressed a few years ago when I read an article by Marketer Jim Rosenfeld who suggested that we move out of the old marketing paradigm of the "4P’s" product, place, price and promotion (did you ever notice there was one "p" missing anyway – people.) And that we move on with the 9 C’s of marketing.

1. Communication – Need we say more?  
2. Convenience – Make it easy for people to do business with you.   
3. Comprehension – We need to understand our customer and make ourselves immediately understandable in articulating the solutions we offer.   
4. Clarity – Keep it simple and clear. The world’s tough enough