What is Most Important to Customers in Relationship Marketing?

The high rate of competition, and quick collapse of small businesses, has necessitated the shift from transaction orientation to relationship marketing.  Business is a going concern, and if a firm must continue to remain in business, it is important  that it considers relationship marketing as a strategic tool for creating and retaining customers. Achieving longevity in business is largely dependent on customer-service provider's relationship with their major stakeholders - CUSTOMERS.

Globalization of various markets and competition, has caused a major shift from short term sales and transaction orientation to relationship marketing. Relationship marketing helps businesses to generate repeat repurchases through providing good quality customer service. It recognizes the long term value of customer relationships through building trust and exchanging information that is beneficial to both parties. Although it means different things to different people, it is often considered as the process of attracting, maintaining and enhancing relationships with customers and stakeholders at a profit. It is used to build enduring relationship with customers, however, it is important that a firm that wants to deplore a successful relationship marketing programme should channel its efforts to customers who have a  relational orientation, and at the same time know factors that consumers consider important in their regular interaction with the business.

Research studies have consistently identified some relationship marketing elements that consumers consider more important than others. Some of them are:

Trust

This is the reliablity and beliefs that you will perform your duties as expected without negative surprises. It is a state of mutual honesty and confidence that customers have in your product or business. Such trust can only be built on the platform of shared or similar values. You can't earn the trust of your customers when your values are different from theirs.

Communication

How often do you communicate with your customers? Customers have need for information, they want to interact with you regularly and to be paid attention to. For a business to maintain a good relationship, there must be timely and meaningful information exchange with the customers.

Commitment

This is the psychological attachment of your customers to your business or product. How far can you go to give your customers that experience money can not buy. This is your involvement in seeing that a customer gets what he wants. Customers want to see that you are dedicated to serving them.

 

Support and Cooperation

This includes all activities that are mutually beneficial to the business and its customers. Your customers need your support and cooperation in attaining that satisfaction level as well as your business needs them.

In this era of intense competition, creating, maintaining and enhancing long-term relationship with customers has become the basis for building successful businesses. To make this relationship work, a business owner must know what the customers expect, and in what order.

Have you asked your customers what is most important to them in your business relationship?

From 'Customer Satisfaction' to 'Customer Delight'

In business, when customers' expectations are met, the out come is satisfaction with the product or service. This means that a business has fulfilled the contract with the customer, and the customer is expected to be happy about that. However, satisfaction is no longer enough for customers who constantly demand for more than they receive. They expect much more from businesses even if they don't request for it, they want to be delighted about the product or service coming from a business. Studies have suggested that for a business to develop and maintain loyalty, it must go beyond mere satisfaction; that is, it must delight or over reward its customers.

Customer Delight is a positive emotional state that comes as a result of exceeding one’s expectations to a surprising degree. Delight requires a mixture of joy and surprise.  It is a more positive and more emotional response than simply excellent.

While customer satisfaction is generally based on exceeding one's expectations, customer delight requires that customers receive a positive surprise that is beyond their expectations. 

Berman Barry identified the important differences between satisfaction and delight:

• Satisfaction is more cognitive; delight is more affective. 
• Satisfaction is based on perceptions, while delight is more emotional. 
• Delight is often associated with such emotions as arousal, joy, and pleasure.
• While satisfaction is based on meeting or exceeding expectations, delight requires out-of-the-ordinary performance. 

To continue to survive in a competitive market, you need to give your customers more than they expect, you have to delight them.

How to Incease Your Customers' Loyalty and Encourage Repeat Purchases

Here are 4 simple ways for you to increase your customers' loyalty and encourage repeat purchases:

• Always keep in touch with your customers.

Your customers are your friends, treat them as one. The easiest way for them to forget you is to stop hearing from you. Any when you are not calling, be sure that your competitors are talking to them. When customers know that you care about their needs, they will also care about your business.

• Make your service value noticeable

Customers want to know the value they will earn by patronizing you. What value does your business have over that of competitors? It could be as simple as saving time, or more money. Give them something that will help them place a value on your business more than that of the competitor.

• Do you customers have an experience that you can share?

Nothing sales more than a wonderful experience from a satisfied customer. Make the best use of your satisfied customers' experiences. When your customers share their experiences with you, share that experience with others. Customers feel more secured when they see others who can testify about your product or service.

• Help your customers succeed

As your customers patronize you, also patronize them if their businesses meet your need in any way. You can also help them by linking them up with customers that may need their services. Let the relationship be one of mutual benefit.

It's easier to nurture existing relationships than make a new one. No business survives without customer loyalty and repeat purchases. The only way to make that possible is to build a wonderful relationship with your customers, give them wow! experience, and they will remain loyal to you.

Originally Written by

Lenann McGookey Gardner

Lenann Gardner is the author of "Got Sales? The Complete Guide to Today's Proven Methods for Selling Services." A Harvard MBA, Lenann was the #1 sales representative worldwide at a unit of Xerox Corporation, and achieved unprecedented results as an executive at Mattel and Blue Cross Blue Shield. She is a winner of the American Marketing Association's Professional Services "Marketer of the Year" award. For more information, call 505.828.1788, or write Lenann@YouCanSell.com

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