This is a communication process that most marketers are tapping into. But this kind of marketing requires the marketing team to understand their customers and have a clearly defined way to satisfy them without irritating them.

Most companies think that when it comes to relationship marketing, all they need to do is call their customers by name. This often backfires when the clerk at the front desk, who read your name from your credit card, mispronounces it.

Relationship marketing is all about communication, creating a dialogue that will eventually build trust and a consistent relationship with your customers. This simply means as much as a business needs to talk it also needs to stop and listen to what each customer has to say.

What Relationship Marketing Means for Companies

Having a relationship means something different to each and every person but this means that a company or business looking to build a relationship marketing strategy should begin finding out what its customers want and need. How often should the communication be? What should be communicated? Is it okay to call your clients by their first names?

For some customers, it is okay if the clerks they interact with most of the time call them with their first name. But when a top official who they have never met used the same approach it would definitely be weird and uncomfortable.

Customers react differently to different marketing strategies. Some may not appreciate the approach used by their gas loyalty provider to be the same as that used by their financial portfolio holder.

It is important for those companies who may be seeking to explore the world of relationship marketing to understand all their customers to avoid uncomfortable situations. Rather than spamming customers with promotional stuff a relationship marketing strategy requires communication to customers that will be meaningful to them. Companies should understand the needs of their customers and develop appropriate strategies that will be meaningful to customers without sounding scripted. Relationship marketing is not a simple marketing strategy and can’t be considered as a quick fix but if conducted correctly it can be effective and efficient in gaining you some very loyal customers.

Relationship marketing is effective because it falls back to the basics and focuses on people and their emotions. Rather than treating customers like cash cows, relationship marketing treats customers like humans. This, in turn, creates a conducive environment for consumers to purchase more from your business. This kind of marketing builds trust, respect and goodwill.