Winning customer loyalty for long term benefit
In an increased push to see Return on Investment for your marketing activity many companies focus their activity purely on their customer markets. However by creating advocates for your product or service these can be an effective sales force and brand reinforcement for both existing and potential customers.
Relationship marketing focuses on customer loyalty and long-term customer engagement rather than shorter term goals like customer acquisition and individual sales. By adopting a longer term relationship marketing approach rather than a one-off transactional marketing approach you build a solid customer base but you also add greater value building trust and understanding of the way each others businesses and industry sectors work. The same approach can be adopted with the other key influences on the business and its customer markets.
We commonly find that both in a local business community or a specific industry we all comment that ‘everyone knows everyone else’ so just imagine the power of that sense of community if a majority hold a high opinion of your product or service. By marketing through your employees you engage your workforce to be understand the product or service and with open communication they buy in to where the business is going and it’s approach and values with the additional benefit that they become your best advocates.
Suppliers are also key to a business achieving their goals without them you may not be able to deliver that order for that customer that is needed in a hurry, but they are also dealing with others who may need your service. The same applies for other markets whether that is other suppliers targeting the same companies you do, industry bodies, universities, recruitment etc. By building that network and communicating regularly where your business is, what it is capable of and what your goals and ideal business would be, you can all help each other.
When planning your marketing campaigns don’t forget to incorporate your internal marketing, make sure your members of staff understand the business and marketing goals, campaigns and results. There is nothing worse than that customer phone call referring to an e-shot sent by the marketing department that the sales team or person answering the phone doesn’t know about!
This can be shared industry knowledge, sales referrals, potential employees, any number of benefits so next time you plan your marketing campaigns don’t forget to include internal, supplier, recruitment, influence and referral markets.
For further information or advice please contact [email protected] or 01709 430491
