If you sell a product or service, you certainly want to increase the number of customers and your sales, right? And to achieve excellence in this process, relationship marketing emerges.
With the aim of building loyalty among people who seek out your business, this strategy has everything you need to keep you closer to them.
So, let’s delve deeper into the subject and show you the advantages of relationship marketing for your company and how you should apply it. Enjoy your reading!
What is relationship marketing?
The term is clear, but it is not as simple as it seems. Relationship marketing can be defined as a set of tactics to improve the relationship between a company and its customers .
We know that it is important to stand out in the market, as there are many companies offering similar products and prices. Therefore, it is essential to invest in a strategy that brings this customer closer to you.
A customer satisfied with your business is synonymous with improving your market reputation, which generates an increase in potential customers .
Remember, the more people who know you in a positive way, the better off you will be.
Therefore, we can say that relationship marketing has the function of creating an emotional bond through strategies that result in customer loyalty.
And for this to happen in the best possible way, you need to know very well who buys your products or services.
Obviously, the general objective will always be customer satisfaction , because it is through this that your company will guarantee other advantages.
What are the objectives of relationship marketing?
One of the main objectives of using relationship marketing, from a business point of view, is to increase your business's profits.
But beyond that, you should focus on other results like:
Quality of service offered
At this point, the service or product that your company offers must be of a higher quality than the competition, enough to exceed the expectations of people who are thinking of buying it and also of your customers.
To help you understand how to do this, analyze what your expectations are and also how your product is chosen at the time of purchase, that is, what you can offer so that it is chosen over the other.
If the quality of what you offer meets what the consumer is looking for, they tend to come back to make other purchases.
To achieve this, marketing strategies focused on products and customer experience must be well defined.
Consumer focus
Customer focus must be the essential point and serve as the basis for all other relationship marketing strategies.
In this sense, the objective should be to identify his needs and expectations and work to meet them.
To know if your company is on the right track, don't forget to analyze their satisfaction, as well as reevaluate the campaigns used so that you have a good relationship.
Customer satisfaction
Another point that should be the objective of relationship marketing is customer satisfaction .
To do this, you need to monitor the product, that is, seek brazil business fax list nformation about what the customer thought of the product, what they thought, whether they would recommend it and whether they would buy it again. The best way to find this information is to conduct marketing research .
Remember that customers who are satisfied with your services bring many benefits, especially when they speak highly of your company. This is the best way to delight them.
Why relationship marketing deserves your attention
You and your company only have to gain by investing in relationship marketing, as it is proven that maintaining longer-lasting relationships turns into business .
The result of this is that your customers promote your brand spontaneously, which attracts more people to get to know it and even make a purchase. We know that people value something recommended by someone much more.
Another important point is that investing in maintaining the relationship between your company and its customers costs less than investing in strategies to attract new ones . Of course, it is necessary to invest in this relationship, but when you weigh it up, you realize that it is much more cost-effective.
Investing in your customer is the best choice for the development of your business.
What are the benefits of relationship marketing?
After seeing that it is really worth investing in relationship marketing, we present some benefits so that you can be sure of this.
So check out the 5 main benefits of this area for your business:
1. Bond with your customers
By using relationship marketing strategies, you can create a bridge between your brand and the customer.
This way, you will be closer to them, who in turn will realize that they have value and increase the chances of them making other purchases in the future. Having a unique customer service will set you apart from the competition.
2. Customer loyalty
After creating a bond with people who consume your brand, the most important thing is to be able to transform them into customers who defend it, that is, to make them advocates of what you propose and your products.
The main objective is to keep these people for as long as possible, and increase LTV — Lifetime Value —, which is a metric widely used by companies that seek to understand the importance of keeping people connected to their brand for as long as possible.
In this way, they make consumers buy enough to cover the amount paid at the beginning, in the enchantment process.
3. Boosting the sales funnel
Through relationship marketing, it is possible to identify with greater certainty who your potential customers are.
This way, the entire flow of nurturing these customers and the emotional connection between them and your brand happens more quickly and accurately, and for this reason, identification in the sales funnel becomes more organic.
4. Market positioning
One of the pillars of becoming a reference in your segment is personalizing your relationship . Having a difference in the way you show dedication to your customers makes you unique.
For this reason, we can say that relationship marketing is essential to position yourself in the market. Actions aimed at this connection are the right path to your company's success.
5. Higher revenue
By using strategies focused on the company's relationship with the customer, the return on investment — known as ROI — is greater.
Not only does ROI increase, but revenue also increases, because with a firm and lasting relationship, people who consume your brand will do so more frequently, in addition to referring you to new opportunities — potential customers.
How to use relationship marketing in your company
Now that you understand and see the importance of relationship marketing for your company, you need to know how to use it.
To do this, we have put together 6 tips to help you . Check them out:
1. Train your employees
The first step you need to take is to train all your employees, especially those who provide customer service.
After all, the goal of relationship marketing is to please the customer and bring them closer. It is impossible to do this without providing good service before, during and after the purchase.
Your employees must be aware of how the company culture works, as this will make it easier to delight your customers.
2. Identify your persona
Another point that needs to be evaluated before developing a plan is your business's persona . For a consumer to become a fan of your brand, they need to see your brand as unique.
He needs to find something in your company that he won't find anywhere else. That's how we become fans of something, isn't it?
Invest in ways to find good information about consumers. This way, you create the persona, the ideal “hypothetical customer”, to use as a basis for developing communication and relationship strategies .
If your company already has a persona, new information will make it even more accurate.
To learn how to identify and create personas, read our free material .
After obtaining your customers' data — such as their habits, how they buy and consume, for example — you can create the ideal customer profile and have an even more specific focus.
3. Use multichannel to be more present
Also use multichannels to be present whenever the customer needs you. To do this, use social media, blogs, telephone, email, and customer service.
Remember to adjust everything so that consumers have the support they need. If we want to create brand fans, we need to give them reasons to do so.
4. Invest in CRM
CRM — Customer Relationship Management — is a way of training your team so that they become experts in this area, through techniques and also with the use of software.
Investing in CRM is great for joint analysis and therefore helping to win and retain customers.
5. Evaluate and compare your business
Evaluate your business and compare it to your competitors. Then, answer the question: what am I offering that they don’t? This is the big point you should be aware of.
If there is nothing significant, nothing that can give them a reason to become fans of your brand, you need to create something. Since you already have a customer database, you will know what motivates them. Work on that.
If you’re still having trouble moving forward with your strategy, consider going out into the field and asking your customers.
There are companies that specialize in this type of research, which can go to your target audience to ask them what they expect from a brand or why they would become a fan of that brand.
6. Define a sequence of actions
After defining the objective you want to achieve in your company's relationship marketing, it is necessary to define what needs to be done to achieve it.
So define actions and always evaluate whether your business is on track to achieve the results you expect with these strategies.
Nubank as an example of successful relationship marketing
One of the pioneers in the fintech segment — startups that innovate in the financial system — in offering a 100% digital financial service, Nubank has won the hearts of many people.
With excellent work in its field, the company gained space thanks to its strategies focused on relationship marketing .
With adapted language and impeccable service, it was possible to build customer loyalty.
Nubank's response on Twitter
This is because the people who seek out Nubank — generally a younger audience — are those who are tired of traditional banks, whether because of their fees or because of so much bureaucracy involved in solving their problems .
