There are a lot of buzz words when it comes to marketing. Old school, millennial, new school, digital, social media, content, guerilla, to name a few. We have talked about many of these different methods over the years, off and on.
Today, I want to talk about different form of marketing called relationship marketing. This marketing form is about building a long-term relationships with your customers. This is a bit of a different study of marketing as it focuses on the fact that as brand you are not just looking for a one time sale, but building customer loyalty over time.
If you have been paying attention to ads, either on social media or through traditional marketing, you may have seen a bit a change. Old-school methods have us advertising a product to buy, buy, buy. Relationship marketing is not necessarily focusing on specific products, but rather the care and the value of the customer.
So why is relationship marketing so important to our business? The main reason is that more and more businesses and entrepreneurs are starting to utilize and recognize the relationship strength due to the fact that you are building customer loyalty instead of looking for a one term time purchase. This development of the long-term engagement with your customer leads to referrals, multiple sales, and longtime loyalty.
As a brand this type of marketing is very important. It’s difficult to sell a product without your customer knowing who you are, your goals, and even your mission. For the customer, getting to know the brand is becoming easier with social media marketing. It is even expected more.
Whereas in traditional marketing methods you do have the ability to sell your product and it is still effective for certain market segments. But why not develop that relationship into a long term event?
It does take a little change in your thinking and methodology to develop your marketing methods and messages. Knowing your target market as well as their needs and wants will help you to determine what they want to hear and see.
Think about value and trust and not just look for the sale and you will start to develop a different mindset as far as your communication and the development of your brand.
You may even use this style of marketing in your messages now and not even realize it. Or it could be an area you have opportunity to develop. Either way, it’s a great choice for any brand.