Relationship marketing is concerned with developing and strengthening your relationship with both your current and prospective clients. It differs from other marketing schemes as it aims to value the long term contribution that your customers ultimately make towards your business. Admittedly with the development of the Internet and sites such as Facebook and Twitter, relationship marketing in a sense has become easier for small and home based business. However it is imperative that you recognise the value of these mediums and use them to their full advantage. Focussing on an overall strategy to tie in your website and other avenues to promote your products and services but keeping the focus on your customer is invaluable.

Relationship marketing requires more than just an overall knowledge of business marketing. It requires you to have a broad awareness of SEO (Search Engine Optimisation), social media, customer service, blog development and public relations. The mistake many businesses make is that they use such marketing opportunities to reach out to potential clients by way of a strong sales pitch. But with the ease of being able to opt out of such things as newsletter and Facebook updates, the focus on meeting clients’ needs is stronger than ever. We as consumers are being constantly bombarded with things to try and buy, therefore unless you take a more intelligent approach, your efforts will be wasted.

Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) is one of the most complicated aspects of relationship marketing. It requires a direct focus on search engine keywords, article management and article submission to develop much needed organic links back to your website essentially raising your visibility on the major search engines. SEO gives the business owner more control over the way in which a prospective client will encounter your website and which website page they will land on initially. A relevant article which sparks interest may be just enough impetus to gain a new subscriber rather than just a link to the home page. Research has long shown that relationship marketing is a much more affordable approach in terms of a company’s budget as it focusses on current customers and clients rather than to blindly blanket individuals who may have no interest in the service or product you provide. Customer loyalty particularly to a small business is key to a company’s survival so it makes sense that this is of main focus.

There are many benefits once a company has established an ongoing relationship with customers. Since regular customers are familiar with products and consistent in order placement, they are less expensive to service. Long-term customers are likely to purchase additional supporting products. Satisfied customers with an ongoing relationship with a business tend to bring additions customers to the company. Customer loyalty makes it difficult for competitors to enter a market or gain market share. Relationship Marketing enables people, processes, and technology to work together to decrease costs and increase profits. Relationship Marketing uses retention and satisfaction to develop long-term relationships between customers and businesses.

Relationship Marketing utilizes retention strategies to encourage customers to continue their relationship with a company and reduce the likelihood of customers switching to a competitor. One strategy that can be employed is cross selling, where related products are promoted to current customers. Developing a loyalty program, where customers receive incentives for frequent purchases, has increased sales for many companies. Another effective tactic is product bundling, where multiple products or services are combined into a single package and offered at a single price. Cross promotions, when customers are given discounts or other promotional incentives to purchaser related products, have also proved to be valuable.

Mutually beneficial communication exchanges are utilized to inform businesses of their customers’ needs, as well as to inform customers of the full-extent of what the company can offer them. Customer satisfaction levels have a significant impact on the amount of sales relative to that of competing companies. Any company that wishes to foster long-term relationships where both the buyer and seller have a more satisfying exchange can benefit from Relationship Marketing. Relationship Marketing is designed to develop strong connections with customers by providing them with information directly matched to their needs and interests, and by encouraging open communication. This approach often results in repeat business, increased word of mouth activity, and higher customer satisfaction.