ChristianRelationship marketing is a form of marketing that developed from the direct response marketing campaigns, which were popular in the 1960’s-1980’s. These campaigns emphasized the importance of customer retention and continued customer satisfaction, rather than stressing and outing attention toward individual transactions, and per-case customer resolution.
What is Relationship Marketing?
Relationship marketing is a type of strategic marketing that targets an audience with more direct information on specific products and services in which that customer may be interested. It differs from other forms of marketing in that it seeks to retain customers by building a relationship with them, rather than direct or intrusion marketing, which focuses on acquisition of new clients by targeting majority demographics, based in part upon prospective client lists that have been purchased from a third party source.
As traditional marketing was taking off in the 1960’s and 1970’s, companies found it more difficult to sell consumer products. The original model was developed into a system of marketing which targeted selling relatively low-value products in mass quantities to a high volume of consumer. Since the beginning of modern day marketing platforms, many methods have been developed to attempt to broaden the scope of marketing. Relationship marketing grew out of this era, and is one example of an early attempt to expand the reach an applicability of marketing.
Simply put, relationship marketing focuses on targeting the relationship of company to customer. If you have an existing customer base, it makes sense to learn what these customers like about your products and services and how you as a company can improve on this. If you build on the good relationship that you already have with your customers, and create customer loyalty, this is more valuable than putting energy towards always attempting to gain new business.
Defensive Marketing vs. Offensive Marketing
Relationship marketing can be understood in simple football-like terms of offensive and defensive approaches. “Defensive” marketing and “offensive” marketing are terms that were coined by C. Fornell and B. Wernerfelt in 1987.
Defensive marketing describes attempts to reduce customer turnover and increase customer loyalty to retain the customers that you have already gained, by keeping them happy with your service, and interested in your products. This contrasts with offensive marketing, which seeks to obtain new customers and increase customers purchase frequency. Defensive marketing focuses on reducing, or better managing customer dissatisfaction, while offensive marketing focuses on “liberating” dissatisfied customers from competitors and moving them into the offensive marketer’s customer base essentially getting customers to switch teams.
Customer & Consumer Relationships
Relationship marketing is a key collaborative strategy to retain customers. It is essentially an off-shoot of customer and consumer relationship management. The theory is that attracting new customers is more costly, yet less profitable than developing existing client loyalty. By developing and promoting your existing client base through research and understanding of what your clients’ individual needs are, you will develop a loyal client base for years to come, with less expense and higher returns than trying to attract new clients. Building lasting relationships with the clients you have is a recipe for long term marketing success.