A different way to look at client relationships
If you sell a company a fish, you’ll make payroll for a day, but if you sell them a fish subscription… okay, I got lost in that metaphor, but today we’re talking about relationship marketing, and why it might be a better approach than staring at a stalled out biz dev pipeline. So let's get to it!
Don’t Give up the (Relation)ship!
A lot of us are intensely focused on closing sales. And rightly so, because it seems like it’s always a stretch to make ends meet. But once you get that customer to sign on the dotted line, are you putting the same effort into retaining them? Let’s talk about this valuable approach to working with clients.
What is relationship marketing, and how does it differ from what you're doing? Well, it’s all a matter of your focus. You may be accustomed to making a sale, setting specific terms and deliverables, handing things off, and moving your focus to the next prospect.
But relationship marketing takes a longer view of things. It’s more about focusing on the results for the customer than what you’re specifically doing for them. It allows for evolving processes and deliverables instead of a static to-do list, and it is less concerned with short-term profit.
Why Relationship Marketing?
It’s more profitable: The numbers don’t lie, and retaining customers makes you more money than getting new ones. One study found that a 5% boosted retention rate increased company value by as much as 95%!
You get more referrals: What could be better than customers bringing you more customers? The better you treat them, the more they want to spread the word about you. And referrals are the highest quality lead you can get.
It can provide expansion opportunities: Cross-selling and upselling are always a profitable plan. But if you want to try offering new services to boost the initial sale, you need them to stick around long enough to try for more. Over time that can help you expand your service offering and increase your lifetime client revenue.
How Do You Start?
This kind of marketing actually starts once you've made the sale. With each activity, ask yourself if you're just checking a box or if this is something that will really help the customer. Keep a focus on making them feel comfortable and continually build trust. Establishing an emotional connection is a huge plus.
Building on that, you should make it personal. Just as you’re getting to know your customer as real live human beings, let them experience your people as individuals too. Let your team's personality shine in your own company materials and your interactions.
Even though we’re talking people, technology can actually help you engage with customers by making it easy to send communications and streamline workflows. An integrated marketing platform can help keep track of activities and contacts with each customer while tailoring content so it's not all cookie-cutter messages.
Finally, you should be regularly soliciting feedback from your customers. Not only does it help you serve them better, but it also shows them your commitment, which is vital for any long-term relationship. And don't just send an email asking how you're doing, schedule a check-in call so you can have an honest-to-goodness conversation!
Relationship marketing isn’t anything new, but it’s helpful to remind us that the next great project might already be on our list of clients. When your whole company is united in serving the customer to the best of your ability, that’s when the magic happens. You might be surprised at how much it can help stabilize your business during rocky times.
At its heart, every successful business is about happy customers. But it's hard to focus on clients if you're on a neverending sales treadmill looking for the next deal. So share some of that "what's next" energy with the nice folks who've already decided you're the shop for them. The right focus not only makes the work better and more profitable, but it establishes a trust that can extend a client relationship for years.