Building Customer Relationships

Building customer relationships is very important in today's developed market where product, price and quality are roughly comparable. Market research has shown that consumers put their money on organizations which they feel 'care' for them. Let us see some of the ways which can help an organization in building customer relationships.

Importance of Building Customer Relationships

"Although your customers won't love you if you give bad service, your competitors will". We all know that a customer's satisfaction or happiness makes or breaks an organization. This is one of the reasons all the management gurus focus on building customer relationships. Often, companies feel that the customer left them because the competitor was providing them a better price for the product, but studies have shown that customers leave because they think that their current company hardly cares for them. If you stay in touch with a customer through phone calls, e-mails, newsletters, etc., without selling them anything, you are telling them indirectly that 'I care for you' and when the time comes to put their money on a product, chances are that the customer will buy something from your company to reciprocate the gesture. Having an effective customer relationship management helps in people-to-people marketing. Let us take an example to illustrate this.

Let us suppose that Mr. Smith is contemplating buying a phone contract and he needs to decide whether he should choose company A or B. Mr. Smith watches a 60 second commercial in which the biggest Hollywood 'A-lister' is endorsing company A. Hmm Mr. Smith is impressed, seems like the millions of dollars company A spent on advertising is helping it to gain new customers. But, in the evening, Mr. Smith meets one of his old pals who doesn't know a thing about technology. All he knows is that he has been with company B for the last 5 years and the guys out there have been absolutely amazing. His issues have been taken care of quickly and guess what, they even sent him a bouquet on his birthday.

There is a high possibility that Mr. Smith will go for product B. The reason for this is that company B has an excellent customer relationship management through customer service, discounts etc. This is what good customer relationships do for a company. People aren't impressed with what you say about yourself, they are impressed with what other people say about you.

Building Customer Relationships

• Personalize the relationship. One of the golden rules of business is "customers don't buy products, they buy you". Be helpful to anyone entering your store/office. Always greet them with a smile. This encourages them and helps in setting a positive vibe with the customer. If you are contacting your customer over the phone, always ask if it is the right time to talk. Always start the conversation with a general topic and then gradually move to the main purpose of the call. Remembering a customer's preferences also helps as the customer gets the feeling that this person knows a thing or two about me which in turn increases the chances of a sale.
• Take feedback. After the customer has bought your product, make it a point to call him up and ask him how did he find the product. You can make it a point to call them every month. Listen to their suggestions and feedback carefully, because most of the time the suggestions/ feedback are the unwanted needs of the customer which if not met, can make the customer leave you for your competitors.
• Keep your word. Always keep your word as there is nothing more upsetting for a customer than a failed promise. If there is a delay in the shipment of the product, the first thing to do is to inform the customer about it. This is much better than the customer taking the day off from work, waiting for the product to come and then being told that he won't be receiving the product. There is a high possibility that the customer will be frustrated and yell 'cancel the whole thing altogether, I don't want to order it'. Calling the customer beforehand and apologizing for the inconvenience will help the customer to understand the reason for the delay.
• Appreciate their loyalty. Sometimes, words are not enough to make a customer believe that you value them. If the customer has been buying products from you consistently, it is time you offer him discount coupons, membership plans etc. This helps in building a strong image of your company in the minds of consumers. And nothing brings more smile on the faces of customers rather than the thought of paying only half the price for the product!
• Innovate. Building customer relationships through effective marketing also helps in keeping your customers well-informed. The marketing strategies have changed with the advent of various social networking sites and blogs. Therefore, it is essential for an organization to adapt to these changes to progress in the competitive market.

Challenges in Building Customer Relationships

One can't deny the fact that every theory, every idea faces some challenges when it is implemented. Let us take a look at some of the challenges an organization may face while building customer relationships.

• Lack of commitment. Organizations can lay down the structure and the policies to build relationships with customers, but employees are the ones who have to execute the policies. If employees are holistic towards a customer-friendly approach, then there is little scope for the organization to build a customer-friendly environment.
• Poor Communication. It is very important to get the message across to the customers in a proper way. For example, if the product the customer is asking for is out of stock, then the employee needs to be apologetic to the customer and can give an approximate time-frame by which the product is expected to be back in stock. Being insensitive to customer's emotions drives them away.
• Weak leadership. If the leader is skeptic about the benefits of a customer-focused plan, it is unwise to expect that the employees will carry it out in the desired fashion. The leader should follow with an example. An effective leadership can really turn things around in the favor of an organization.

Building customer relationship is essential for the long term interest of an organization. In fact, businesses today have changed the buyer-seller equation and organizations are focusing more on building customer relationships and partnerships. With all these new customer focused policies, customers have become the 'Kings' of the market. As Jeff Bezos says, "We see our customers as invited guests to a party, and we are the hosts. It's our job every day to make every important aspect of the customer experience a little bit better".