Introduction to Relationship Marketing

Ask any frequent flyer and a globe trotter, who enjoys flying with and always chooses his favorite airline as to why he/she insists on using the same airline every time. The answer will be that he/she is happy with the Customer Service.

The airline spares no efforts to ensure that he/she is comfortable and enjoys his journey. The airline recognizes him as a valuable customer and has built a relationship with him over a period of time. It is this relationship, the comfort of being recognized, looked after and cared for individually that has resulted in loyalty in the relationship.

All of us enjoy being members of several loyalty programs and enjoy collecting rewards and redeeming them. In doing so we have enjoyed the relationship with the Supplier or the Company and continue to be loyal customers. In everyday life we are used to going back to the same supermarket, the same garage and bank with the same bank all the time. This happens because we have grown to accept an unspoken relationship that exists with these businesses for various reasons and we feel happy dealing with the same vendors day in and day out.

Every human interaction and transaction is built around relationships. Networks of relationships is the fundamental design of the human society. No wonder that this fundamental fact has been recognized and explored by all the businesses where in they have been building business strategies around the customer and strive to build a relationship with every Customer.

Relationship Marketing therefore has evolved not only as a marketing strategy but has been the foundation on which the Companies build their core values and ethics. Relationship Marketing defines the framework for the Company to reach out as well as and orient themselves to the outside markets, to the end customer as well as to the business partners, the suppliers and vendors too.

Relationship marketing is not limited to Customers and Suppliers alone but has been extended in scope to cover the internal employees as well as an effective way of reaching out to attracting best talent too.

If you scan any advertisement of a leading Corporate in the Newspaper, you will see that major portion of the advertisement for recruitment is related to the Company’s background, culture and the effort to reach out to the prospective employees.

The advertisements are designed to strike a cord amongst the readers that prompts one to apply for the job.

In the high tech age where the marketing concepts and tools have undergone major changes with the introduction of e commerce, online selling, network marketing, direct marketing, B2B and B2C business models, relationship marketing has become the base on which the Business strategies as well as Marketing strategies are built.

Business Organizations today have begun to recognize and consider the human quotient as well as the emotional quotient of business relationships.

Relationship Marketing has evolved as a discipline that helps the Businesses to look beyond transactions to long term business associations. Successful Relationship Marketing strategy helps the Organization deepen and strengthen its revenue streams on long term basis.

Relationship Marketing is a considered to be a core Corporate Philosophy on which the Business strategy is built upon. It is reflected in all of the Marketing disciplines including branding, advertisements, promotions, public relations as well as through all sales channels and networks through which the Company reaches out to the Markets and Customers.

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