Customer Relationship Marketing

What is Customer Relationship Marketing?

As techopedia.com defines Customer Relationship marketing is a business process in which client relationships, customer loyalty and brand value are built through marketing strategies and activities.

Concentrating on customer loyalty, client retention and developing long-term relations with the existing and new customers is known as customer relationship marketing or CRM. It is designed to build strong associations with customers by directly offering them customized information as per their requirements, desires and interests. CRM permits companies to build long term associations which helps in streamlining the corporate performance of any business. It encompasses commercial and customer-specific business strategies through advertising, marketing planning, relationship development and employee training.

As contrasted with Transactional marketing which concentrates on direct sales, customer relationship marketing lays stress on enhancing word-of-mouth marketing, repeat business and an eagerness on the client’s side to offer information to the company. This process begins readily through an opt-in by the clienteles.

But is it worthwhile to create a relationship with customers in this manner? As the strategists point out that the actual reality behind the brand loyalty is that most of the customers do not want to be engaged with a particular product or brand but their main concern is about shared values related to different products.

The secret behind customer relationship marketing process is not related to the engagement of customers with products or brands but is linked to the practical usability of the same with your business and clients.

The results of a management study conducted by Robin Buchanan and Crawford Gillies states that the enhanced profitability linked with customer relationship marketing is based on a number of

Customer Relation Marketing

factors:

• Content, happy and long-term customers in any business’ marketing funnel are statistically less likely to change to other brand or product. Price changes also don’t have much effect on their brand loyalty. Market experts say that if customers feels, their needs are taken care of then they are less anxious about the pricing of a product. Effective customer relationship marketing stops customers from switching over to the competition.
• Word-of-mouth activity plays a very important role in customer relationship marketing. Stronger relationships with your customers will help you build your referral promotion as, a satisfied customer will surely refer your business or product to a relative or friend. Your business’ Net Promoter Score gets better with customer relationship marketing.
• Your regular customers form the strong pillars for your business. Regular customers normally buy your products more often and can be maintained with much ease as they are familiar with your business and the processes behind it.
• Long-term relationships with your customers also help in expansion of your business. As per the experts the long associated customers are expected to buy your old products and will also be keen about your new launches. Customer relationship marketing actually reduces the risk of business expansion.
• Customer relationship marketing also helps you to save on the cost of acquisition of new customers. Retaining an old customer will be less expensive as compared to acquiring a new customer. Business or products that have high number of satisfied customer are not affected by the cost of acquisition and have high retention rate.

Experts also point out that businesses which have opted for strong brand loyalty measurements are far more equipped as compared to their competitors and can survive even in turbulent market conditions. Their business doesn’t get much affected by new competing products.

Last but not the least, businesses which have high quality customer retention metrics also makes jobs of their employees easier and more content, thus reducing your workforce’s stress and makes them more competent.