Relationship Marketing

Tips to Improve Customer Service

There was never a more important time to project great customer service than today. Customer service is crucial to the growth of any business. It doesn't matter whether you are a product or a service oriented company. It doesn't matter if you are targeting consumers or businesses. If customer do not get the service that they desire they will go somewhere else. We can all do things to improve customer service, so below I've listed ten tips that will help you gain customer satisfaction and loyalty.

1. First Impression Counts

The first impression that a customer receives sets the stage for the customer experience. The first impression can come from a phone call, an email, or a visit to your place of business. Make sure you are putting your best foot forward. Introduce yourself, be positive and be willing to do what it takes to help.


RAKBANK Case Study: Relationship Marketing

Relationship marketing

Skype and Relationship Marketing

Relationship Marketing to Build Business

The Truth about Relationship Marketing

Relationship marketing

Business Relationships

Great Relationship

Business Relationships

Business Relationship Management

Tailored and In-House Business Relationship Management

Our Business Relationship Management Skills Training can also be run as an in-house tailored programme to address specific issues within your company.

(Click here to send individuals on our Open Building Business Relationships Course)

Business Relationship Management Training Objectives

* Understanding relationship dynamics
* It's You They Buy
* Creating empathy
* Using personal disclosure
* Effective questioning, not third degree
* Uncovering unspoken needs
* Dealing with disagreement
* Steering not pushing
* Gaining new confidence

Business Relationships

Business Relationship Skills

Your organisation may have people who have to do more than present what your company has to offer to prospective clients. They may have to build the kind of long-term business relationships that ensure your company is well-trusted, which in turn ensures steady business. 

You may have technical experts who are brilliant within their own field, but lose confidence when having to create better business relationships and fall back on their expertise (thus potentially boring the client and dazzling them with too many facts and figures). 

Gaining clients' confidence and trust in you and your company is key to developing good business relationships. Too often, consultants, sales people or other company representatives go into meetings like 'gangbusters' deluging clients (or potential clients) with too much information and barely drawing breath. 

Business Relationship Building is all about the fact that it's 'you they buy' at gut level. Clearly, they are interested in what your company has to offer or you wouldn't be having meetings with them in the first place, but for the duration of those meetings you are the company. 

This means that it's less about your product and a whole lot more about how you connect and engage with your client. You need to be a 'safe pair of hands' and at the same time have the skills to engender trust, understand your clients needs and get under the skin of what is going on their company. 

Equally important, is the ability to 'suss out' unspoken agendas and to deliver messages the client may not want to hear. What we mean here is that often a client thinks they know what they want and once you dig around a bit you realise that they need something quite different or in addition to. 

On the other hand, sometimes clients can be a bit vague and only have a general idea of what they want, so part of business relationship building is to tease out needed information without giving them the third degree. 

Whether it's a 'beauty parade', a tender presentation, an informal meeting or a straightforward pitch for business, the better your Business Relationship Building Skills, the better your chances are of convincing them to 'buy you'. 

If you need your people to win more business through creating stronger face-to-face relationships, talk to us about a Tailored Business Relationship Management programme.

Business Relationships

Business Relationships

Research shows that even with the best products and business practices, you still need strong relationships to succeed in this marketplace. The following is a roadmap to turn personality differences into positive business results.

Respect is at the heart of building business relationships. It is the glue that holds together the functioning of teams, partnerships and managing relationships. (Up and down, peer-to-peer, internally and externally). Respecting the right to differ is a concept like apple pie and motherhood. We all agree with it but can we truly foster it?

The first step is to identify the specific areas of difference. Many people see things in terms of rights and wrongs. "My way" is right and therefore "other ways" are wrong. When a situation is viewed through this lens, a power struggle ensues. When, however, a situation can be seen through the lens of difference, and a position is simply a matter of opinion not fact, then cooperation and compromise is possible. Identifying and understanding differences allows people to shift their position to one of compromise and negotiation. The following steps are the roadmap to success:
Respect leads to accepting a person for what he/she is.
Accepting a person where they are, creates an environment of trust.
Trust, leads to a willingness to be open to:new opportunities, new collaborations, new strategies, new ideas, new products.

Once you understand the above you can use the following list to avoid power struggles, which drain energy from your effectiveness. Here is our top 10 list for type of differences to look for.

1. Communication Styles. All people do not communicate in the same fashion. There are many inventories available to identify differing styles. Once you understand a person's style, this knowledge can lead to respect not conflict.
2. Non-Verbal Communication. All forms of communication must be considered. This form of communication is more covert, but not any less important. Non-verbal communication includes; body language, and tone. Non-verbal communication may differ from the verbal. With this additional understanding of what is really being communicated more effective collaboration is possible.
3. Learning Styles. People learn in different ways. When this concept is in the forefront of understanding then communications can be geared to various styles and will meet with greater success.
4. Differing Values. This concept can be a little tricky. While values need to be identified and respected, there are times when conflicting values can be so different that they cannot coexist on the same team. When mutually exclusive values are encountered, collaboration is not recommended.
5. Boundaries. We all have different space needs and boundary needs. (Boundaries are the limits you place on the behavior of others around you.) The first step is to be aware of peoples' boundaries and then to use this understanding to approach them respectfully. This new behavior often avoids conflict and strengthens relationships.
6. The Self. Self-respect is a vital and primary building block that supports the formation of relationships. By being aware of your own needs and styles you create a healthy foundation and the ensuing relationships are more solid. The remaining categories are variations on the theme of Cultural Differences. The need to understand, respect, and integrate diversity is a must in today's market. Company Culture. Seasoned employees have come from different companies and each company has a culture. This must be identified and respected in order to insure successful integration into the current company. This concept is especially pertinent to mergers and acquisitions.
7. Culture of the Country. With the global nature of our business, employees often come from different countries, each with a different culture. In order to successfully integrate multicultural differences, these differences must be understood, articulated, and respected.
8. Family Cultures. The influence of our backgrounds is great. Often we ignore these differences because they "do not belong in the workplace". However the reality is that people cannot keep who they are out of the work environment. The key here is to recognize when the source of the conflict is based on someone's family/personal issues. This allows you to choose not to engage in a battle that is based on their family history.  
9. Individual vs Team. Balancing the individuals needs with team needs is always an interesting dilemma. However, if this healthy balance is not reached, problems are certain to follow. Taking the time to identify and then address both individual and team dynamics are at the core of this balancing act. Business success is directly related to getting this right.

Relationship marketing

Relationship marketing is not about having a "buddy-buddy" relationship with your customers. Customers do not want that. Relationship Marketing uses the event-driven tactics of customer retention marketing, but treats marketing as a process over time rather than single unconnected events. By molding the marketing message and tactics to the LifeCycle of the customer, the Relationship Marketing approach achieves very high customer satisfaction and is highly profitable.

The relationship marketing process is usually defined as a series of stages, and there are many different names given to these stages, depending on the marketing perspective and the type of business. For example, working from the relationship beginning to the end:

Interaction > Communication > Valuation > Termination

Awareness > Comparison > Transaction > Reinforcement > Advocacy

Suspect > Prospect > Customer > Partner > Advocate > Former Customer

Using the relationship marketing approach, you customize programs for individual consumer groups and the stage of the process they are going through as opposed to some forms of database marketing where everybody would get virtually the same promotions, with perhaps a change in offer. The stage in the customer LifeCycle determines the marketing approach used with the customer. 

A simple example of this would be sending new customers a "Welcome Kit," which might have an incentive to make a second purchase. If 60 days pass and the customer has not made a second purchase, you would follow up with an e-mailed discount. You are using customer behavior over time (the customer LifeCycle) to trigger the marketing approach.

Let's say a customer visits your site every day and then just stops. Something has happened. They are unhappy with the content, or they have found an alternative source. Or perhaps they’re just plain not interested in the subject anymore. This inaction on their part is a trigger telling you something has happened to change the way this customer thinks about your site and perhaps your service. 

You should react to this and then look for feedback from the customer. If you improve the content, e-mail them a notice, and if the customer starts visiting again, the feedback has been given. The cycle is complete until the next time the data indicates a change in behavior, and you need to react to the change with communication.

Let’s say this same customer then makes a first purchase. This is an enormously important piece of data, because it indicates a very significant change in behavior. You have a new relationship now, a deeper one. You should react and look for feedback.

You send a welcome message, thank the customer for the trust they have displayed in your site, and provide a second purchase discount. Then you await feedback from the customer, in the form of a second purchase, or increased visits. Perhaps you get negative feedback, a return of the first purchase. React to this new feedback and repeat the process.

All of the marketing decisions in the examples above were triggered by customer behavior, the actions of the customer as tracked by their activity (or lack of activity). This activity tracked over time is the customer LifeCycle.

If you can track customer LifeCycles, you can begin to predict them, and if you can predict them, you can target your marketing efforts at the most critical trigger points in the customer LifeCycle. This approach eliminates a lot of wasted marketing spending, and creates very high ROI marketing campaigns. You spend less money overall, and the money you spend is much more effective.

All of the above is accomplished by using the data customers create through their interactions with you to build simple LifeCycle models or rules to follow. The relationship marketing approach then uses this LifeCycle model as a "timing blueprint" to follow, targeting the right customers at the right time, with the most profitable offer.

This site and the Drilling Down book are about teaching you how to build and use LifeCycle models yourself in 30 minutes with an Excel spreadsheet. If you want to increase sales while reducing the costs of customer marketing, you have to get this book.

relationship advice

Relationship Advice that Actually Works

All relationship advice is not created equal.

In fact, a lot of relationship advice about men simply does not work.

Why?  Because it’s focused on how women think instead of how men think.   It’s focused on short-term results that actually prevent a man from falling and staying in love with a woman.

I’ve been a licensed counselor for 17 years. My specialty is helping women understand how men think so they know what to do to make sure a man will want to date, marry, and never leave them. 

This relationship advice DOES work. Every insight and suggestion I’ll give you has been tried, tested, and proven to work forthousands of women just like you. 

Buy one of my e-books and I'll show you how to create the relationship you’ve always dreamed of the same way I've helped thousands of women...just like you.  

Sincerely,

Bob Grant, LPC (Licensed Professional Counselor)
Founder Relationship Headquarters

Personality and Relationships

"And above all, have fervent love for one another: for love shall cover the multitude of sins." 

--Peter 4.8

Most of us are probably allured by the attractive notion that effortless relationships exist. Whether it be happily-ever-after marriages, or friendships which last forever, or parent/child bonds which supercede the need to understand each other, we'd all like to believe that our most intimate relationships are unconditional, and strong enough to withstand whatever may come. However, at some point in our lives most of us need to face the fact that relationships require effort to keep them strong and positive, and that even wonderful, strong relationships can be destroyed by neglect.

Whether you're looking to improve a love relationship, familial relationships, friendships, or employer/employee relationships, understanding your own personality type and the personality type of the other person involved in the relationship will bring a new dynamic to the situation, which will allow better understanding and communication. Although the different types of relationships have very different characteristics and specific needs, there are two basic areas which seem to be critical in all relationships: Expectations and Communication. What do we expect from ourselves and the other person involved in the relationship? How do we communicate these expectations, and our feelings and opinions to the person in the relationship? How does our personality type affect our expectations and methods of communication? Does our personality type affect who we are romantically attracted to? How does it affect who our friends are, and who we work with best? These are the questions which we address in this section of The Personality Page.

**Disclaimer**
Please note that we are not prescribing an absolute solution to your relationship problems, nor are we stating that there's any guarantee of improved odds with particular type pairings. Statistics show that individuals who are most happy within their marriages are those who have the highest levels of inner peace and those who have the most optimistic outlook on life in general. We do not address people's emotional standing here when discussing relationship issues, which is another important aspect of relationship dynamics.

Personality and Relationships

Opposites Attract

That old concept and expression "opposites attract" has been batted around for centuries. And in fact, it's very true when it comes to love relationships. Through our research, we have noted that people are usually attracted to their opposite on the Extraversion/Introversion and Judging/Perceiving scales. We are naturally attracted to individuals who are different from ourselves - and therefore somewhat exciting. But it's not just the exciting differences which attract us to our opposites, it is also a natural quest for completion. We naturally are drawn towards individuals who have strengths which we are missing. When two opposites function as a couple, they become a more well-rounded, functioning unit. There is also the theory that our natural attraction to our opposites is a subconscious way of forcing us to deal with the weaker aspects of our own nature. While we are highly attracted to our opposites, two opposites involved in an intimate relationship have significant issues and communication barriers to overcome. So in a sense, our attraction to the opposite personality can be seen as our subconscious minds driving us towards becoming a more complete individual, by causing us to face the areas in life which are most difficult to us.

The same cannot be said for other kinds of relationships. When it comes to work colleagues, or friends, we are not especially interested in dealing with people who are very unlike ourselves. We are most comfortable with those who have similar interests and perspectives, and we do not show a lot of motivation or patience for dealing with our opposites.

Personality and Relationships

Birds of a Feather Flock Together

Although we are attracted to people who are very different from us in the way we deal with the world, we are most attracted to others who have a similar focus in their lives. Couples who have the same dominant function in their personalities seems to have the longest and happiest relationships. So, for example, an individual whose dominant function is Introverted Sensing (ISTJ or ISFJ) seems to be naturally drawn towards partners with a dominant function of Extraverted Sensing (ESTP or ESFP).

We have also noticed that Sensors seem to communicate best with other Sensors, and that Intuitives seem to communicate best with other Intuitives. There seems to be a more equal partnership formed with people who communicate on the same level, although there are many successful relationships between Sensors and Intuitives. Two individuals of any type who are well-developed and balanced can communicate effectively and make a relationship work, but many people will communicate best with people who share their same information gathering preference.

With that in mind, it shouldn't come as any surprise to learn that research regarding Personality Type and Relationships shows a definite pattern which indicates that successful mates often share the same dominant function, and the same letter preference ("S" or "N") for their information gathering function. Of course, that does not mean that people with different preferences cannot have a happy, successful marriage, it simply indicates that people frequently settle down with individuals who are on their same "wave-length".

Personality and Relationships

Relationships and the Sixteen Types

To learn more about Personality and Relationships with regards to a specific personality type, click on the name of the type you'd like to read about.

ISTJ - The Duty Fulfillers

ESTJ - The Guardians

ISFJ - The Nurturers

ESFJ - The Caregivers

ISTP - The Mechanics

ESTP - The Doers

ESFP - The Performers

ISFP - The Artists

ENTJ - The Executives

INTJ - The Scientists

ENTP - The Visionaries

INTP - The Thinkers

ENFJ - The Givers

INFJ - The Protectors

ENFP - The Inspirers

INFP - The Idealists

Personality and Relationships

INFP - The Idealists

INFP Relationships

INFPs present a calm, pleasant face to the world. They appear to be tranquil and peaceful to others, with simple desires. In fact, the INFP internally feels his or her life intensely. In the relationship arena, this causes them to have a very deep capacity for love and caring which is not frequently found with such intensity in the other types. The INFP does not devote their intense feelings towards just anyone, and are relatively reserved about expressing their inner-most feelings. They reserve their deepest love and caring for a select few who are closest to them. INFPs are generally laid-back, supportive and nurturing in their close relationships. With Introverted Feeling dominating their personality, they're very sensitive and in-tune with people's feelings, and feel genuine concern and caring for others. Slow to trust others and cautious in the beginning of a relationship, an INFP will be fiercely loyal once they are committed. With their strong inner core of values, they are intense individuals who value depth and authenticity in their relationships, and hold those who understand and accept the INFP's perspectives in especially high regard. INFPs are usually adaptable and congenial, unless one of their ruling principles has been violated, in which case they stop adapting and become staunch defenders of their values. They will be uncharacteristically harsh and rigid in such a situation.

Personality and Relationships

INFP Strengths

Most INFPs will exhibit the following strengths with regards to relationship issues:

Warmly concerned and caring towards others

Sensitive and perceptive about what others are feeling

Loyal and committed - they want lifelong relationships

Deep capacity for love and caring

Driven to meet other's needs

Strive for "win-win" situations

Nurturing, supportive and encouraging

Likely to recognize and appreciate other's need for space

Able to express themselves well

Flexible and diverse

Personality and Relationships

INFP Weaknesses

Most INFPs will exhibit the following weaknesses with regards to relationship issues:

May tend to be shy and reserved

Don't like to have their "space" invaded

Extreme dislike of conflict

Extreme dislike of criticism

Strong need to receive praise and positive affirmation

May react very emotionally to stressful situations

Have difficulty leaving a bad relationship

Have difficulty scolding or punishing others

Tend to be reserved about expressing their feelings

Perfectionistic tendancies may cause them to not give themselves enough credit

Tendency to blame themselves for problems, and hold everything on their own shoulders

Personality and Relationships

INFPs as Lovers

To love means to open ourselves to the negative as well as the positive - to grief, sorrow, and disappointment as well as to joy, fulfillment, and an intensity of consciousness we did not know was possible before." -- Rollo May

INFPs feels tremendous loyalty and commitment to their relationships. With the Feeling preference dominating their personality, harmony and warm feelings are central to the INFP's being. They feel a need to be in a committed, loving relationship. If they are not involved in such a relationship, the INFP will be either actively searching for one, or creating one in their own minds.

INFPs tendency to be idealistic and romantically-minded may cause them to fantasize frequently about a "more perfect" relationship or situation. They may also romanticize their mates into having qualities which they do not actually possess. Most INFPs have a problem with reconciling their highly idealistic and romantic views of life with the reality of their own lives, and so they are constantly somewhat unsettled with themselves and with their close personal relationships. However, the INFP's deeply-felt, sincere love for their mates and their intense dislike of conflict keeps the INFP loyal to their relationships, in spite of their troubles achieving peace of mind.

Unlike other types who tend to hold their mates up on a pedastal, the INFP's tendency to do so does not really turn into a negative thing in the relationship. INFPs hold tightly to their ideals, and work hard at constantly seeing their mates up on that pedastal. The frequent INFP result is a strongly affirming, proud and affectionate attitude towards their mates which stands the test of time.

INFPs are not naturally interested in administrative matters such as bill-paying and house-cleaning, but they can be very good at performing these tasks when they must. They can be really good money managers when they apply themselves.

Sexually, the INFP is likely to be initially slow to open up to their mates. Once their trust has been earned, the INFP will view sexual intimacy as an opportunity for expressing their deep-seated love and affection. More than the actual sexual act, they will value giving and receiving love and sweet words. With their tendency to enjoy serving others, they may value their mates satisfaction above their own.

One real problem area for the INFP is their intensive dislike of conflict and criticism. The INFP is quick to find a personal angle in any critical comment, whether or not anything personal was intended. They will tend to take any sort of criticism as a personal attack on their character, and will usually become irrational and emotional in such situations. This can be a real problem for INFPs who are involved with persons who have Thinking and Judging preferences. "TJ"s relate to others with a objective, decisive attitude that frequently shows an opinion on the topic of conversation. If the opinion is negative, the TJ's attitude may be threatening to the INFP, who will tend to respond emotionally to the negativity and be vaguely but emphatically convinced that the negativity is somehow the INFP's fault.

For INFPs with extremely dominant Feeling preferences who have not developed their Intuitive sides sufficiently to gather good data for their decision making processes, their dislike of conflict and criticism can foretell doom and gloom for intimate relationships. These INFPs will react with extreme emotional distress to conflict situations, and will not know what to do about it. Since they will have no basis for determining what action to take, they will do whatever they can to get rid of the conflict - which frequently means lashing out irrationally at others, or using guilt manipulation to get their mates to give them the positive support that they crave. This kind of behavior does not bode well for healthy, long-term relationships. Individuals who recognize this tendency in themselves should work on their ability to take criticism objectively rather than personally. They should also try to remember that conflict situations are not always their fault, and they're definitely not the end of the world. Conflict is a fact of life, and facing it and addressing it immediately avoids having to deal with it in the future, after it has become a much larger problem.

INFPs are very aware of their own space, and the space of others. They value their personal space, and the freedom to do their own thing. They will cherish the mate who sees the INFP for who they are, and respects their unique style and perspectives. The INFP is not likely to be overly jealous or possessive, and is likely to respect their mate's privacy and independence. In fact, the INFP is likely to not only respect their mate's perspectives and goals, but to support them with loyal firmness.

In general, INFPs are warmly affirming and loving partners who make the health of their relationships central in their lives. Although cautious in the beginning, they become firmly loyal to their committed relationships, which are likely to last a lifetime. They take their relationships very seriously, and will put forth a great deal of effort into making them work.

Although two well-developed individuals of any type can enjoy a healthy relationship, INFP's natural partner is the ENFJ, or the ESFJ. INFP's dominant function of Introverted Feeling is best matched with a partner whose dominant function is Extraverted Feeling. The INFP/ENFJ combination is ideal, because it shares the Sensing way of peceiving, but the INFP/ESFJ combination is also a good match. How did we arrive at this?

Natural Partners

You may be interested in understanding how we came to the conclusion that certain types are ideal for each other. Our type pairing is a result of combining observation, research, and understanding of Jungian psychological type. Observation and research of married couples shows that there is a definite trend in types that are attracted to each other, and in type combinations that have the longest lasting relationships. Our understanding of psychological type helps to see that these types typically have the same dominant function, but with a different attitude.

In Jungian terms, "functions" refer to the four core traits: Intuition (N), Sensing (S), Feeling (F), and Thinking (T). The term "attitude" refers to the direction of the function, i.e. Introverted (I) or Extraverted (E).

So, for example, a person with a personality type of ISFP has a dominant function of Introverted Feeling. More specifically, Feeling in the dominant function, and its attitude (or direction) is Introverted. A person with this personality type is likely to be most attracted to, and fit best with, a person that has Extraverted Feeling dominating their personality. Extraverted Feeling dominates the personality types ESFJ and ENFJ. We therefore determine that the ISFP's natural partner is the ESFJ or the ENFJ.

Our natural attraction to people who share our dominant function, but who use it in a different direction works very well for us. We not only flip-flop the Introverted or Extraverted trait, but we also flip-flop the Judging or Perceiving trait. In this way, the partner that we choose for ourselves will have a very different approach to dealing with the world. If we are laid-back and indecisive, our partner will be structured and decisive. If we are reserved, our partner will be outgoing. For all of our apparent differences, we will share a common vision of what's truly important in life.

For people whose personality types are dominated by Decision Making functions, (i.e. Thinking or Feeling), their ideal partners will include both Sensing and Intuitive types. Many people have problems communicating effectively with people who do not share their same preference for Information Gathering. So, if you have a very strong preference for Sensing or Intuition, you will need to give the personality type with the same preference a higher value as a likely natural partner. For example, an ISFP who strongly prefers Sensing will work best with an ESFJ, rather than an ENFJ.

Although we believe firmly that this model works very well to help in finding and maintaining healthy relationships, it is important to remember that it's just a tool. We offer guidelines to help you understand the kinds of things that you value in a relationship, rather than guidelines that you need to follow strictly. Two well-developed individuals of any type can make a relationship work. And work is a key concept here! There is no such thing as an effortless relationship. Don't use this model as an excuse to dump your relationship.

Personality and Relationships

INFPs as Parents

"You are the bows from which your children as living arrows are sent forth...

Let your bending in the archer's hand be for gladness;

For even as He loves the arrow that flies, 

so He loves also the bow that is stable." -- Kahlil Gibran

INFPs are "natural" parents. They accept and enjoy the parental role, seeing it as the natural extension of their value systems. They make use of the parental role for developing and defining their values further, and consider it their task to pass their values on to their children. They take their role quite seriously. Warm, affirming, and flexible, the INFP generally makes a gentle and easy-going parent in many respects.

INFPs do not like conflict situations, and will keep themselves flexible and diverse to promote a positive, conflict-free environment in their home. The INFP is not naturally prone to dole out punishment or discipline, and so is likely to adapt to their mate's disciplinary policy, or to rely on their mates to administer discipline with the children. In the absence of a mating parent, the INFP will need to make a conscious effort of creating a structure for their children to live within.

Although the INFP dislikes punishing others, they hold strong values and will not tolerate the violation of a strongly-held belief. If they feel that their child has truly committed a wrong, the INFP parent will not have a problem administering discipline. They will directly confront the child, stubbornly digging in their heels and demanding recourse.

The INFP parent is likely to value their children as individuals, and to give them room for growth. They will let the children have their own voice and place in the family.

Extremely loving and devoted parents, INFPs will fiercely protect and support their children. If there is an issue involving "taking sides", you can bet the INFP will always be loyal to their children.

INFPs are usually remembered by their children as loving, patient, devoted, and flexible parents.

Personality and Relationships

INFPs as Friends

INFPs are warm and caring individuals who highly value authenticity and depth in their personal relationships. They are usually quite perceptive about other people's feelings and motives, and are consequently able to get along with all sorts of different people. However, the INFP will keep their true selves reserved from others except for a select few, with whom they will form close and lasting friendships. With their high ideals, they are likely to be drawn to other iNtuitive Feelers for their closer friendships.

With their strong need for harmony and dislike of conflict, INFPs may feel threatened by people with strong Judging and Thinking preferences. Although they're likely to be able to work well professionally with such individuals, they may have difficulty accepting or appreciating them on a personal level. They generally feel a kinship and affinity with other Feeling types.

INFPs will be valued by their confidantes as genuine, altruistic, deep, caring, original individuals.

Relationship marketing

Relationship marketing was first defined as a form of marketing developed from direct response marketing campaigns which emphasizes customer retention and satisfaction, rather than a dominant focus on sales transactions.[citation needed]

As a practice, relationship marketing differs from other forms of marketing in that it recognizes the long term value of customer relationships and extends communication beyond intrusive advertising and sales promotional messages.[citation needed]

With the growth of the internet and mobile platforms, relationship marketing has continued to evolve and move forward as technology opens more collaborative and social communication channels. This includes tools for managing relationships with customers that goes beyond simple demographic and customer service data. Relationship marketing extends to include inbound marketing efforts, (a combination of search optimization and strategic content), PR, social media and application development. Relationship marketing is a broadly recognized, widely-implemented strategy for managing and nurturing a company’s interactions with clients and sales prospects.[citation needed] It also involves using technology to organize, synchronize business processes, (principally sales and marketing activities), and most importantly, automate those marketing and communication activities on concrete marketing sequences that could run in autopilot, (also known as marketing sequences). The overall goals are to find, attract and win new clients, nurture and retain those the company already has, entice former clients back into the fold, and reduce the costs of marketing and client service. [1] Once simply a label for a category of software tools, today, it generally denotes a company-wide business strategy embracing all client-facing departments and even beyond. When an implementation is effective, people, processes, and technology work in synergy to increase profitability, and reduce operational costs.[citation needed]

Relationship marketing

Development

Relationship Marketing refers to a long-term arrangement where both the buyer and seller have an interest in providing a more satisfying exchange. This approach attempts to transcend the simple purchase-exchange process with a customer to make more meaningful and richer contact by providing a more holistic, personalized purchase, and uses the experience to create stronger ties.

According to Liam Alvey,[1] relationship marketing can be applied when there are competitive product alternatives for customers to choose from; and when there is an ongoing and periodic desire for the product or service.

Fornell and Wernerfelt[2] used the term "defensive marketing" to describe attempts to reduce customer turnover and increase customer loyalty. This customer-retention approach was contrasted with "offensive marketing" which involved obtaining new customers and increasing customers' purchase frequency. Defensive marketing focused on reducing or managing the dissatisfaction of your customers, while offensive marketing focused on "liberating" dissatisfied customers from your competition and generating new customers. There are two components to defensive marketing: increasing customer satisfaction and increasing switching barriers.

Modern consumer marketing originated in the 1960s and 1970s as companies found it more profitable to sell relatively low-value products to masses of customers. Over the decades, attempts have been made to broaden the scope of marketing, relationship marketing being one of these attempts. Arguably, customer value has been greatly enriched by these contributions.

The practice of relationship marketing has been facilitated by several generations of customer relationship management software that allow tracking and analyzing of each customer's preferences, activities, tastes, likes, dislikes, and complaints. For example, an automobile manufacturer maintaining a database of when and how repeat customers buy their products, the options they choose, the way they finance the purchase etc., is in a powerful position to develop one-to-one marketing offers and product benefits.

In web applications, the consumer shopping profile can be built as the person shops on the website. This information is then used to compute what can be his or her likely preferences in other categories. These predicted offerings can then be shown to the customer through cross-sell, email recommendation and other channels.

Relationship marketing has also migrated back into direct mail, allowing marketers to take advantage of the technological capabilities of digital, toner-based printing presses to produce unique, personalized pieces for each recipient through a technique called "variable data printing". Marketers can personalize documents by any information contained in their databases, including name, address, demographics, purchase history, and dozens (or even hundreds) of other variables. The result is a printed piece that (ideally) reflects the individual needs and preferences of each recipient, increasing the relevance of the piece and increasing the response rate.

Relationship marketing

Scope

Relationship marketing has also been strongly influenced by reengineering. According to (process) reengineering theory, organizations should be structured according to complete tasks and processes rather than functions. That is, cross-functional teams should be responsible for a whole process, from beginning to end, rather than having the work go from one functional department to another. Traditional marketing is said to use the functional (or 'silo') department approach. The legacy of this can still be seen in the traditional four P's of the marketing mix. Pricing, product management, promotion, and placement. According to Gordon (1999), the marketing mix approach is too limited to provide a usable framework for assessing and developing customer relationships in many industries and should be replaced by the relationship marketing alternative model where the focus is on customers, relationships and interaction over time, rather than markets and products.
In contrast, relationship marketing is cross-functional marketing. It is organized around processes that involve all aspects of the organization. In fact, some commentators prefer to call relationship marketing "relationship management" in recognition of the fact that it involves much more than that which is normally included in marketing.
Martin Christopher, Adrian Payne, and David Ballantyne[3] at the Cranfield School of Management claim that relationship marketing has the potential to forge a new synthesis between quality management, customer service management, and marketing. They see marketing and customer service as inseparable.
Relationship marketing involves the application of the marketing philosophy to all parts of the organization. Every employee is said to be a "part-time marketer". The way Regis McKenna (1991) puts it:
"Marketing is not a function, it is a way of doing business . . . marketing has to be all pervasive, part of everyone's job description, from the receptionist to the board of directors.

Relationship marketing

Approaches

Satisfaction

Relationship marketing relies upon the communication and acquisition of consumer requirements solely from existing customers in a mutually beneficial exchange usually involving permission for contact by the customer through an "opt-in" system.[4] With particular relevance to customer satisfaction the relative price and quality of goods and services produced or sold through a company alongside customer service generally determine the amount of sales relative to that of competing companies. Although groups targeted through relationship marketing may be large, accuracy of communication and overall relevancy to the customer remains higher than that of direct marketing, but has less potential for generating new leads than direct marketing and is limited to Viral marketing for the acquisition of further customers.

Relationship marketing

Retention

A key principle of relationship marketing is the retention of customers through varying means and practices to ensure repeated trade from preexisting customers by satisfying requirements above those of competing companies through a mutually beneficial relationship[4][5] This technique is now used as a means of counterbalancing new customers and opportunities with current and existing customers as a means of maximizing profit and counteracting the "leaky bucket theory of business" in which new customers gained in older direct marketing oriented businesses were at the expense of or coincided with the loss of older customers.[6][7] This process of "churning" is less economically viable than retaining all or the majority of customers using both direct and relationship management as lead generation via new customers requires more investment.[8]
Many companies in competing markets will redirect or allocate large amounts of resources or attention towards customer retention as in markets with increasing competition it may cost 5 times more to attract new customers than it would to retain current customers, as direct or "offensive" marketing requires much more extensive resources to cause defection from competitors.[8] However, it is suggested that because of the extensive classic marketing theories center on means of attracting customers and creating transactions rather than maintaining them, the majority usage of direct marketing used in the past is now gradually being used more alongside relationship marketing as its importance becomes more recognizable.[8]
It is claimed by Reichheld and Sasser[9] that a 5% improvement in customer retention can cause an increase in profitability of between 25 and 85 percent (in terms of net present value) depending on the industry. However Carrol, P. and Reichheld, F.[10] dispute these calculations, claiming they result from faulty cross-sectional analysis. Research by John Fleming and Jim Asplund indicates that engaged customers generate 1.7 times more revenue than normal customers, while having engaged employees and engaged customers returns a revenue gain of 3.4 times the norm.
According to Buchanan and Gilles,[11] the increased profitability associated with customer retention efforts occurs because of several factors that occur once a relationship has been established with a customer.
The cost of acquisition occurs only at the beginning of a relationship, so the longer the relationship, the lower the amortized cost.
Account maintenance costs decline as a percentage of total costs (or as a percentage of revenue).
Long-term customers tend to be less inclined to switch, and also tend to be less price sensitive. This can result in stable unit sales volume and increases in dollar-sales volume.
Long-term customers may initiate free word of mouth promotions and referrals.
Long-term customers are more likely to purchase ancillary products and high margin supplemental products.
Customers that stay with you tend to be satisfied with the relationship and are less likely to switch to competitors, making it difficult for competitors to enter the market or gain market share.
Regular customers tend to be less expensive to service because they are familiar with the process, require less "education", and are consistent in their order placement.
Increased customer retention and loyalty makes the employees' jobs easier and more satisfying. In turn, happy employees feed back into better customer satisfaction in a virtuous circle.
Relationship marketers speak of the "relationship ladder of customer loyalty". It groups types of customers according to their level of loyalty. The ladder's first rung consists of "prospects", that is, people that have not purchased yet but are likely to in the future. This is followed by the successive rungs of "customer", "client", "supporter", "advocate", and "partner". The relationship marketer's objective is to "help" customers get as high up the ladder as possible. This usually involves providing more personalized service and providing service quality that exceeds expectations at each step.
Customer retention efforts involve considerations such as the following:
Customer valuation - Gordon (1999) describes how to value customers and categorize them according to their financial and strategic value so that companies can decide where to invest for deeper relationships and which relationships need to be served differently or even terminated.
Customer retention measurement - Dawkins and Reichheld (1990) calculated a company's "customer retention rate". This is simply the percentage of customers at the beginning of the year that are still customers by the end of the year. In accordance with this statistic, an increase in retention rate from 80% to 90% is associated with a doubling of the average life of a customer relationship from 5 to 10 years. This ratio can be used to make comparisons between products, between market segments, and over time.
Determine reasons for defection - Look for the root causes, not mere symptoms. This involves probing for details when talking to former customers. Other techniques include the analysis of customers' complaints and competitive benchmarking (see competitor analysis).
Develop and implement a corrective plan - This could involve actions to improve employee practices, using benchmarking to determine best corrective practices, visible endorsement of top management, adjustments to the company's reward and recognition systems, and the use of "recovery teams" to eliminate the causes of defections.
A technique to calculate the value to a firm of a sustained customer relationship has been developed. This calculation is typically called customer lifecycle value.
Retention strategies also build barriers to customer switching. This can be done by product bundling (combining several products or services into one "package" and offering them at a single price), cross selling (selling related products to current customers), cross promotions (giving discounts or other promotional incentives to purchasers of related products), loyalty programs (giving incentives for frequent purchases), increasing switching costs (adding termination costs, such as mortgage termination fees), and integrating computer systems of multiple organizations (primarily in industrial marketing).
Many relationship marketers use a team-based approach. The rationale is that the more points of contact between the organization and customer, the stronger will be the bond, and the more secure the relationship.

Relationship marketing

Application

Relationship marketing and traditional (or transactional) marketing are not mutually exclusive and there is no need for a conflict between them. A relationship oriented marketer still has choices at the level of practice, according to the situation variables. Most firms blend the two approaches to match their portfolio of products and services.[citation needed] Virtually all products have a service component to them and this service component has been getting larger in recent decades.[citation needed]

Relationship marketing

Internal marketing

Relationship marketing also stresses what it calls internal marketing. This refers to using a marketing orientation within the organization itself. It is claimed that many of the relationship marketing attributes like collaboration, loyalty and trust determine what "internal customers" say and do. According to this theory, every employee, team, or department in the company is simultaneously a supplier and a customer of services and products. An employee obtains a service at a point in the value chain and then provides a service to another employee further along the value chain. If internal marketing is effective, every employee will both provide and receive exceptional service from and to other employees. It also helps employees understand the significance of their roles and how their roles relate to others'. If implemented well, it can also encourage every employee to see the process in terms of the customer's perception of value added, and the organization's strategic mission. Further it is claimed that an effective internal marketing program is a prerequisite for effective external marketing efforts. (George, W. 1990)

Relationship marketing

The six markets model

Christopher, Payne and Ballantyne (1991) from Cranfield University goes further. They identify six markets which they claim are central to relationship marketing. They are: internal markets, supplier markets, recruitment markets, referral markets, influence markets, and customer markets.
Referral marketing is developing and implementing a marketing plan to stimulate referrals. Although it may take months before you see the effect of referral marketing, this is often the most effective part of an overall marketing plan and the best use of resources.
Marketing to suppliers is aimed at ensuring a long-term conflict-free relationship in which all parties understand each others' needs and exceed each others' expectations. Such a strategy can reduce costs and improve quality.
Influence markets involve a wide range of sub-markets including: government regulators, standards bodies, lobbyists, stockholders, bankers, venture capitalists, financial analysts, stockbrokers, consumer associations, environmental associations, and labor associations. These activities are typically carried out by the public relations department, but relationship marketers feel that marketing to all six markets is the responsibility of everyone in the organization. Each market may require its own explicit strategies and a separate marketing mix for each.

Relationship marketing

Live-in Marketing

Live-in Marketing is a term used to describe a variant of marketing and advertising in which the target consumer is allowed to sample or use a brands product in a relaxed atmosphere over a longer period of time. Much like product placement in film and television LIM was developed as a means to reach select target demographics in a non-evasive and much less garish manner than traditional advertising.

Relationship marketing

History

While LIM represents an entirely untapped avenue of marketing for both big and small brands alike it is not an all that novel an idea. With the rising popularity of experiential and event marketing[12] in North America and Europe, as well as the relatively high ROI in terms of advertising dollars spent on experiential marketing compared to traditional big media advertising, industry analysts see LIM as a natural progression.

relationship marketing

Premise

LIM functions around the premise that marketing or advertising agencies go out on behalf of the brand in question and find its target demographic. From that point forward avenues such as sponsorship or direct product placement and sampling are explored. Unlike traditional event marketing, LIM suggests that end-users will sample the product or service in a comfortable and relaxed atmosphere. The idea behind this technique is that the end-user will have as positive as possible an interaction with the given brand thereby leading to word-of-mouth[13] communication and potential future purchase. If the success of traditional event and experiential marketing is shared with LIM then it could indicate quite a lucrative and fairly low-cost means of product promotion. However, due to the fact that this means of advertising is still in its infancy more research is required to determine the true success of such campaigns. Because LIM is a fairly new concept many agencies are only now beginning to incorporate it into their advertising and marketing portfolios. The first such company to explicitly offer LIM services was Hostival Connect in late 2010. It is expected that more and more agencies will begin to sell LIM type campaigns.

relationship marketing

References

1. ^ Berry, Leonard (1983). Relationship Marketing. American Marketing Association, Chicago. p. 146. ISBN 0877571619.
2. ^ Fornell, C. and Wernerfelt, B. (1987) "Defensive marketing strategy by customer complaint management : a theoretical analysis", Journal of Marketing Research, November, 1987, pp 337-346
3. ^ Relationship Marketing. Butterworth-Heinemann, Oxford. 1991. p. 264. ISBN 0750648392.
4. ^ ^a b Gale, B.T.,Chapman., R.W. (1994) Managing Customer Value: Creating Quality and Service That Customers Can See New York: Free Press
5. ^ Gordon, Ian (1999). Relationship Marketing: New Strategies, Techniques and Technologies to Win the Customers You Want and Keep Them Forever. John Wiley and Sons Publishers. p. 336. ISBN 0471641731.
6. ^ Kotler, Philip, Armstrong, Gary, Saunders, John and Wong, Veronica. (1999). "Principles of Marketing" 2^nd ed. Prentice Hall Europe.
7. ^ Kotler, Philip, Armstrong, Gary, Saunders, John and Wong, Veronica. (1999)., p482
8. ^ ^a b c Kotler, Philip, Armstrong, Gary, Saunders, John and Wong, Veronica. (1999)., p483
9. ^ Reichheld, F. and Sasser, W. (1990) "Zero defects: quality comes to services", Harvard Business Review, Sept-Oct, 1990, pp 105-111
10. ^ Carrol, P. and Reichheld, F. (1992) "The fallacy of customer retention", Journal of Retail Banking, vol 13, no 4, 1992
11. ^ Buchanan, R. and Gilles, C. (1990) "Value managed relationship: The key to customer retention and profitability", European Management Journal, vol 8, no 4, 1990
12. ^ Ad, Marketing Spending to rise 3.9% in 2008, Media Post, Erik Sass July 16, 2008
13. ^ EMI Strategic Insights Report : The Viral Impact of Events, Event Marketing Institute 2007

• Dawkins, P. and Reichheld, F. (1990) "Customer Retention as a Competitive Weapon", Directors and Boards, vol 14, no 4, 1990
• George, W. (1990) "Internal marketing and organizational behavior: A partnership in developing customer-conscious employees at every level",Journal of Business Research, vol 20, no 1, 1990, pp 63–70
• Levitt, T. (1983) "After the Sale is Over", Harvard Business Review, Sept-Oct, 1983
• McKenna, R. (1991) "Marketing is Everything", Harvard Business Review, Jan-Feb, 1991, pp 65–70 (ebook)
• Schneider, B. (1980) "The Service Organization: Climate Is Crucial", Organizational Dynamics, vol 9, no 2, 1980, pp 52–65
• Christopher, Payne and Ballantyne (1991) "Relationship Marketing: Bringing Quality, Customer Service and Marketing Together", Oxford, Butterworth Heinemann