Course: SLF 130 Marketing Practices for the Small Business

Unit 1 Reading

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- Unit 1
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- Unit 1 Glossary (Selected)

Marketing Concepts_page 3

What is relationship marketing?

The marketplace is tough. Every business has competitors. Customers want to feel special and valued by marketers and they are interested
in having a satisfying ongoing relationship with a marketer that can consistently solve their problems, make their lives easier, and deliver on a value proposition. Customers want to be loyal – it makes their lives easier. No decisions have to be made!

And businesses flourish when they have repeat customers who spread positive messages to other potential customers.

This seems like common sense, but the concept of relationship marketing is relatively new.
At one time marketers were satisfied with transactional marketing. They were happy to
complete one transaction, to have one selling event with a customer.
But REPEAT BUSINESS is the goal – it is the path to a successful and profitable business.

Relationship marketing is a form of marketing that shifts focus away from sales transactions
to building ongoing relationships built on customer satisfaction.
Relationship marketing is personalized and tailored to customers’ needs and wants.  Small businesses have a special opportunity to develop relationships with their customers based on satisfaction, not on “lower than competition” pricing.

Relationship marketing offers customers the opportunity to really appreciate the values and customer-centered orientation offered by small businesses. Small businesses become “friends” with satisfied repeat customers. A small business brand has its own personality, one that is attractive to a customer with whom he or she shares a value system or worldview.
Stop and review:

Relationship marketing is a form of marketing that focuses on building ongoing relationships with customers with the intent of repeat business.

Small businesses flourish when they focus on relationship marketing. They have the opportunity to build relationships with customers
in a much more effective way than big, impersonal businesses.