Blog Six: Building a Consumer Relationship

It has been a while since I have gone into depth regarding our textbook, Marketing Eleventh Edition, and the chapters we have recently been studying. For this blog, I have chosen to write about the conceptual view of customer experience and relationships and how it is integral to running a successful marketing department. The process of forming a strong relationship with your perspective consumers can be difficult. Once a foundation is built and a relationship begins to form, consumer loyalty usually comes into play. There are three important definitions that I want to give before I go any further:

Customer Experience: "The internal response that customers have to all aspects of an organization and its offering"(Kerin, Marketing).

Customer Relationship Management: "The process of identifying prospective buyers, understanding them intimately, and developing favorable long-term perceptions of the organization and its offerings so that buyers will choose them in the market place"(Kerin, Marketing).

Customer Value: "The unique combination of benefits received by targeted buyers that includes quality, convenience, on time delivery, and both before sale and after sale service at a specific price"(Kerin, Marketing).

These three definitions sum up some of the most important factors that go into creating customer based relationships. Without communication, marketing departments would lack the tools necessary to connect with their consumers. If you gain loyalty through proper communication and have a product that satisfies consumers need, you will most likely find yourself with repeat purchasers. When you are in the introduction stage of your product, things may be a little slow at first, but with proper communication skills, customers may chose you over your competitors. I was searching the internet for some examples of how a company can make or break when it comes to customer relationships and I stumbled upon this video:

"Martha Rogers, Ph.D. is an expert in the rapidly evolving fields of customer-focused strategy, customer relationships and increasing demand chain, and managing CRM and DCM ROI, and customer equity. Business 2.0 magazine named Martha Rogers, Ph.D. one of the nineteen most important business gurus of the past century"(www.speakers.ca).

She says, "The most valuable asset you have as a business is your customers". You need to value your customers for who they are today, who they will be tomorrow, how you are going to increase the value of that customer, and how you are going to keep the customer around for the long term. See, the key for any business is keeping your customers satisfied because without customer satisfaction, your business will ultimately fail. Shareholders want you to connect to your customers, so you can grow them bigger, and have them keep buying from you instead of straying to competitors. I really enjoyed this video because it ties directly to what I am trying to convey through this blog. Without a strong customer base, your business will have a hard time growing. Ms. Rogers makes great points when it comes to customer relationship management. I strongly advise you to watch this video if you are interested if building proper relationships with your consumers. The advice given in this video will stick with you and hopefully enhance your knowledge when it comes customer relationships.