RM 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.
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
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.
Implementing a
relationship marketing strategy
Relationship
marketing is based on the tenets of customer
experience management (CEM), which focuses on improving customer
interactions to foster better brand loyalty. While these interactions can still
occur in person or over the phone, much of relationship marketing and CEM has
taken to the Web.
With
the abundance of information on the Web and flourishing use of social media,
most consumers expect to have easy, tailored access to details about a brand
and even expect the opportunity to influence products and services via social
media posts and online reviews. Today, relationship marketing involves creating
easy two-way communication between customers and the business, tracking
customer activities and providing tailored information to customers based on
those activities.
For
example, an e-commerce site might track a customer's activity by allowing them
to create a user profile so that their information is conveniently saved for
future visits, and so that the site can push more tailored information to them
next time. Site visitors might also be able to sign in through Facebook or another
social media channel, allowing them a simpler user experience and automatically
connecting them to the brand's social media presence.
This
is where CRM and marketing automation software can support a relationship
marketing strategy by making it easier to record, track and act on customer
information. Social CRM tools go further by helping to extend relationship
marketing into the social media sphere, allowing companies to more easily
monitor and respond to customer issues on social media channels, which in turn
helps maintain a better brand image.