B2B Companies and Relationship Marketing

I recently had a conversation with a friend who is in B2B and I mentioned the phrase ‘relationship marketing’. Well, those two little words became the focus of the next 45 minutes of our discussion. It appears that for some people, lead nurturing software programs may be the tool that they think of when they hear the term relationship marketing. So I thought it may be a good idea to blog about the fundamentals of this marketing technique.

Although all marketing efforts in essence are focused on creating a connection and building business, relationship marketing focus’ on the long-term value of a client relationship and specifically using marketing tactics to maintain, foster and build upon those relationships. It is far less costly to engage a current client and keep them happy then to try and find new ones.

In today’s competitive world your marketing needs to go beyond savvy advertisements and persuasive press releases. Your marketing efforts need to start right from the first point of contact your customer faces with your company; whether that be a receptionist, help desk or a downloadable form.

It seems as though most B2C companies today are implementing relationship marketing tactics quite readily. Whether they are offering reward cards, specialty offer days for select clientele or personal phone calls to entice customers back into the store; they are doing it and doing it well!

B2B companies on the other hand may find it a bit more challenging to apply relationship tactics but it is these businesses that can really benefit from developing a strong client focused marketing campaign since they typically experience longer buying cycles. Additionally, with B2B you are usually dealing with higher ticketed items and very savvy prospects who are not making impulse purchases. So really, it becomes critical that your marketing efforts become relationship building and continue to leverage the base of clients you have built up.