Customer relationship is one of the most important aspects in marketing that involves the development of relationships between businesses and customers that are based on honesty and trust (Gummesson, 2012). The main purpose of creating long-term relationships with customers is to facilitate the development of customer loyalty and increase value. Satisfying the needs of customers and attaining their loyalty goes beyond providing quality products and services. It involves creating strong connections and developing personal relationships that make consumers feel valued (Gummesson, 2012). Marketing aims to create customer loyalty and long-term engagement. However, it is impossible to attain loyalty without first developing strong personal relationships.
Providing reliable and accurate information, delivering on promises, and prioritizing the needs of customers is necessary in achieving marketing success. One of the reasons why relationships are key in marketing is that it enables businesses provide specific information aimed at addressing the various needs, wants, and interests of customers. Moreover, customers who are satisfied with the services offered are likely to stick around and refrain from switching to other brands. Another benefit of customer relationship is that it is the foundation of word of mouth marketing (Smith, 2011). Satisfied customers are likely to refer the services of a certain business to their friends and families. This is important because it increases the sales and revenues of businesses without additional marketing costs.
It is possible for a business to keep things simple and still have relationships with customers only if they understand their specific needs. Many marketing strategies are complex because they try to reach out to new customers that they are not well acquainted with regarding their interests, wants, and needs (Gummesson, 2012). Keeping things simple is successfully executed by dealing with loyal customers.
A business is aware of the specific needs of loyal customers. Therefore, it is possible to provide information that is tailored towards specific needs. For instance, if a certain customer purchases a certain brand only, then it is possible to keep it simple by providing them with information about that specific brand. A business can also keep it simple in its efforts to sell a new product. This can be achieved by providing the most important information that aid in the decision-making process (Smith, 2011).
For instance, a business can briefly outline the strengths of its products, their variations from similar products in the market, and the reasons why customers need them. The main thing to avoid is providing superfluous information that makes it difficult for customers to decide whether to purchase the products or not (Smith, 2011).
Simply stating what the new product will provide that similar products do not is sufficient to keep things simple and convince customers to purchase the product. Apple is one of the companies that embrace simplicity in marketing. The simplicity strategy works because the company has a reputation for quality and innovative products. Customers find making decisions easy since Apple provides minimal information regarding the reasons why customers need their products. Simplicity in marketing fails if a business tries to sell a low quality product or service, which necessitates the need to bombard customers with loads of unnecessary information. The key principles of keeping it simple in marketing include helping customers to trust the information provided, helping them weigh their options, and teaching them about specific products (Gummesson, 2012).
References
Gummesson, E. (2012). Total Relationship Marketing. New York: Routledge. Web.
Smith, M. (2011). The New Relationship Marketing: How to Build a Large, Loyal, Profitable Network Using the Social Web. New York: John Wiley & Sons. Web.