Establish, Maintain Relationship

In our last column we talked about the importance of long-term, personal relationships when endeavoring to sell big-ticket items to business customers.

Business-to-business marketers need meaningful, enduring “connections” when dealing with both existing clients and prospects. The process of accomplishing this is called “relationship marketing.”

In the case of existing customers, it’s important to remember that they are always some other vendors’ prospects. Therefore, ongoing communication with them is essential. You have to maintain favorable “top of the mind” awareness within this constituency. This entails repetitive, meaningful contact.

Research shows that most people will retain a material recollection of communication for about six weeks. As a consequence, in order for a vendor to engender consistent, uninterrupted awareness, the client must be contacted at least eight times a year. Moreover, the contact should consist of more than a mailed brochure or a mass media advertisement.

A worthwhile relationship has to be built on systematic, personalized, consistent intercourse that is uniquely beneficial for the client. In the case of business owners and CEOs, this means vendor contacts that are truly helpful.

Understandably, these busy customers have limited time and short attention spans, so, if a vendor is going to impact them favorably, it usually has to include communication that provides a distinct, tangible benefit to the client. Of course, this can be wrapped in a subtle underlying sales message - possibly a personal letter - but that message must not overwhelm the objective of providing an immediate, tangible benefit to the client, irrespective of that client’s readiness to “buy.”

In many commercial marketing efforts of this type, vendors convey “gifts” of special value that are tailored to the circumstance. Increasingly, in today’s fastpaced, complex world, these are taking the form of information or insights that can be effectively used by the client in the conduct of his or her business affairs.

Vendors often provide books, audio tapes or clippings with on-point information. Sometimes they sponsor seminars, workshops or networking clinics to which clients are invited.

The informational or educational content conveyed through these “offerings” is structured to provide an easily perceived benefit for the client’s firm or for him personally. Such content has to be formulated in a way that is respectful of the receivers’ interests, habits and time constraints. It must be devoid of “puff” and patronization and provide truly substantive insights and assistance.

The subliminal message it projects should convey to the client a clear understanding of the positive values and standards embraced by the vendor. If tastefully packaged, this type of material can be “wrapped” in a very subtle marketing message from its provider.

Ideally, these offerings will be identified with a specific marketing or service contact person on the vendor’s staff. This form of help is most effective if it is offered personally, through one-on-one meetings. However, since time constraints and logistical problems on the part of both the sender and receiver usually make this impractical, most vendors carefully “package” their contacts in ways that allow for impersonal, but still impactful, presentation.

Vendors who employ relationship marketing techniques commonly supplement their in-person visits that are client initiated (typically involving requests for product or service information or quotes) with one or two direct, outreach calls per year.

Generally, these latter calls will include, in addition to a carefully crafted and sensitive marketing pitch, a request for feedback about the client’s satisfaction with the impersonal “touches” included in the ongoing contact program. (Indeed, this request for feedback can be the premise for an in-person call.)

A properly serviced client will be appreciative of the vendor’s professionalism, ability and concern, and thus, be favorably sensitized to the vendor’s more “hard sell” marketing approaches.