Editor's Take
Marketers are, first and foremost, in the business of forging relationships and making them last. But because relationships aren’t static, marketers must tweak their tactics to adapt to new customer desires. In the Feb. 1 print issue of Marketing News, we highlight some of the companies executing some of the best relationship marketing around, specifically Heinz and Caterpillar. Both stepped out of their comfort zones, accepted some risk and are reaping rewards for it.
This is not to say that all tactics need be risky. The best customer relationships are built on repeated interactions that consistently meet or exceed customers’ expectations. Well, duh, right? Executives focused on the bottom line seem to keep forgetting the importance of delivering customers experiences that make them prefer Company X over Company Y. To wit: I was recently in the market for a new TV. Not being the most tech-savvy gal, I visited two go-to chain electronics retailers nearby to talk with the “experts� and get some advice. Suffice to say, neither experience gave me any confidence that I would be making an educated buy. In fact, I was mad that they’d wasted my time. I then asked friends about retailers that might be able to provide more; a single-location, family-run store about 30 miles away kept coming up. I went, got my questions answered, picked out a TV and bought it. It actually cost a few bucks less there than at the chain stores, and I got free delivery. I was not merely satisfied with the experience; I was happy about having had it. When’s the last time you can say you were happy about a service experience? It really made me realize how often we all settle for less because we’ve either lowered our expectations, or we’ve just become so accustomed to being merely satisfied by the minimum.
The lesson here extends well beyond brand-to-consumer communication. We can do it within our own companies and, by doing so, elevate the value of our respective roles. In our Knowledge Base lead story, we review the keynote content from the AMA Marketing Research Conference. The speakers there kept coming back to the idea that marketing researchers can increase their value by doing a little smart marketing of their own. The speakers said researchers need to deliver data and analysis aligned with organizational goals that the C-suite will find useful, and actionable. Just like me, getting the info I wanted so I could take an informed, confident action. Go figure.
