SAINT MICHAEL’S COLLEGE OF LAGUNA

OLD NATIONAL ROAD, PLATERO, CITY OF BINAN, LAGUNA

Lesson 2: Customer Relationship: Customer Service

Objectives:

At the end of the lesson, the students are able to:

1. Define relationship marketing

2. Explain the value of customers
3. Identify and describe “relationship development strategies”
4. Illustrate successful customer service strategy in the Philippine business enterprise

Introduction: Video Watching at this link https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XguhusF24-I

Relationship Marketing Defined

Relationship marketing is a long-term strategy with a focus on building close relationships
with customers. The benefit of having a close relationship with customers is marketing with long-
term clients that are cost-effective, they are less likely to churn and the longer the relationship,
the more they become profitable.
With a digital connection, anybody can connect with anyone anywhere in the globe. But
the connection is different from a relationship. A relationship requires commitment and time to
grow and develop. It’s people that form relationships, not businesses. However, most businesses
focus on making the sale and not on forging a relationship with the customers, resulting in poor
customer service as there is no foundation for a relationship that needs to be taken care of. This
is transactional marketing and presented below is a comparison between transactional marketing
and relationship marketing:

Creating a Relationship Marketing Strategy

Relationship marketing is more than loyalty programs and special discounts. It is a personal
relationship between the people in the organization and the customers that can withstand any
price changes. Relationship marketing is formed in three ways: emotional connection, purpose-
driven connection, and leveraging the brand community.
• Creating an emotional connection with customers.
- Organizations need to build trust, show personality, inspire confidence, and deliver a great
customer experience. In any kind of relationship, trust is important. Businesses earn the
trust of their potential customers through the achievements and recognitions they earned
from an agency related to the industry it is in. The personality of the organization is
represented by the people who are part of it. To show the personality to potential
customers is to introduce the people who make the organization. A community drive can
bring the person closer to its customers. They may also include the existing customers in
their programs. Customers should consistently receive the same treatment regardless of
what their status is. This inspires confidence on the part of the customers knowing that
they will be treated fairly. A great customer experience may be in the form of personalized
video greetings to customers, relevant content delivered to their email, or a two-way
communication where customers feel that their opinion matters.

• Purpose-driven connection.
- A study by Clutch found that
customers prioritize purpose-
driven attributes more than
price or value. On the right are
some of the attributes that
customers are considering
when deciding on the product
or service to purchase.
Customers value the
businesses that stand up for
something or give back to the
community. Therefore, being
purpose-driven is a growth
driver for the business.

• Leveraging the brand community.

- When the relationship with clients is formed and the brand is purpose-driven, a community
that supports the purpose of the organization will be formed by its customers. This vital
group of customers will help the business in promoting it through word-of-mouth
marketing. To nurture this community, here are a few pointers:
o Bring the community together – the customers may come from different platforms. To
bring them together, consider holding an event to bring them together to form a
connection.
o Listen to the community – the customers are a great source of feedback on the
products or services they consume which can also be a source of ideas to improve the
product.
o Let the community promote the business – encourage them to spread the word about
their experience with the brand through marketing campaigns and stories that appeal
to their hearts.
o Make the community about them – shine the light on them! Make them the source of
information about the brand by inviting them as content contributors to the company’s
website (MacDonald, 2021).

Value of Customers
Customer value is the satisfaction the consumer experiences or what he/she expects to
experience in consideration of the price that he/she paid. Traditionally, through a purchase. At
present, the measurement could include sign-up, a vote, or a visit. These acts are in exchange
for money, data, time, or knowledge which are considered as costs for doing the act of purchasing,
signing up, voting, or visiting.
 Customers will always compare their perceived value of different brands. They are offered
an abundance of choices and with the many alternatives to choose from, they have the high
expectations from these brands. This results in little loyalty to brands whenever they fail to satisfy
their expectations. Identical products will compete on cost; differentiated products will compete
on features and benefits get from them. However, the perceived value will be reduced as the price
or cost of the product increases.
The following are the factors that can drive values:

• Product function
• Points of differentiation
• Quality
• Service
• Marketing
• Branding
• Price
• Existing relationships or experience
• Personal bias from experience or upbringing
These factors affect the perception of customers. The following are suggested to achieve
consistency in delivering value to customers:

• Deliver value to the customers and audience- Always keep in mind that they have choices,
think of what more can you do and offer to your customers which may be different from other
brands and products.
• Understand the market well enough- Break down the market into segments and identify
unifying characteristics. This can be the focus of the value proposition.
• Always look for the opportunity to create a new value proposition- With fierce
competition, one should never be stuck in what worked in the past. Customers will always be
on the lookout for products that would give them the best value.
• Look for avenues to communicate the value- Businesses should identify the right
communication avenue that could deliver the message at the right time at the right place
• Listen to customers- Do not hesitate to change strategies based on the feedback given by
the customers. Understand that the things they may tell you are the features they are looking
for from your propositions (Mansfield, 2018).

Relationship Development Strategies

To guide businesses in transforming their brand into something valuable for the
customers, the following are offered:

• Communicate frequently. But do not limit the content of your messages to advertising or
marketing the brand or products. Providing customers with content can help them or benefit
them without the need for a purchase. And combine all the possible communication avenues
you may think of – direct email, newsletter, face-to-face communication, phone conversation,
etc.
• Offer customer rewards. Loyalty or reward programs work with a lot of customers. Reward
them based on the amount of business they bring to you and your most valued customers will
have the biggest amount from the pool of funds you set up for this.
• Hold special events. Hold events that can facilitate interaction between the staff and
customers. Make them feel that they are valued, as customers.
• Build two-way communication. Listening is as important as telling the customers about your
business. Encourage interaction through the communication line you have opened for them.
You can start by sending them a survey. If customers feel that they are being heard, they
instantly feel the rapport with the company and will be more often too valuable relationship.
• Enhance the customer service. There should be a dedicated staff and channel to act on
customer complaints. Arm these employees with the most knowledge about the product, the
brand, and the company so that they can confidently help customers resolve their issues.
• Launch multicultural programs. Globalization gave way for a connected world where
customers can reach those who previously were unreachable. Offering multi-lingual customer
support that customers can conveniently converse with. A website can also be multi-lingual
and marketing communication is best delivered in the customers’ local language.
• Visit the trenches. As the head of the organization, challenge yourself to know more about
the customers. Be with them and get to know them on a personal level. Understand their
challenges and create a lasting relationship (Gordon, 2020).

Successful Customer Service Strategy

To be successful in the business, personnel involved in the process must be able to fit the
strategies to the buying behavior and characteristics of the clients or customers. Following are
some of the best strategies recommended:

• Listen to the customers’ pain points

- Customers are looking for products to ease their pain points or to solve a problem.
Connect with them and listen to understand how the product can fit and solve those
challenges. Even just the act of listening to them will be seen as empathizing with them
that can build an emotional connection.
• Utilize storytelling
- Best marketing communication towards is through an emotional attachment delivered
through a compelling story. Think about how Jollibee develops a series of video
commercials and how customers are reacting to this – they are waiting for the next
installment in a series. Without consciously knowing, they are leaning more towards
Jollibee.
• Build a good relationship
- Build a good image with the clients or customers. Make authentic conversations and build
rapport to make the customers comfortable. Customers value trustworthy salespeople.
• Communicate the result effectively
- Always remember that it is not just the product that customers are buying but rather
includes everything that will happen after the sales. Communicate what is expected from
the products and they can expect support from them (Sodexo, 2019).

References:
Gordon, K. T. (2020, September 30). 7 Relationship-Building Strategies for Your Business.
Retrieved from Entrepreneurs: https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/66228
MacDonald, S. (2021, January 4). RELATIONSHIP MARKETING: HOW TO PUT THE
SPOTLIGHT ON RELATIONSHIPS IN BUSINESS. Retrieved from Super Office:
https://www.superoffice.com/blog/relationship-marketing/
Mansfield, D. (2018, October 23). Marketing Theory: Understanding Customer Value. Retrieved
from Built Visible: https://builtvisible.com/understanding-customer-value/
Sodexo. (2019, May 15). 4 Effective Sales Strategies in the Philippines. Retrieved from Sodexo:
https://www.sodexo.ph/blogs/effective-sales-strategies-philippines/