| Customer Relationship
Tools
Outreach
Environment
Membership
Channels
Product
Related
Information
Customer
Experience
Demand
Generation
Brand
Positioning
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Virtual
Relationships and
Customer Retention / Loyalty Tools
The
relationship that a customer feels with a business or
brand is based on a wide variety of factors - some directly
connected to the customer's use of products or services,
and others that are based on more subjective touchpoints.
By
considering the most effective and welcome means of interacting
with customers, businesses can take control of many factors
which will shape customers' feelings towards their brand
or business. This approach is particularly relevant to
customer retention and customer loyalty marketing programs.
The tools which
businesses can use to form and strengthen virtual relationships with
their customers include:
Customer Outreach Tools
- Customer
magazine (print)
- Catalogue
(print)
- Bill inserts & messages
- Direct mail & letters - relationship related
- Direct
mail - promotional
- email - promotional
- email - relationship related (eg monthly account summary)
- email - order / transaction related
- eNewsletters
- eAlerts (eg new product alerts, retail sales, promotional
offers, ticket availability)
- SMS
- promotional
- SMS
- relationship related
- Telemarketing
- Customer care calls
- Customer surveys
- Customer panel membership
- Customer research on product design
- Websites resources (white papers, survey results, calculators
and design tools, interactive product selection guides,
online tutorials, directories, specialised search tools,
online collaboration tools, personal productivity tools,
networking, blogging and chat room resources).
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Customer Environment
To
the extent that the business is a noticeable part of the
environment that customers frequent, the business is helping
to shape that environment and the customer's interaction
with it. The following can help shape the customer's feeling
of relationship with the brand:
- Advertising Sponsorships (sporting teams, the arts, events, litter
bins, environment clean-up, online communities and services)
- Educational Complimentary services (WIFI access at coffee shops)
- Community involvement (eg school visits to factories
and facilities, teams from business competing in social
sports, works bands, open days)
- Charity activity (fun runs, fund-raising events)
- Political association and lobbying on public-interest
issues.
- Business Membership of high-profile associations
etc
- Product placement in free-access areas (airport lounges,
stations, food halls
Relationship Marketing
/ Membership and Loyalty Benefits
- Rewards scheme
- Customer card
- Customisation of service / product (based on preferences
and requests)
- Customised magazines / sections, Prioritization (que-jumping, valet parking, ticket
access, pre-sale openings)
- Privileges (extra baggage allowance, room upgrade,
parking, hospitality area access)
- Waiting lists (eg Priority-registration & Pre-registration)
- Special events (fashion shows, wine tastings, golf
days, pre-event receptions, test-drives, book signings,
celebrity events, education and training sessions, networking
events)
- Access to additional resources
- Access to specialist advisors / consultants
- Access to education and training resources
- Access to specialised calculators & design tools
- Priority service phone numbers
- Rewards programs / discounts
- Partner / spouse privileges and benefits
- Extension of benefits by suppliers network of trade
partners (airline lounge access, golf course access,
restaurant priority booking & discounts, insurance
cover, shopping discounts, vouchers)
- Members' networking events / lists / information exchange
- Insignia, badges, and other display of membership
status (gold cards, logos, honorifics, windscreen &
bumper stickers)
Channels
- Website - product information and demonstration
- Website - tools
- Website - personal office resources
- Website - profile and relationship info (updatable)
- Online store / shopping baskets
- Online catalogue and choice selection tools
- Telesales
- Customer Service
- Call Centre staff
- Customer service installation staff and process (eg
Cable TV installation appointment, management, and crews)
- Call-out repair staff
- Service Centre staff (eg branded car service centres
- IVRs (Interactive Voice Recognition systems)
- Branded retail outlets
Product
- Branded aspects of product (labels, signage, logos,
images, sounds etc)
- Ergonomics of Product
- Product packaging
- Stationary
- Packaging and nature/class of postal delivery
- Product customisation opportunities (eg personalisation
of iPods, PC configuration, personalised vehicle colour
schemes / designs, personalised diaries)
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Cost-Structured Relationships |
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Many of these virtual relationship-building techniques can also be employed as low-cost alternatives to more direct sales or customer care relationships, particularly when cost-engineering the engagement model across medium and low-return customer segments. Read more |
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