Chapter7-1

Build Customer Relationships

Relationship Marketing Relationship Value of Customers

Customer Profitability Segments

Relationship Development Strategies Relationship Challenges
McGraw-Hill/Irwin Copyright 2009 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Objectives for Chapter 7: Building Customer Relationships

Explain relationship marketing, its goals, and the benefits of long-term relationships for firms and customers. Explain why and how to estimate customer relationship value. Introduce the concept of customer profitability segments as a strategy for focusing relationship marketing efforts. Present relationship development strategiesincluding quality core service, switching barriers, and relationship bonds.

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Identify challenges in relationship development, including the somewhat controversial idea that the customer is not always right.

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Relationship Marketing
is a philosophy of doing business, a strategic orientation, that focuses on keeping current customers and improving relationships with them does not necessarily emphasize acquiring new customers is usually cheaper (for the firm)
keeping a current customer costs less than attracting a new one

thus, the focus is less on attraction, and more on retention and enhancement of customer relationships

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The Bucket Theory of Marketing

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Customer Goals of Relationship Marketing

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A Typology of Exchange Relationships

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Benefits of Relationship Marketing

Benefits for Customers: Benefits for Firms:
Receipt of greater value Confidence benefits:
trust confidence in provider reduced anxiety

Economic benefits:
increased revenues reduced marketing and administrative costs regular revenue stream

Social benefits:
familiarity social support personal relationships

Customer behavior benefits:

strong word-of-mouth endorsements customer voluntary performance social benefits to other customers mentors to other customers

Special treatment benefits:

special deals price breaks

Human resource management benefits:

easier jobs for employees social benefits for employees employee retention

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Profit Generated by a Customer Over Time

Profit Impact of 5 Percent Increase in Retention Rate

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Source: F. F. Reichheld, Loyalty and the Renaissance of Marketing, Marketing Management, vol. 2, no. 4 (1994), p. 15.

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Customer Loyalty Exercise

Think of a service provider to whom you are loyal. What do you do (your behaviors, actions, feelings) that indicates you are loyal? Why are you loyal to this provider? What factors have influenced the formation of your loyalty?

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The Customer Pyramid

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The Customer Pyramid

Platinum Tier Gold Tier Iron Tier Lead Tier
Companys most profitable customers, typically heavy users of the product, not overly price sensitive, willing to invest in and try new offerings, and committed customers of the firm

Profitability levels are not as high, perhaps because customers want price discounts that limit margins or are simply not as loyal. May be heavy users who minimize risk by working with multiple vendors.
Essential customers that provide the volume needed to utilize the firm' capacity but their spending levels, loyalty, and profitability are not substantial enough for special treatment Customers who are costing the firm money. They demand more attention than they are due given their spending and profitability and are sometimes problem customerscomplaining about the firm to others and tying up firm resources.

Segmenting Customers Based on Commitment and Profitability

BUTTERFLIES
High
(Behavioral Loyalty) Good fit of company offering and customer needs High profit potential Action:
Aim to achieve transactional satisfaction, not attitudinal loyalty Milk the accounts as long as they are active Key challenge: cease investment once inflection point is reached

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TRUE FRIENDS
Good fit of company offering and customer needs Highest profit potential Actions:
Consistent intermittently spaced communication Achieve attitudinal and behavioural loyalty Invest to nurture/defend/retain

CLV

STRANGERS
Little fit of company offering and customer needs Lowest profit potential Action:
No relationship investment Profitize every transaction

BARNACLES
Limited fit of company offering and customer needs Low profit potential Action:
Measure size and share-of-wallet If share-of-wallet is low, specific up and cross-selling If size of wallet is small, strict cost control

Low

Low

Relationship Commitment
(Attitudinal Loyalty)

High

W. Reinhartz & V. Kumar, "The Mismanagement of Customer Loyalty," Harvard Business Review 80 (July 2002), pp. 86-94.

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Relationship Development Model

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Strategies for Building Relationships

Core Service Provision:
service foundations built upon delivery of excellent service:
satisfaction, perceived service quality, perceived value

Switching Barriers:
customer inertia switching costs:
set up costs, search costs, learning costs, contractual costs

Relationship Bonds:
financial bonds social bonds customization bonds structural bonds

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Levels of Relationship Strategies

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The Customer Is NOT Always Right

Not all customers are good relationship customers:
wrong segment not profitable in the long term difficult customers