One of the most
important elements in the marketing communication mix is what I regard as the
first ‘P’ (people). Many
organizations and firms miss out on this one; they usually put people last and put what I consider the
last ‘P’ (Price) rather as the first.
On paper, people tend to be the center of focus in the strategy design of many
firms. However, at the implementation stage price tend to be the focal point.
In many corporate firms
today, marketing departments have become more transactional in their approach
to clients and potential clients needs than relational. Transactional marketing normally focuses on what the client or customer is giving to the organization
rather than what the organization gives to the clients; the focus here is not
client retention but profit increment. This can be catastrophic for firms
especially in this era of price wars.
This makes relational marketing a great
incentive for firms, here what is given to client goes beyond services
requested for. Transactional marketing says I have a product and I want you to
buy it; you buy this product and we are done until I need you again. But in an
era where so many firms are providing same services, what is provide is not the
key thing but how it is provided is what makes all the difference.
I was invited into a
program based on live audience patronage. After the program, the staff followed
up with calls and developed interest in what I do. At a point, the host of the
show responded to my invitation to be a guest at a program some friends and I
put together and she honored it at no cost.
The relationship between this firm
and I has grown over the years and till date I receive calls from them asking
me to recommend them to potential live
audiences. I always gather a good number of people to attend the company’s
shows anytime they have called on me. This is a relational marketing mechanism
adopted by the company and it is working.
It is usual to see
firms put paperwork before ‘peoplework’ and mostly the front desk operations in
many firms are a facade. Business centers are solutions centers where
potential clients bring practical problems for practical solutions. Clients
have needs and how these needs are met determine to a significant margin how
the clients are retained. The point is, after marketing is carried out clients
must be so impressed with services received such that they seek a long lasting working
relationship with the service provider.
The service provided should contain all
the elements of the firm’s brand the marketing communication delivered and it
is at this point brands are experienced. A brand experienced build brands heritage than just brands
communicated which is at the psychological level. Relational Marketing is one
of such ways of building a brand heritage where the brand is transferred from
one generation to another by families.
I had an experience
with a firm a few years ago. I had been an alumnus of a training center; I
went through a professional training program organized by this firm. After
training, I returned to this firm where some people I recommended where going
through training including others. I was asked to share my experiences with the
class and I did. I decided to show up some days after without taking part in
class actively since I was not a student.
I was amazed when one of the coordinators asked me to excuse the class because I was not a student.
Furthermore, the transactional thinking set, and he said that if I had
contributed something to the new class I should draw the attention of
management so I could be paid but I was not supposed to be part of the class. I
was so tongue-tied that I left; it was the last time I recommended people to
their programs.
Marketing is moving from the transactional to
relational where after-service relationship with clients develops. This development
allows service providers to show a little more interest in the well-being of
clients as much as acceptable and not just providing them with payable
services. It is a relational marketing strategy to keep a solid client or
potential client database systems with very significant dates as birthdays
recorded.
Occasional sending of good will messages, souvenirs, birthday
wishes, gifts when necessary, and invitation to company functions for highly
respected persons, among others are some of the ways toward building a win-win
relationship with clients. The relationship between firms and clients or
potential clients should be as professional as it should be acceptably friend;
it is a relationship with share objectives, mutual benefits, and concerns based
on mutual respect, understanding, and sincerity.
This is one of the sure ways
to register a brand on the hearts of clients and potential clients and not just
their minds. Services provided for must not be valued in monetary terms alone;
firms must be more concerned about whether those who came to them for help are
really helped or not long after services are provided. Customer relations are beyond
front-desk operations; the must move beyond the front desk of the service
provider to the office desk of the service receiver based on after-service
relationships and mechanisms to monitor customer satisfaction.
Fidel Y. Tetteh
Corporate
Communications
Innovare
Learning Center
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