There are four main virtues of customer relationship building: (1) trust, (2) commitment to service, (3) effective and reliable communication, and (4) efficient conflict management practice.
We have already established from our previous article titled [One Way to Gain a Unique Competitive Advantage & Predict Customer Loyalty] that investments of time, effort, and resources in building strong, long-term, and interactive relationships with your customers create a unique competitive advantage. But what are the virtues that are needed in building such a relationship that fosters customer loyalty and strengthens current ones? In this article, we will answer this question.
These core virtues [trust, commitment to service, effective and reliable communication, and efficient conflict management practice] have been associated with customer loyalty. In other words, customers would be more loyal if these virtues were present in the relationship. Let us discuss each virtue separately by starting with trust.
Trust
Trust is probably the most important virtue in customer relationship building, where the confidence of one party is demonstrated in exchange for the other's credibility and integrity. It may encompass different notions, such as honesty and openness, reliability, the fulfillment of promises, credibility, confidentiality, safety, security, integrity, and continuity. Regardless of the notion, companies should strive to earn customers’ trust.
Nevertheless, each company is different, and so is the notion or attribute of trust required by the customers. In other words, what does trust means to YOUR customers in their relationship and business with you? This is the first fundamental question that needs to be answered. From this response, you are then able to deliver the required esteem of trust to your customers. To put it simpler, the ways in which trust can be accomplished is through the response to the preceding question.
For example, let us say that you own a small freight forwarding business; a few of the fundamental attributes of trust that your customers might be concerned with are probably reliability, the fulfillment of promises, and safety [getting their packages delivered safely and on time]. Hence, by consistently delivering these required attributes of trust through successful transactions, you are also fulfilling the needs and wants of your customers, and in return, your customers start feeling safe, thereby boosting customer satisfaction, loyalty and trust. All things considered, knowing what makes you trustworthy in your business operations is fundamental in relationship retaining and building with your customers.
Commitment:
Our second core virtue in building positive, interactive, and profitable customer relationship building is commitment. Through trust [our first virtue], commitment is formed. Commitment, like trust, is a key factor in the potency of customer relationships and a critical component in fostering customer loyalty and projecting future purchases.
Commitment, in this context, is the ability to deliver information in a trustworthy and timely manner with an emphasis on the persistent needs of the parties in order to maintain the relationship. Therefore, every organization should engage their relationship building in actively creating, developing, and maintaining commitments in their exchanges or transactions with customers.
Let us revisit our previous freight forwarding illustration to emphasize this detail. In this case, a few of the freight forwarding commitments could be, providing flexible, customized services or packages to meet customers’ needs or making modifications to match the present needs of customers. Either way, in retaining loyal customers, a business needs to acknowledge the strength of service commitment and take action daily in the fulfillment of its commitment to service.
Effective and reliable communication & efficient conflict management practice:
In this section, we will examine the last two virtues in customer relationship building. These virtues are referred to as effective and reliable communication and efficient conflict management practice. It is realized that customers will become more loyal to such a business whose communication towards their customers is both effective and reliable, as well as whose complaint management strategies are efficient.
A better relationship is known to develop when communication between all parties is effective and reliable. It is imperative to note that when a customer is loyal, they also become an effective communicator via positive word-of-mouth concerning the business or products and services offered that they are loyal towards.
Complaint handling is also essential in customer relationships; therefore, businesses must demonstrate genuine devotion to these relations. As a matter of fact, customer relationship strength is determined by how well the business handles critical incidents during the relationship. In other words, the customer will return if the business manages the complaint properly.
Hence, in the long run, effectively managing complaint have a huge impact on client retention rates, redirecting dissemination of negative word of mouth and performance improvement. To emphasize, when a customer is satisfied with the manner in which the complaint is handled, this can improve the appraisal of service experiences and boost customer retention and loyalty. Overall, businesses should be involved in the welfare of their customers and focus on exceeding customers’ expectations and satisfaction in their communication and complaint-handling strategies.
N.B: This article is the second of a six-part series. The reference list below represents the total of all six articles.
Reference List:
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