How to Create Authentic Relationships and Build Customer TrustRelationship marketing is a valuable strategy to foster greater brand loyalty and increase customer retention. Here are some tips to get you started.

Brand equity,loyaltyor affinity are really just terms used interchangeably to describe trust. While all brands strive to build trust with their customers,trust is earnedand not given.

According to a recent survey byEdelman, 88% of respondents stated that trust was an important factor in buying decisions, one percentage point less than the financial value of the products.

Tobuild trust with customers, brands need to demonstrate value as well as foster interpersonal relationships with their customers. That's why marketers need to prioritize relationship marketing strategies that focus on retention as much as acquisition, and I'll demonstrate how.

Related:Connecting With Your Customer Is What Drives Relationship Marketing

What is relationship marketing and what are the benefits?

Relationship marketingis a strategy designed to build strong relationships that foster greater brand trust over time.

Relationship marketing may differ from most traditional push marketing strategies that prioritize one-time sales and customer acquisition. However, most marketers today prioritize relationship marketing as an integral component of both customer acquisition andretention, as it saves them costs and boosts profits over time.

While the old rule of thumb that acquiring customerscosts five times morethan retaining them may not be entirely correct,researchhas demonstrated that a 5% increase in customer retention could compound to a 25% in profits over time.

The traditionalPareto Principleasserts that most of your revenue tends to come from a small minority of customers who are most loyal to your brand.

Fosteringloyal relationshipsnot only increases sales from a single customer–free of additional advertising costs, but also leads to additional opportunities, such as increased word-of-mouth advertising and upselling opportunities.

Nevertheless, the data clearly shows thatcustomers demand greater trustfrom brands, which is why relationship marketing should be considered as part of any push or pull marketing strategy.

Overall, relationship marketing provides a multitude of benefits, including:

• Greater brand loyalty
• Higherword-of-mouth advertising
• Greater customer trust
• Up- and cross-selling opportunities
• Highercustomer lifetime value
• More efficient marketing

Of course, if you want to do relationship marketing right, you need to know how to influence and win over your customers.

Related:3 Best Practices for Build Lasting Customer Relationships

5 ways to improve relationship marketing

1. Build your buyer persona

The first stage of any relationship is getting to know each other; this is no different for brands and customers.

Conduct detailed demographic and psychographic research to build abuyer personaof your ideal customer. For example, if you sell SaaS products, your ideal avatar might include people with a manager-level job title, a high salary or an occupation in a technical-related field.

I've found that tools like Meta's Audience Insights and keyword research tools, such as Ahrefs, SEMrush and Google Keyword Planner, help me the most when building a customer avatar.

2. Cultivate a brand image

Understanding your customersis the first step toward fostering a healthy relationship. Now, you need to find ways to make your brand indispensable to their lives.

Cultivating abrand imageis not entirely about meeting the demands of your customers through a valuable product; it's also about forging an emotional impact with them. While many people don't need dozens of pairs of Nike shoes or Gucci purses, these brands evoke an image essential to their customers' personalities and lifestyles.

There are several ways brands can forge deep emotional impacts with their customers, such as:

• Interdependence: "I can't live without 'X' makeup brand."
• Nostalgia: "These shoes remind me of my childhood."
• Loyalty: "I'm a Nike fan and won't buy any other shoes."

Projecting a global brand image relies on seamlessly cultivating auniform brand imagethrough your marketing and distribution process. Here are some tips to consider:

• Make products exclusive or high-priced to project luxury
• Use specific influencers aligned around your brand to promote its image
• Use content and storytelling to promote the brand's mission statement (e.x. social responsibility or sustainability initiatives)

Related:Why Building Relationships Is the Marketing Secret No One's Talking About

3. Find creative ways to engage customers

每一个品牌都有social mediaaccount and its own discount programs, but there are ways you can gain an edge using these creative ideas:

• Host local events or fundraisers for charity
• Sponsor local organizations that promote good causes
• Engage in the digital economy by offering redeemable online tokens or store points for purchases
• Employ blockchain for online purchases and across supply chains for greater security, transparency, and less risk of fraud or counterfeit
• Offer an exclusive store credit card or loyalty program with discount and coupon offers
• Invest in digital assets, such as virtual storefronts, NFTs or live events over Metaverse platforms

4. Perfect customer service

Most importantly, if you want to foster strong relationships, you need to improve one-on-onerelationships与客户。这里有一些小贴士即兴表演ve your customer service:

• Never outsource customer service requests or use automated tellers
• 在社交媒体或快速响应投诉review platforms
• Offer amicable solutions to bad reviews and experiences
• Employ chatbots on websites to assist customers
• Host forums for customers to ask questions about products or services (if applicable)
• Use tutorials to help customers solve problems without the aid of a person
• Offer consultation or installation services for physical tasks that are hard to solve over the phone

Related:5 Creative and Fun Relationship Marketing Ideas to Increase Sales Without Selling

5.是身份验证entic

Finally, your brand needs to beauthenticif you want to build trust with customers.

To be authentic, your brand needs to:

• Be transparent
• Understand your customers
• Appeal to their pain points

To promote these qualities, invest in brand storytelling that shows the actual people behind your company and showcases its mission. Market any social responsibility initiatives your brand is undertaking and do so tactfully.

Fostering relationships with customers is not hard, but it does require your brand to think outside the box. Gimmicky sales promotions and using the same old marketing strategies as everyone else will ensure your brand is nothing but forgettable in a sea of endless choices.