The year 2021 confirmed the new consumer habits adopted in 2020 – the health crisis and lockdowns having passed by – which is also felt in btob. Today, remote relationship marketing has taken up more and more space and new strategies have emerged. Is remote relationship marketing as effective as face-to-face? Let’s take stock of this subject with some figures to better understand this phenomenon.
The rise of relationship marketing
Relationship marketing is a set of marketing practices that aim to establish a lasting and tailor-made relationship with the customer. The relationship does not stop at the act of purchase; it is maintained, via various tools, to build customer loyalty and offer them personalized experiences. For the brand, the objective is to create a strong relationship with the customer, and to establish an ongoing dialogue via different channels and media (website, emailing, mailing, consumer magazine, etc.) and possibly through a system aimed at rewarding this customer (loyalty card, exclusive services, invitations, salaries, etc.).
According to a study [1] 3 main factors of customer engagement are decisive:
- A quality customer relationship (23%)
- Loyalty ( 18%)
- A strong and clear positioning (18%)
The customer relationship as a whole has become key as 67% of marketers make customer engagement a top priority.
From a societal point of view
The health crisis and lockdowns shop have contributed to the development of distance learning, with teleworking and the development of online purchases. Moreover, no less than 61% of marketing professionals will invest in e-commerce because they consider online sales as the most influential parameter in their marketing plans.
But on the other hand, the values of humanity and authenticity have also seen their popularity rise; consumers want to buy local and the need for sharing and solidarity is important. This is good, since remote relationship marketing meets all these needs.
Placing customer relations at the heart of its priorities is also inspiring for btob marketing. This is also the purpose of our Make Them Happy solution focused on customer loyalty for the companies we work for. Customer satisfaction is THE development lever to activate in order to maintain a long-term customer relationship.
Indeed, you are probably familiar with Pareto’s law: 20% of customers bring in 80% of turnover… Our motto: retain as much of these 20% as possible!
The tools of remote relationship marketing
If the human and the the most frequently used keywords to find understanding of the other is the main tool of relational marketing, it is of course facilitate by today’s tools.
In addition to the channels used for several years now ( phoning , mailing, website, etc.), social networks have seen their use increase sharply in 2021 in order to promote relationship marketing. In fact, social media was use more than 40% for consumer assistance.
Advertising investments on social media increased by 30% in 2021. Having become real conversational tools, social media are an integral part of the remote marketing relationship in 2021.
Another channel emerged in 2021: private messaging (WhatsApp, Apple Business Chat, Instagram DM, SMS). The customer satisfaction and productivity (on average 3 conversations handled simultaneously) of this type of tool make it one of the players of tomorrow.
In order to replace the “face-to-face” marketing relationship, video calls or live videos are also tools that will certainly see their use increase.
Phone Partners expertise
Phone Partners helps you measure and understand your ar numbers customer satisfaction . By conducting surveys and modeling the customer journey, you have crucial information to ensure and implement an optimized Customer Relationship Management (CRM) approach . This detailed knowledge of your customer satisfaction is a differentiating lever for your loyalty objectives and, ultimately, ensures the sustainability of your business.
Partner of SMEs and major accounts in industry, construction and services, since 1986, Phone Partners supports Directors, Sales Managers and Customer Relations Managers in the management of remote commercial relations, by integrating all these specificities into its solutions.
