The Hidden Value of Relationships

Personal outreach, such as referring to a customer by their name or speaking to them directly can allow companies to use this personalized approach to their advantage. This can be easier among smaller companies. However, many larger companies are now trying to act more like smaller ones by developing a more personal connection or relationship with the company, so customers are able to feel better understood by the company (p. 181). The three R’s of customer loyalty are reward, recognition, and relevance (Shivkumar, 2023). This examples homes in on the recognition aspect, as referring to and addressing customers by their name allows them to feel recognized. Along those same lines, “77% of consumers view brands more favorably if they seek out and apply customer feedback” (Morgan, 2021). The Forbes article referenced and linked here also exhibits many other statistics supporting that personalized customer interactions heighten customer satisfaction, and in turn increases returns and revenues (Morgan, 2021). Some key notes that reiterate the importance of this concept that are left to us by Jarvis are Relationships are currency and You can only take out what you put in (p. 188).

In furthering the foundation and extent of one’s relationship to their customers there is a simple rule that is suggested by Sam Milbrath of HootSuite. The rules are that mass interactions with one’s audience can be divided into thirds. One third of updates should pertain to business content, one third should be shared content from others, and the final third should include personal interactions that build relationships with one’s audience (p. 189). This is a straightforward way to simplify one’s business outreach and marketing efforts, so I thought it could be very helpful to know.

I will leave you all with one last key point, so as to not over-complicate customer relationship building. “What can you do as a company of one to make your customers happy?” (Jarvis, 2020, 194).

Jarvis concludes this chapter with the following thought-provoking messages. The following has been retrieved directly from his book.

BEGIN TO THINK ABOUT

• How you could get to know your customers as real people with specific problems
• Where the true north of your business lies and what actions you could take to stay aligned with it
• How you could build relationship wealth by increasing your value and thus your social capital
• The ways in which you could empathize with your current customer base (p. 197).

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