Developing long-term customer relationships remains the Holy Grail for businesses, and FanFinders’ CCO Adam Gillett breaks down what it takes.
It’s important to understand that for many businesses operating in a niche market, like us, the biggest value is in having clients that want to work with you for years and years.
We provide performance marketing and data acquisition services in the parenting and baby sector, which despite welcoming a steady stream of new consumers every year, doesn’t actually see that many new brands coming to market at scale.
What this means is that a focal point from day one on the commercial side was recognising that if we do lose a customer, just what it might take to win them back. In our market, we could be relying on the turnover of an entire team for a brand to get over that single bad experience with us and even then, we might have to do something impressive to restore the partnership.
B2B organisations are investing more than ever in developing their inbound pathways – from lead generation, to nurturing along the pipeline and converting to paying customers.
We’re no different in this respect. Aligning our B2B marketing efforts with our sales cycles and working out where we can bring more value to our market is a key part of our strategy for the years ahead.
However, the big mistake is treating those leads converting to sales as a final stage, when it’s really the beginning of a partnership that involves plenty of ‘give and take’, but that should benefit both parties for years to come.
Here are just a few of the ways we develop and maintain our relationships with brand partners:
Walk the walk
In the past, competitors in our sector have spoken to clients and said they could deliver ‘this’ and ‘this’ for a £50k budget, but it’s all been hot air and false promises. Our majority ‘pay on results’ model is designed so that we have to work together with brands.
They will have to do some work on their side with the data we provide, getting the right emails in place and making sure their inbox delivery is set. We take care of the data delivery, ensure the campaign is optimal and is at the right price point for both parties.
You have to be upfront about what you can realistically deliver, what’s required of your client and then deliver it. Businesses that promise the world and then fall way short don’t make friends or build strong, lasting relationships.
Communicate, even when it’s hard
Clients sign up to use your product or services because they see the value in them, but from there the relationship is about when, why and how you communicate with them.
Using an insulting or condescending tone with customers doesn’t work. Your job is to be an expert and educate where necessary. If you don’t add value, people simply won’t want to keep doing business with you.
Another key to relationship management is honesty. If you mess up, you have to own that situation. If your client messes up, you have to be prepared to tell them that’s the case. It’s the same when we’re starting out on a campaign with a new partner. We are clear about saying that we can definitely give the process a try their way, but here’s our best advice for how to proceed and let’s see where we end up.
Don’t ever lose sight of supporting your clients to achieve their goals and never stop listening.
Innovate – yesterday is too late
Businesses that remain static get left behind quickly. Is your current product or technology delivering on what your clients need and against where your market is heading?
Your customers are your greatest source of feedback and including additional features that respond directly to their needs is crucial. This is why we have a new, enhanced version of our software to be delivered this year.
Discover together
Very little in our sector is ever ‘plug and play’, and that’s the same in programmatic marketing. You don’t just set up a display ad and landing page, then it works perfectly. Everything needs optimising.
In our market, any relationship is a voyage of discovery and not every brand is the same. Every single website has a different conversion path and everyone is using a different email program.
With all of these moving parts, as long as you can get on the same page and make tweaks, there’s very little you can’t figure out to create a partnership. Consumers change, websites change, habits change, and clients’ objectives or social triggers vary throughout the year. You need to adapt.
Don’t forget the human
Working with brands of varying size, we focus our approach on the fact that everyone is human. It’s about finding that connection to build a better working relationship. We’re not wooden objects or coded programs.
Does your contact enjoy a glass of wine? What have they been up to with their family over the weekend? Most people are not a wall of closed doors, but it does take time to get to know them.
There’s a balance between being friendly, smiley and having fun, but remaining professional and getting results. However, most of those corporate barriers tend to release a bit over time and you can have a more personal conversation.
Current video chats from home are great for this, because people might just be sitting in their living room. This isn’t about a sales tactic, it’s just being human.
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