Relationship marketing again and again

Being on holiday has also some negative aspects. I’m reading more than usual and the more I read the more I’m getting fed up with relationship marketing. Customers relationships here, customers relationships there; it sounds like if those two words would be able to solve all firms’ problems. Software editors have understood that relationship marketing was at least a good solution for them … to make a lot of money. Enter the customers relationship supermarket and discover the so-called CRM, Vox Clienti and the like. Help yourself.
Time to wake up … a software will NOT help you change a company’s culture and will certainly not be the magical solution to your growth, loyalty or whatever problems you may have.
To be provocative I’d even say that customers relationships do not matter. Does your relationship with the clerk at the check-out line of your supermarket matter for you? Yet loyalty is a key driver of profits in this industry.

My take:

Customer satisfaction is the result of product attributes and of service quality. This has been proven for years and should be taken for granted. Service quality encompasses customer relationship.
Yet 8% of loyalty at max is explained by satisfaction. Where are the other 92%?

By Pierre-Nicolas Schwab Dr. Pierre-Nicolas Schwab is the founder of IntoTheMinds. He specializes in e-commerce, retail and logistics. He is also a research fellow in the marketing department of the Free University of Brussels and acts as a coach for several startups and public organizations. He holds a PhD in Marketing, a MBA in Finance, and a MSc in Chemistry. He can be contacted by email, Linkedin or by phone (+32 486 42 79 42)