In today's crowded marketplace, customers are bombarded with messages — and traditional sales tactics just don't cut it anymore. After more than 20 years of working with B2B clients, we know that customers crave connection, not a quick pitch. That's where relationship selling comes in.
This approach (as explained in the book “Relationship Selling” by Jim Cathcart) goes beyond transactions to focus on building genuine connections with customers. While relationship selling is a helpful concept for sales teams, its principles can offer insight for branding and marketing communications as well — building on the fundamental marketing tenet of “know your audience.”
Relationship selling can help B2B marketers better understand and meet customer needs, build trust, and nurture ongoing connections. Here’s why we think the power of relationship selling can benefit your branding and marketing efforts.
What Is Relationship Selling?
At the heart of relationship selling lies a philosophy that focuses on building and nurturing connections with customers and clients. This approach prioritizes trust, long-term thinking, and mutual benefit. Rather than looking at it as a transactional relationship (with a product to sell and a focus on price), relationship selling instead sees winning over the customer as the objective, with a focus not just on price but on the product and ongoing service.
Relationship selling is not a new approach; the concept has been around for several years. But it does differ from how traditional sales or marketing relationships may have been seen 20 or even 10 years ago.
While some products or marketing communications do remain transactional, today’s customers expect more. They are more educated and they come to the table with their own information and research. They want a company that backs their sale and supports them along the way to ensure that they get the full value of their investment.
Key benefits of the relationship selling approach include:
Increased customer loyalty: Building stronger relationships with customers creates a sense of loyalty, and they are most likely to return to a business or product they trust.
Long-term customer value: By maintaining positive relationships and evolving to meet needs, you can maximize the lifetime value of your customers. Repeat business over time can far outweigh the value of a single transaction.
Enhanced customer referrals: Good relationships build trust, and trust can bring with it additional opportunities. A happy customer not only returns to buy your product or service again but may also recommend you to others.
How Does It Apply to B2B Marketing?
So why should B2B marketers and companies embrace the relationship selling approach?
No matter the tactics — from lead generation email campaigns to social media posts aimed at driving website traffic — it’s important to consider what happens after the call to action. The customer has clicked on a link or signed up for an email, but now what? That’s where the art of relationship selling becomes important; it’s about where the relationship starts. It could take the form of engaging them with personalized content, providing tailored product recommendations or exclusive offers, or extending invitations to VIP events or previews.
For B2B companies, prioritizing the alignment of marketing and sales strategies and approaches is critical for achieving business goals — and to establish a foundation for sustainable growth. At 2RM, we believe successful business outcomes stem from the seamless integration of our client’s marketing and brand activities with their selling approach and strategies.
A key part of successful branding and marketing strategies and the success of a sales team lies in a company’s understanding of customer needs and aspirations. By crafting a brand message that resonates with the target audience and employing a relationship selling approach centered on understanding customers, your company can build long-term value with those customers. When both branding and sales efforts prioritize understanding the customer, they create valuable and meaningful interactions that go beyond a transaction.
The approach can also be part of your marketing communications after a sale to keep users engaged. Your response to questions or concerns on social media, communications about loyalty programs, and newsletters aimed at product users can all fit into an ongoing relationship selling approach.
Key Skills and Techniques for Successful Relationship Selling
Anyone in your business that has a touchpoint with a customer or audience can use these skills to build better relationships that will help improve your return on investment. Here are some of the key skills for successful relationship selling:
Active listening: This is the foundation of relationship selling. You must genuinely listen to customers to better understand their needs, concerns, and desires
Building trust: Honesty and transparency are key to building trust and creating relationships for the long term.
Good communication: Effective verbal and nonverbal communication is critical to learning more about your customers and conveying what you offer.
Personalization and customization: Tailoring your approach to each customer or audience is essential to get their attention and deliver what they expect.
Handling feedback: Encouraging customers to provide feedback — and be willing to act on it — helps promote a healthy two-way relationship.
Patience: Not every interaction will lead to an immediate sale or action on the customer’s part. Often you need to nurture them along the path to purchase with useful content and answers to questions. Patience is vital for the long-term approach of relationship selling.
Using Relationship Selling in B2B Marketing
To be successful, relationship selling takes preparation. You must be purposeful in your interactions with your audiences and prospective customers and go above and beyond to exceed expectations.
Establishing transparent and honest communication, investing the time to build a genuine personal connection, and demonstrating a valuable understanding of their business and customers will go a long way toward successful relationship selling in B2B marketing communications and branding.
Ready to learn more about relationship selling and how Two Rivers can help you implement this concept? Reach out to us today.
By Two Rivers Marketing
By Brad Olson