With the current economic decline presently in the country,
most organisations are unwilling to part with their limited resources, unless a
dire need arises, regardless of the fact that such exchange would increase
yields and business opportunities for them. Potential investors in the Nigerian
market have held back their funds to develop the Nigerian economy, partly
because they are uncertain about the business environment in the country, and on
the other part, they do not have credible information about the viability of
the sector they choose to invest in. It would be safe to say that business
entailing one time exchange, from a typical business to a client, is quite
challenging. Today, most organisations are seeking more than one time transactions
with customers. For this reason, there has been a major focus on market-driven
organisations, towards developing and sustaining relationships, rather than
focusing on aggressive sales and marketing. An emphasis on the former,”
involves creating, maintaining and enhancing long-term relationships with
customers and corporate organisations, for mutual benefit” (Belch and Belch,
2001).
Without doubt, the current emphasis in many markets is on
developing mutually beneficial relationships. Before an organisation releases
funds for a particular project, the first consideration would be “what is in it
for me?". In most cases, that question might be difficult to answer by an
amateur sales rookie, that is only interested in meeting a sales target or
earning a commission. It would be answered by a needs identifier and solutions
provider, better put, a relationship manager. The purpose of this write up is
not to highlight the reasons for relationship management, but its perks.
Most organisations desire personalized products and services
that are tailored to their unique needs and wants. A case in point, an organization
would seek an appraisal system that is peculiar to its organisation’s make-up. An
individual that has a personal understanding of such organization, through
research and analysis, stands a better chance of appealing to the organization,
than someone whose interest is to make sales alone. With personalised client relationships,
you can learn firsthand what your organization needs, and what needs solution
would best suit the growth and development of their businesses, rather than selling
just any type of product having taken into cognizance the history, composition,
strengths and weaknesses of the organisation.
In addition, you are not just a beneficiary to the immediate
satisfaction of the organisation’s need, you are accrued more benefits from the
organization. For example, if you are an effective relationship manager
providing a need, even where such needs are not immediate, you might be called
upon to perform other tasks that could also be beneficial to you. There might
be vacancies in the organization that need to be filled. Because of your
evident interest in the organisation, you might be considered, or someone you
recommend. Many organisations have successfully poached sales and business
development executives that have been identified as needs solutions provider.
This is because of their consistence over time, in proffering needs solution
that have improved their businesses, and they firmly believe that where such sales
people are in their payroll systems, such solutions would be replicated
directly to the organisation.
Furthermore, you are making long lasting acquaintances
and friendships that would last a lifetime. Most sales personnel hardly fraternize
with their colleagues, because they are busy building relationships with their
clients. In most cases, such clients become acquaintances. They tend to build
solid friendships with them that would also open doors for them in their
businesses. Many sales people have
married their clients, become best friends and acted as counselors to their
clients. As long as boundaries are respected, you should be able to have nice
personal and professional relationships with your clients, which is very good
for business.
The benefits derived from relationship management cannot be
exhausted. Sales and business development departments in organisations are focusing
more on relationship management, because studies have shown that strengthening relationships
by 5% can increase future profit by as much as 30-90% (Kotler, 2001). It is sufficed
to say that relationship management would not only guarantee immediate sales,
but would also provide long lasting ties between an organization and its clientele.
ABOUT ME
Dinma Caruso is a graduate of Mass Communication and holds a
Master’s Degree in International Human Resources. In her spare, she loves to read and write,
and has a blog. www.dinmacaruso.blogspot.com.
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