Relationship Marketing. If you are in business, then chances are you have heard this term. What does it mean? I am going to quote my friend and relationship marketing expert Bob Burg and say that the definition is: "The cultivating of mutually beneficial, GIVE and take, win/win relationships." Now, Bob has used this definition when talking about networking in general, but I think it applies here equally as well. You see, relationship marketing, or referral marketing (which I use interchangeably) is about building relationships, not selling. When you place an ad, you are selling, but when you place a phone call and ask about someone's family, you are using relationship marketing. See the difference? As you build and cultivate these relationships, you are becoming someone that the other person truly knows, versus knows about. Again, to refer to Bob Burg in his infinite wisdom, "All things being equal, people will do business with, and refer people to, those people that they KNOW, LIKE, and TRUST." Remember that quote, and LIVE it. Don't just do something because it will work, do it because it is the right thing to do...that will bring you true long term success.

Ok, now that we have that out of the way, on to the list! I believe relationship marketing is truly the king of marketing, and if done correctly, will allow you virtually unlimited success. Here is why:

1. Practicing relationship marketing removes client objections- Think about one of your good friends for a minute. If they sold a product or service you needed, would you choose to do business with them, or someone you didn't know? How about if the person you didn't know offered that product or service at a slightly lower price? If you are like most people, you value that relationship more than the few dollars in price difference. This holds true for other objections as well. Establish a solid relationship, and you will get more business and more referrals from that person.

2. Relationship Marketing is more inexpensive than virtually any other marketing activity-How much does it cost to have a conversation? Nothing. That is the cost of relationship marketing. Keep in mind that I am talking about acquiring clients, but perhaps even more importantly, building the relationships with referral sources. The same principles apply to both and while developing a great relationship with your clients is vital, doing so with other business owners and potential referral sources can really explode your income.

3. Customer retention-According to many surveys, acquiring a new customer/client costs 5-7 times as much as keeping an existing one. Many have heard this fact before, but how many truly pay attention? Think about your current marketing efforts. Are you spending your time and money keeping your current customers happy, or trying to get new ones? If you spent all your time making your current customers feel valued and opening yourself up to referrals from them, your marketing budget would go down, and your income would go up. Any reason you can think of to NOT do that???

4. Customer insight is an invaluable resource-People that know you well will often tell you what they think, especially if you ask them, which you definitely should do. How can you get better at what it is that you do unless you get feedback on how you are doing? The best people to get this from are those that you have established strong relationships with. They know you and can be candid. The feedback we receive is not always what we want to hear, but as a business owner, it is what you NEED to hear. Customer surveys are a great way to get this feedback. Pay attention to what your clients and referral sources are saying and heed their suggestions. Chances are, if they are feeling a certain way, others are as well.

5. Relationship Marketing will multiply your network exponentially-The average person has about 250 people in their personal and business network. As a business owner, you may have even more. The point here is that for every person you meet and establish a quality relationship with, you have the ability now to get to their 250 person network. If you have 250 people in your network, and they have 250 in theirs, that is 62,500 potential clients and referral sources. Spending your time building and establishing relationships with as many of these people as possible is literally ALL you would ever have to do to become as successful as you want to be. I am not saying you are going to convert all 62,500 to become clients, but, let's just say it was 1000. 1000 people that became your clients or referral sources, might that make a little difference in your monthly take home pay? Oh yeah, if you DID make 1000 your goal, I hope it wasn't lost on you that the network you are now working from is 250,000 (1000 people x 250 in their personal network) Online social networking sites take this principle to a whole other level. I know someone, they know someone, in turn, THEY know other people. For instance, currently, my personal network there is about 140 people. If you add up those people that are connected to them, and those THEY are connected to, my network is almost 5 million people. They key is to develop relationships with the 140, and then eventually, you will start to get to know their people as well. There is a RIGHT way to do it, and a wrong way though, so bear in mind the principles of relationship marketing and work on developing relationships, not just trying to get into their network.

There you have it. 5 reasons why relationship marketing is your key to unlimited success. Like all things that WORK, it is not just as easy as running out and trying to meet a bunch of people and turn them into clients or referral sources. There really is a right way, and a wrong way to becoming successful with these principles. I have devoted myself to helping others become successful and have spent considerable time creating resources for others to use in their efforts. The key thing to remember is, do things for the right reasons, and usually, the right results will occur.

Good luck, and I wish you much success in your relationship marketing efforts!