E-marketing : Relationship with Customers Online

Relationship marketing is all about keeping the customer for the long-term. The life time value the customer has to offer. Traditionally the firm would develop a number of strategies to try to get the customer coming back to their stores. These strategies have evolved for the online world, and it is has become a challenge to try to make customers visit and purchase products from their websites regularly. Some strategies used to develop relationship with customers online include:

Customization: Customer can customize their products online to give them a unique experience. Shoe manufacturer Nike and car manufacturer Mini Cooper allow their customers to customize their products when visiting their website. Giving users an interactive experience online.

Online questionnaires: Many retail websites are asking customers to feedback their experience of using the website almost instantly after they complete using their site. The information has the advantage of being analyzed very quickly so the firm can offer what users need.

E-vouchers: Regular customers are often sent e-vouchers that give them discounts off their next purchase. Vouchers can be targeted around what the customer frequently buys. Firms may calculate that this particular customer has not purchased from them for a while and send a voucher enticing them back, to try and re-establish this online relationship.

Online chat: To recreate the shopping environment some websites are offering the ability to chat via webcam or chat window. This gives the opportunity for user to talk to sales persons via the web. Dell offers this facility online, where user can query computer specifications. By trying to recreate this interactivity customers may shift or secure their loyalty to a particular online firm.

Customer Service and Contact: A key to maintaining online relationships are how the customer is looked after, after the sale is complete, the post-transactional strategy. If a product is faulty, is it easy for the customer to return it? Some online electrical firms allow the customer to log the fault, print a returns number, and a date for pick up from their home. This is quite straight forward. If the customer feels that the process for returning and liaison with the online retailer is rather long, the chances are loyalties would shift.

With technology changing at a very fast rate the experience of the user will become more interactive and this interactivity maybe the key to secure long-term online relationships.