Customer Relationship Management (CRM), and the software tools associated with its effectiveness, is a common practice in the business world. Happy customers equate to loyal customers that come to depend on what you have to offer. Whether it is services, products or both that you provide, building strong and lasting customer relationships is key to a successful future. While relationship management is vital, Influencer Relationship Management (IRM) is a more focused approach to establishing and maintaining the right customer relationships.
What are the RIGHT customer relationships?
Any customer relationship that is positive and results in the purchasing or use of what your business has to offer, is on the right track. Whenever a customer knows that they can depend on your company’s objectives, they will place greater value on your business. A higher customer value rating means better positioning among your competitors in your market.
Influencer Marketing occurs when you place a spotlight on specific consumers that tend to drive or effect the decisions of your customers. Instead of the entire target market, your focal points become those influencers that are customers themselves or simply have some pull over your targeted customers. Many believe that these influencers are the RIGHT relationships to have in your pocket.
Influencer Relationship Management
Creating relationships with your Influencers is gaining ground as a smart, some say prudent, investment. As we begin this new year, the smart business owner recognizes the trends affecting their targeted consumers and what factors drive those trends. In a time where an overabundance of influencing factors shape the purchasing power and economy as a whole, the importance of IRM is growing exponentially.
Identifying your influencers is a great starting place for utilizing all of the advantages of an effective marketing strategy. Major influencers include:
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• Media – Music, films, radio and television personalities all affect the consumer from pop culture to global news to even political propaganda
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• Brand Exclusivity – The fashion world, for example, is defined by exclusivity and what is “hot or not”
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• Favorited and frequently visited locations – Web 2.0 reviews, social media ‘Likes’, and destinations visited are all important storytellers of what people will spend their money on.
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• Niche specific entities – Listen to your audience and know what your niche shopper is really in to, not just the more commonly accepted things.
CRMing your IRM Strategy
Managing your influencers is merely one component of your overall Customer Relationship Management plan. Capitalize on both CRM and IRM with an effective cloud based CRM system. Monitor, analyze and keep track of all customer related data and communication from one centralized database. Flag your influencers, implement campaigns and track what strategies and marketing attempts are working best with CRM software.
Even if a customer is not an influencer, they are just as important as the ones being influenced. Customer satisfaction is a key driving force of the success of your business and staying ahead of their involvement and experience with your company is a vital part of building stronger relationships.
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