Relationship Marketing Proves Important as Customers Demand Business Transparency

Customers Make Purchases with Businesses They Feel THey Know, Like and Trust

(PRWEB) March 29, 2012

There may be new reasons for entrepreneurs and small business owners to become more engaged in social media. According to the 2012 CEO, Social Media and Leadership Survey conducted by social media branding firm, BRANDfog, over 77% of consumers are more likely to buy from a company whose CEO uses social media to clearly define company values and leadership principles. Marketing expert, Charles Gaudet, said that this is just another example of how consumers are favoring the relationship they have with the company, before they choose to do business with them.

“People make purchases with companies that they feel they know, like and trust,” says Gaudet, “and it’s really hard to obtain that level of transparency if you’re hiding behind a ‘faceless’ company. Customers prefer to do business with companies that make them feel personally valued, and make a point to look and feel ‘human.’”

As part of Gaudet’s Predictable Profits Methodology, he provides entrepreneurs with a three-step framework for successfully creating a relationship marketing philosophy inside of a business. Due to the similarities between the characteristics that make up a buying relationship and that of an interpersonal dating relationship, Gaudet’s metaphorically identified these phases as the Dating Phase, Engagement Phase and the Marriage Phase.

The phases are further explained as:

1.    The Dating Phase™: This is when a prospect is getting to know a company to determine if there is a good fit between their needs and wants and the business’s ability to satisfy those needs.

2.    The Engagement Phase™: When a prospect finally decides that he or she is going to make a purchase, the business and the prospect become engaged. It’s during this phase that the prospect determines if they will make repeat purchases, generate referrals and remain loyal to the business.

3.    The Marriage Phase™: At this point, the customer has proven to be a loyal customer, now it’s the entrepreneur’s job to keep the relationship interesting so that the customer will continue buying from them.

“Most entrepreneurs think that marketing is just about making sales, and while that’s partially true, the most successful marketing begins with an understanding that it’s about forming a long-term relationship with the customer,” continues Gaudet. “Once the entrepreneur accomplishes this, earning predictable profits becomes easier as customers stick around longer. They’re happier and they happily buy more.”

For more information on how to effectively improve your marketing and position your company as a leader in the field, please visit http://www.PredictableProfits.com and sign up for their free newsletter.

ABOUT CHARLES GAUDET: Gaudet started his first business at just four years old, and has been involved in entrepreneurial enterprises ever since. Upon finding himself in millions of dollars of debt and under enormous stress at the age of 24, he and his wife systematically grew their first multi-million dollar company. Gaudet has traveled much of the world studying from business, political and social leaders studying entrepreneurial, marketing and business excellence. He is widely regarded as a marketing expert for consistently delivering windfalls of profits to his clients, unveiling opportunities that have been previously under-utilized or have gone unnoticed.

He is the founder of PredictableProfits.com, the creator of the Predictable Profits (TM) methodology and the author of the popular blog at http://www.PredictableProfits.com/blog.

ABOUT PREDICTABLE PROFITS: Predictable Profits is a leading small business marketing company and a division of Managed Marketing, LLC. The company specializes in finding overlooked marketing opportunities commonly found in most small-to-medium sized businesses, and creating actionable marketing strategies for increasing a company’s profits. You can read more about Predictable Profits by visiting the company’s website at http://www.PredictableProfits.com.

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