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Permalink Reply by Laura Duncan on February 19, 2011 at 1:10am

I'm struggling to think of examples that have created a seamless link between the two, but I think that Zappos.com has come close. By building & promoting its foundation on strong service, the company draws new customers and fosters loyalty.

But even in this case, Zappos relied on marketing channels to create demand using attentive service as its value proposition, so it's probably not entirely accurate to say that customer relationships are the definitive vehicle for demand creation.

 

Am I on to something, or just rambling??

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Permalink Reply by Alex Osterwalder on February 20, 2011 at 11:03pm

A good example, though not necessarily of demand creation, is Apple's "thousand songs in a pocket" that drove the iPod to success. The channel was the iTunes software are store that got people to copy all their music on the iPod and purchase digital songs. That created a lock-in effect in the customer relationship block. That's what gave them a competitive advantage over all other hardware manufacturers...

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Permalink Reply by Erwin Fielt on February 21, 2011 at 2:59pm

Maybe more traditional concepts like customer loyalty (repeat purchases), customer lifetime value, share of wallet, up-selling, cross-selling can also help you make the link between relationship and demand/revenue?

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Permalink Reply by Karl Burrow on February 22, 2011 at 4:00am

In addition you could include  "Customer Equity"  and what are the key drivers for this. CVM (Customer Value Management"  LTV, Barna Equity.. etc...    measurement

and Value Equity are all key factor that could be considered. Who are the  companys most reliable customers.   ie.... 20/80 rule of thumb.

 

Karl

 

See  "Customer Equity: building and managing relationships as valuable assets

 By Robert C. Blattberg, Gary Getz, Jacquelyn S. Thomas 

 

 

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Permalink Reply by Philip Galligan on February 23, 2011 at 12:03am

The customer relationship is often the perception of the supply side and requires verification. The customer will increase demand if his issues are 1.listened to  2. acknowledged in a non defensive manner  3. action taken to provide solutions to his issues.

Organisations that have open discussions with customers and undertake customer surveys that are acted upon positively generally create better demand.

Any model where customers are provided with solutions not problems and where there is a strong 2 way communication will drive demand.

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Permalink Reply by Tor R. Grønsund on February 24, 2011 at 8:31pm

Wouldn't this very community, BMI Hub, be a good example of implementing customer relationship. However, I'm not sure if it is more about customer retention and referral than demand creation. Alex, what would be your experience on this? 

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