Customer Relationship

The Customer Relationship block of a Business Model is intrinsically dependent on the first block developed, Customer Segments. This is because this component deals exactly with the type of relationship that the company will establish with each of the previously defined segments. This block will determine the nature of each of the relationships and will have a major impact on the overall customer experience and consequently on their degree of satisfaction and brand loyalty. Follow with us the role and importance of Customer Relationship in the development of the Business Model Canvas.

Motivations for Customer Relationships

The relationships with each customer segment can vary widely, including personal and automated versions. However, in short, they can be guided by three main motivations:

Customer acquisition

Customer retention

Sales Expansion

Customer Relationship Categories

There are several customer relationship categories, but we can highlight six main ones, which cover most. They can act individually or coexist within the block. They are:

1. Personal assistance: it is based on human interaction, that is, on communication between the client and a representative, who assists him/her until the purchase process is complete. It happens at the point of sale, but also by phone or email, for example.
2. Dedicated personal assistance: this is when you offer individualized personal assistance, that is, you dedicate a specific representative to a particular customer. It is a deeper relationship, usually for a longer period of time. A good example is when managers have more personalized relationships with higher-value customers.
3. Self-service: There is no personal relationship between the company and the customer. The company only provides the tools and resources for the customer to serve. This is a good measure of cost reduction, including the final price of the product.
4. Automated services: this is a kind of self-service, but more sophisticated since it counts on machinery and automated processes. They are often very personalized and create customer profiles based on their online behavior and purchases. It’s like a mix of personal assistance and self-service.
5. Communities: they are a way for the company to engage its customers – current and potential – by promoting connections between people through social media. The brand creates a close relationship with consumers, but more than that, it encourages the formation of bonds between themselves. In this way, users exchange knowledge and help solve each other’s problems, becoming part of “something bigger”.
6. Co-creation: this is when the company involves the customer in creating the final product. Customers can give their opinion, write about it, help design, and collaborate on new projects. One of the greatest examples of co-creation is the YouTube platform, whose content depends entirely on its users.