Ryan Stephens Marketing

So here’s the thing about relationship marketing. It’s not that hard, at least it shouldn’t be. Since the death of common sense though, it seems as though it has become increasingly difficult, particularly for a lot of large businesses.

That’s why small is the new big.

Today I want to highlight a few small companies that are doing relationship marketing the right way.

[Full disclosure: I have talked with the first two companies about their business approaches. I have offered insight and opinions that I hoped would lead to additional success for their brands. I have NOT been paid by either company for consulting.]

O2 Max Fitness

Karen and her team are building relationships with both customers and potential customers through various different methods including events, photos, videos and their blog.

What separates their blog from the vast majority of companies’ blogs is that it’s hardly ever about O2 Max Fitness. The content is devoted almost exclusively to making the lives of people who want to get fit better. It provides additional insight to students already attending the class, and it provides value for people just thinking about attending a class.

Think about it. Karen and her team are cultivating a relationship as your fitness coach before you ever even step into their facility. It’s always about what they can do for you, and never about putting a press release or promoting their product.

Cellucor

It started when Marketing Director, Kevin Dalaeli, has the presence of mind to reach out to me after reading an article I wrote on how to use Twitter to engage your fans.

First, this demonstrates Cellucor’s (or at least Kevin’s) desire to foster relationships, continue to learn, and ultimately build their company. To make a long story short, Kevin and I talked about their brand. He bounced some ideas off of me, and then he did something that completely surprised me and solidified the relationship.

Since we just happened to be in the same town, Kevin asked if I would meet him in town and he would bring some of their product. He didn’t have to do that, but that enabled us to meet face-to-face, talk more, and for him to put his product in the hands of someone who might talk about it.

He never once asked me to mention the product, but now that I’ve used it, I will say that it works great. I am a pretty avid weightlifter and fitness minded person, and now if anyone asks me how I got back into great shape, or if there are any products I would suggest, what do you think I tell them?

Make Love Real – (Neil Cowley)

I met Neil this weekend at the Charlotte Twestival event. He seems like a great guy, and he is, without question, a talented photographer.

In my estimation, there are a lot of people that want to be wedding photographers. Like any other profession in the arts, the competition is probably pretty intense, the playing field crowded.

So what did Neil do to separate himself from other photographers, and start building that relationship with you before you ever inquire about his services?

Check out this great video he made for his website, MakeLoveReal.net

The video does a great job explaining the name of the company and giving you a really good feel for what Neil’s values are and what he’s capable of. You feel like you know him before you ever need photos. I know I would rather do business with people I know.

Did I mention Neil takes great photos?

What other companies are great examples of relationship marketing? What steps do you take to ensure you’re building great relationships with your readers, your customers, your co-workers?

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