How to Build Relationship in a Small Business Essay

According to Gronroos (1997), trade in relational legal injury means To establish, maintain and advance kinds with lymph nodes and otherwise partners, at a pro raiment so that the objectives of the parties involved be met. This is achieved by mutual exchange and fulfillment of promises. As to whether a fear consequence profitably benefit from investing in kinship with its customers and other stakeholders, a lot depends on the record of the argumentation. With regards to certain sectors, like the serving sectors, it becomes tyrannical to develop the relationship with its customers, so as to ensure consistent issue and sustainable competitive advantage.In big organizations like the banks, the bureaucracy makes it arduous for these institutions to be responsive to the ask of their customers. Hence customer relationship construct becomes puzzleatic. But taking a sm any in all business like a tomentumdressing beauty beauty salon, various relationship manner techniq ues be blindly apply by these stylists to build relationships with customers.This paper uses the positioning of a hairdressing salon located at Akweteyman, a suburbia of Accra, Ghana to explain how relationships with customers argon built over the years. excrete Curls saucer beauty salon, located in Akweteyman, is possess and run by Joyce Owusuwaa. She has employed trinity hairstylists and has six apprentices. She has operated the business for cardinal years, and currently is descendd by lots of women from the locality and beyond. Relationship focal point techniques clearly play out in such small businesses because of the event that those delivering the benefits atomic number 18 mostly the owners, and have the passion to see the business grow, hence making them mellowedly entrepreneurial.Conditions that argon contri providedory to relationship managementIt is not every business that can profitably practice relationship management. Certain conditions must exist to fo ster the development of an intimate relationship with leaf nodes. According to Szmigin and Bourne (1998), the repute of a relationship, and by implication the propensity to commit to it, will depend on the nature of the value, the nature of the consumers and the nature of the situation. cull (1983), discussing the gain sector identifies three conditions for the applicability of Relationship Management. showtime of all, the customer has to show a continuing and day-to-day desire for the service. Secondly, the service customer must be able to select the service provider, and in the pertinacious run at that place must be a choice of suppliers available to the customer. Berry (1995), further points out that, high involvement service, such as banking, insurance policy and hairstyling services have the characteristics which lend themselves to relationship building.Taking the case of Top Curls Beauty beauty parlour located at Akweteyman, a suburb of Accra, it has the condition s conducive to Relationship building. Women, both young and old, have a continuing and periodic (which could be fortnightly or weekly) desire to have a hairstyle that enhance their beauty and appearance. The leaf nodes, in this case the women themselves do the selection of the hairstylist. There is as well as a plethora of hairstylists and salons around the Akweteyman locality, in which case constitutes a titanic pool of hair salons available to the customers.So how does Top Curls Beauty Salon build relationship with customers?Consistency of quality of serviceFor Joyce, quality of service is very critical to building a prospicient-term relationship with its customers. feel of service, in equipment casualty of a hairstylist, has to do with how good the client feels at the end of delivering the service. Not necessarily the final increase in terms of pleasant appearance, but how the person was attended to at the salon upon ledger entry it, how the salon attendants as well as th e final hairstylist were tranquilize with the hair of the client, may be in terms of how gently they gibe and caress the clients hair and the kind of pep communication that went on with the client during the service, all go a long way to establish an excellent quality of service in the mind of the customer.This could authorise to repeat patronage as well as referrals. But the dubiousness one may want to ask is how does she ensure that this quality of service is at least maintained, even to the extent of her brief absence? though she has about six apprentices, she also employs three hairstylists who had undergone an extensive training and coach from established beauty schools, and mentoring from her. These three stylists have the flair for the job and countenance her as well as deputize for her in case of her absence. In occurrence these girls are trained all-round, and can solve every client issue.CustomizationEvery customer, be it existing or tonic, that enters Top Curls Beauty Salon is unique in lots of ways. Customers differ in their appearance, shape of their head, the caryopsis of their hair, the color of their hair, the length of their hair, the strength of their scalp, their likes and dislikes, their socialization and exposure, level of education, age and complexion etc. One style will definitely not fit all of them. This calls for customized service. In fact the business of hairstyling thrives on variety and customization of services to individual customers.The hairdresser gains a better be intimateledge of the customers requirements and wishings over periods of encounters. This knowledge can then be feature with social rapport built over a number of service encounters to tailor and customize the service to customers specifications. But there is a challenge for Joyce when a customer wants a style which is in vogue, but which will not fit the customer. In a situation like this, persuasion is done with all the tactness, and explanations gi ven to convince the customer that a better style, which is also in vogue will outmatch suit her and give her that knockout appearance and appeal. Customization is very much aided by the next point, which is two-way communication dialogue.Two-way communication dialogueThe rapport amid a hairdresser and her customers is very important if a long term relationship is expected. The kind of communication dialogue that ensues in the salon does not only bolster the relationship, but also brings a lot of client issues to the fore so that the hairdresser can high hat satisfy the needs of the customer. According to Joyce, she constantly engages the customers in a dialogue, all to unearth their needs. Some customers, based on how they have been conditioned in other salons, fair remain quiet throughout the period that they are being attended to. These customers leave the salon only to change their hairstyle as soon as they line to the house. By engaging them in a conversation, they feel co mfortable to actually come out with how they want their hair to look like, hence promoting the likeliness of future business and referrals. It is only through a two way communication dialogue that customer needs could be met.High level of interactionThere is a high level of interaction between a hairstylist and her customers. The relationship between a woman and her hairdresser is unique. This is because she develops an intimate relationship with her hairdresser as a result of visiting the salon regularly. Women go to the extent of confide in their hairdressers on issues like personal relationships or marriage and family issues. why wont they, if they trust their hairdressers enough to alter their physical appearance, sometimes radical? For some customers, it is all about enjoying the whole experience of red to the hairdresser. For this people, you can always have a good chart at the hairdressers salon, as well as catch up on the latest gossip. Hence hairdressers initiate certain l ines of conversations and gossips, especially fashion, all to get the salon exciting. Some also go to the salon because they need someone to talk to. They tell their hairdresser really personal things, having in their mind that their hairdresser is a good person to speak to, because they are completely separated from their lives. With the advent of technology, this form of adhere with customers is enhanced by mobile phones, which makes it possible for the interactive platform to be extended removed the salon.Plays a professional as well as an informative usanceHairdressers play a professional as well as advisory role to their customers. One could classify them as informal psychologists, who exert a level of influence on their customers, not only to change their hairstyles, but positively impact on their lives. Moreover, by virtue of their knowledge in hair grooming and taking care of hair in terms of what hair products the consumer should avoid and those that are suitable (healt h wise) to them, hairdressers always have the client at heart and appear to act in the interest of the client. If a client should suffer a hair loss, or lets say suffer a scalp infection as a result of misapplication of a particular hair product, it will adversely impact on the relationship with the client, and generate a negative news program of mouth as well. This situation, the hairdresser avoids as much as she can. These are some of the main reasons why she ensures that clients hairs are attended to by her and the three most qualified employees. Just to avoid such incidents. Hence, the clients trust the hairdresser to take care of their hair, which the hairdressers consistently do, in their daily dispensations.High committedness and fulfillment of promisesFrom the above point, one can say that hairdressers exhibit a high level of commitment towards the client, and help the clients solve their hair problems. A typical example is when clients consult their hair dresser on proble m of hair loss and breakage. The hairdresser goes the extra mile in recommending an usurp product for solving the problem. Some hairdressers go to the extent of purchasing the product and assisting the client in applying it, all for a fee, and which helps in bonding with the customer. Hence, a constant commitment to solving the hair problems of the client goes a long way to improve on the relationship with the customer.Furthermore, the hairdresser endeavors to fulfill her promises to the client. It is not easy trusting anybody to change your appearance or outlook. What is the assurance and likelihood that you would like the final appearance you are given? Hairdressers, by leverage their skills and flair, fulfill the promise of making the client feel good at the end of the service delivery. There are situations where some clients refer new customers, and a challenge appears in terms of satisfying this new customer, and fulfilling the expected value and hype. But hairdressers levera ge the two-way dialogue to meet the expectations of this new customer. long-run orientation and horizonLong-term orientation and horizon is a mention feature hairdressers use to build a lasting relationship with customers. How long a customer is kept in a relationship and dish out of their wallet they spend in that salon is very important to the long profitability of the hairdresser. There are situations where customers had relocated to a distant suburb in the capital, and yet trek to the old suburb just to patronize the services of a trusted hairdresser. It is important to see customers as partners alternatively than opposite parties, as highlighted by Gummesson (1999).He goes on to pontificate that long collaboration and win-win as a key feature of building relationships. This experience promotes collaboration, and creation of mutual value for both the hairdresser and the customer. There are situations where hairdressers freely apply certain pomades or sprays, at least initi ally, just to woo these clients in the long-term. Sometimes too, customers are given discounts just to get them to patronize the salon for a longer period. Hairdressers, in this sense, do not wholly transfer cost to the customers. Customers are handed certain benefits which in the long run make them loyal to the hairdresser. This loyalty is sometimes advised and maintained even when customers relocate to different localities.Customer lifetime valueFinally, hairdressers view customers, though crudely, in terms of their lifetime value to the business of hairdressing. They nurture the notion that if you can best satisfy and delight a particular customer the more likely you are to have a sustained relationship with the client. This lifetime relationship could be extended to the client referring family members and close peers to that particular salon. Furthermore, taking such a position makes it tricky for the client to break the relationship with the hairdresser.How has Top Curls Beau ty Salon benefited from developing such relations?First and foremost, the fact that she has established a bonding relationship with them, the customers do not react negatively to price increments, since they know they are getting value for money. Besides, compared to the prices competing salons are charging in the locality, Top Curls Beauty Salons charges could be termed as premium, yet the customers see it as appropriate.Again, some customers move to distant localities and yet regularly visit the salon. The client base of the salon has greatly increased as a result of referrals from these customers.The salon has been able to leverage their service brand into other forms of grooming. The salon now does manicure and pedicure as well. But all these are not without hitches and challenges. Not every relationship developed has yielded the returns. In fact some has yielded negative returns. But on the whole, building a womb-to-tomb relationship with its customers has brought some level of success.REFERENCESGronroos, C. (1997) From merchandise mix to relationship marketing towards a paradigm shift in marketing, Management Decisions, 35, 4, 322-339Szmigin, I. and Bourne, H. (1998) Consumer righteousness in relationship marketing, Journal of consumer marketing, 15, 6, 544-557Berry, L. L. (1983) Relationship marketing, in L. L. Berry, G. L. Sostack and G. Opah (eds) Emerging Perspectives on services marketing, Chicago, II American selling Association, 25-28.Berry, L. L. (1995) Relationship trade of Services, Growing Interest, Emerging Perspectives, Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 23, 4, 236-245.Gummesson, E. (1999) Total Relationship Marketing Rethinking Marketing Management From 4Ps to 30Rs, Oxford Butterworth-Heinemann.