“Relationship marketing is not about relationships. It’s about marketing,” proclaimed Naomi Dunford in her Problogger post, “7 Ways You’re Screwing Up Relationship Marketing.”

This totally flies in the face of the term, does it not?

Didn’t I pretty much imply … if I didn’t outright state … in my post last week that relationship marketing is about relationships?

So why am I quoting Dunford? Because she’s right. When most people hear the word “relationship” they get a sort of vague, warm, touchy-feely concept of the word. They think of terms of “deep interpersonal connection.” And this might be a very good thing … if you’re thinking about a relationship with someone or something you care a lot about, like a friend, lover or pet.

But not a company.

The word “relationship” means “connection or association.” Relationship marketing is about building that connection or association through marketing. And marketing’s purpose is to get people to buy. So, without marketing, there is no relationship marketing.

The difference between relationship marketing and other forms of marketing is that it seeks to develop a long-term business relationship with the client or customer. Its goal is to not only get someone to buy something today but to also come back and buy again, and again, and again. So, the key to relationship marketing is … Listening to your prospects and clients so you can understand what they want and then sell it to them. It is about creating a pleasant enough experience during that process that the individual wants to come back and do it again.

So, if your ezine is all content and no pitch, are you using relationship marketing? I hope, after reading this, you said, “No.”