Think Customers: The 1to1 Blog

Last week in this spot I railed on about the lack of creativity and risk that too much process brings to a company. But I'm taking the other side when it comes to B2B relationships. When it comes to B2B, as you can see in our current Inside 1to1 story on the Tri-Arc Manufacturing Company's customer-centric effort, I think process is progress. I've worked for enough companies that sealed big sales with a wink, handshake, and promise of co-op dollars. Data never entered into it. When I was in the entertainment marketing world, I used to work for a guy who always loaded up one of our weakest retailers with outrageous amounts of ad dollars. I questioned the practice. "Listen," he said, "those guys are the bell cow. They may not sell much, but when they take our product in, the other retailers notice." Good riddance to that thinking. B2B relationships are customer relationships. They should be served with a mix of personality backed up by a heavy dose of data and customization.