Event vs. Relationship Marketing (Part II of IV)

From last week...

...Zoot winced. Marka could see she’d hit a raw nerve—never insult a salesman’s fashion sense. “Sorry. But nobody’s ever claimed that marketing is a one-size-fits-all deal. Marketing strategy and tactics must be tailored based on what we call ‘typical purchasing behavior.’”

Now, continuing with part two of our four-part series. Remember, fire = print.

Zoot knew a Marka-style digression was on its way. At least he knew he was responsible for this one.

“You see, purchasing behavior can be divided into two categories, ‘event-based’ and ‘relationship-based,’ ” Marka explained. “Event purchases happen on the customer’s timetable. Vehicles, appliances and large furniture purchases are usually triggered by an event such as something breaking or someone moving. Marketing and branding activities are important here because they help determine the starting point for interested consumers. A customer sold on the luxury benefits of Apollo’s Chariot will rule out You-Pull-It and similar economy brands. Since the marketer of event sales products doesn’t know who is interested in a car at any one time, ‘catapult’ marketing strategies are beneficial.”

“Catapult marketing?” Zoot asked.

“If you want to siege a temple, what good are shooting arrows when you can’t see the enemy because of huge walls?” Marka asked.

“Gotcha,” Zoot said. “You want to use a catapult to create opportunities for a successful siege.”

“Exactly!” Marka said. “You use the catapult to reduce defenses, storm the temple and then close the deal one on one.”

“Close the deal—just like sales!” Zoot hooted.

“Yep,” Marka said. “With the event sale, we can’t overstate the importance of the sales ‘close.’ The catapult generates awareness for your product, but once the consumer’s at the chariot store, the close is crucial because there are multiple options in any product category. It’s up to the salesperson to close the deal when he or she has an opportunity.”