Do not be seduced by the multitude of marketing evangelists out there, or the hype around a particular channel like social media because – while all are valid and powerful – they must be used in the right context.

There are many different disciplines in marketing – SEO, content marketing, public relations, advertising, social media, loyalty programmes, direct mail etc. – and all have their evangelists and their merits, but it is critical to remember that they are all really just channels… to building a relationship with your customer.

The type of relationship depends on whether your business is with the general public (consumers) or business-to-business. While those channels we use to reach both sets of customers are the same, the way we use them differs.

Let me explain. There are two types of relationship and here's how to decide what's most appropriate...

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Consumer relationships

Businesses working with consumers deal with thousands of people every year, so forming relationships with those customers is an obvious challenge.

The good news is that most of those people don’t expect you to ask after their children, and might think you were being disingenuous.

A number of surveys done by KiwiHost New Zealand and JRA a couple of years ago, consistently revealed that all most New Zealanders want from these kinds of transactional relationships is three things:

1. Show a willingness to help me;
2. Listen to me and understand what my needs are;
3. Take responsibility to ensure my needs are met.

Once you understand those three requirements, the next step is to use the most appropriate channels / disciplines to fulfil those requirements.

For example, you could use Twitter as a way to offer support to your customers and answer their questions.

Business to business relationships

While many of the requirements of good consumer based relationships still apply to business to business, the nature of the relationship is more personal, nurturing and takes longer to build.

In a business to business relationship, there are more decision makers, longer lead times, greater peer pressure and far more emphasis on credibility.

Perhaps the company has to buy some software. If your job, promotion or political position (within a company) depended on a purchase decision, who would you be more inclined to buy from – unknown XYZ software, or Microsoft?

It may be that the XYZ software is by far the better option, but reputation, credibility and trust are massive influencers in this process.

In this scenario it is important to identify the channels / disciplines that enable you to build your brand, reputation and expertise.

Fortunately, the advent of the internet (including social media), the low cost of printing, postage and, so some extent radio advertising, make it possible for most small businesses to compete with the likes of Microsoft.

The important thing to bear in mind is all channels are powerful and appropriate, provided they are utilised in the right context.