Relationships: The Cornerstone of Affiliate Loyalty

In America, we live in a time of constant innovation and are increasingly inundated with endless options when it comes to making a purchase decision. As a business, how can one keep up? How does a business stand out from the crowd in this sort of environment?

In The Relationship Economy, John Dijulius makes it clear that the answer is extraordinary customer service and relationship building with customers, employees, and the community (Dijulius, 2019). 

In such a technologically advanced environment, it can be tempting for businesses to prioritize new technology that offers efficiency or speed. However, Dijulius makes the case that this is often to the detriment of the customer experience. Leaders and business-owners must be intentional to prioritize relationship-building and use technology as an aid–not as a substitute. 

The reality is that building relationships with customers leads to better customer loyalty, which benefits the company as a whole. According to Dijulius (2019), “customers who are emotionally connected with a brand are… 25 to 100 percent more valuable in terms of revenue and profitability than those who are ‘merely’ highly satisfied with it” (p. 27).

Throughout the book, Dijulous talks about several ways a business can go above and beyond the customer’s expectations when it comes to building meaningful connections with them. Dijulius also explains that building relationships with employees, especially as a leader, is incredibly valuable for maintaining a positive work environment that creates company loyalty. 

In chapter five, Dijulius introduces the concept of FORD, which is an acronym that stands for family, occupation, recreation, and dreams. This concept is the idea that when you meet with someone, you should be taking note of these four attributes in order to build meaningful connections.

These four things are what people are usually the most passionate about and are usually eager to answer questions about. When you remember a customer’s FORD then next time you interact with them, it shows a genuine care about who they are as a person, instead of quickly moving onto the next person in line (Dijulius, 2019). 

Although written from a secular perspective, a lot of the ideas presented in The Relationship Economy reflect the servant heart of Jesus as seen in the Bible. As Jesus said in Matthew 20:28, “ the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (New International Bible, 1978/2011). 

The success of businesses as they implement these biblical principles of serving others goes to show how the truth of scripture continues to impact every sphere of society. This shows that success will inevitably come when people do things God’s way and not for selfish purposes.

If employees and business-owners do as Paul stated in Philippians 2:3-4, “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit… value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others” (New International Bible, 1978/2011), the fruit of their efforts will be evident.