Category 1: Personal assistance
This type of customer relationship is characterized by the human touch. Customers have the opportunity to interact with a sales representative while they are making their purchase decision or with a customer services representative for after sales services.

This type of relationship takes personal assistance to the next level by assigning dedicated customer care representatives to the customer. This kind of relationship takes some time and finesse to develop and is characterized by the representative knowing traits of the customer that he uses to customize the customer experience with the company. Banks will often assign a single point of contact to important customers with long-standing relationship with the bank and a high net worth.

The Do It Yourself model has been getting more and more popular as organizations seek cost cutting measures that will reflect in the prices given to customers. In this kind of relationship, the company provides all the tools a customer needs to service themselves.

Automated services are the next level of self-service by providing machinery and processes that increase the convenience for customers to perform services themselves. These kinds of services are usually much more customized and use a customer’s online and buying behavior to create a profile that is then used to provide suggestions to the customer to enhance his/ her shopping experience. Hence, automated services in many ways can be likened to personal assistance because of the customization that goes into the experience.

In today’s social media driven environment, communities are a wonderful way for companies to understand their consumers, get insights into their habits, perspectives and create a platform in which customers can get together and share knowledge and experiences. In this way, not only does the company form a personal relationship with its customers, but these bonds are strengthened by the additional relationships customers form with one another. Glaxo SmithKline is an example of this kind of a relationship. When the company launched a new weight-loss drug, it gave customers a platform to form communities that helped it understand the problems that overweight people face as well as.

Companies are increasingly changing the nature of the customer relationship by involving them in the design and even creation of the end product. This gives customers greater ownership over the product and service and often results in the creation of product or brand champions in the market. Amazon encourages customers to publish their book reviews on the web-site so readers can find people with similar tastes and evaluate what they thought of particular books before making purchase decisions. YouTube depends entirely on its customers to create the content that enables the website to boast being the largest video sharing website in the world.

In the case of personal selling, there is a lot of conveniences afforded to the customer including personal demonstration, home delivery, and satisfaction guarantees. The cost of a direct selling channel, especially if it is based on personal selling is low and can be easily afforded by an individual starting a business. Personal selling is a wonderful way to establish a strong relationship with the customer and gain insight into big customers’ preferences. 

Provides a low-cost channel to target a wide customer base. It also provides convenience to customers in the form of instant access, ease of use and personalization. It is also a wonderful source of information for the customers is available 24/7 and gives them the chance to establish two-way communication with the company by letting them provide feedback and share preferences.

The telephone is an inexpensive and efficient way to establish direct contact with the customer. It is also a good way to establish a relationship, create leads and reach customers in remote areas. On the other hand, the telephone, due to being outsourced to third world countries and used as a medium for marketing may seem intrusive and annoying to customers.

Mail is another direct medium that is inexpensive and can reach a large audience. It is also easily customizable to different customer segments and allows for easy alteration. It is a wonderful way to create a brand image, communicate innovations or new products and foster good will. 

Retailers come with many positives such as already established infrastructures of stores, webpages, and aggressive marketing strategies. Retailers have their established brands that can provide a bolster to the already existing brand. There is also personal service and after sales services provided by the retailer, as well as a being a source of market and consumer intelligence.

Agents, brokers or reps provide personal selling and have established relationships with customers. They have a broad network, lesser distribution costs and are a source of market intelligence. They also assume the role of promoting the product, as well as share the burden of overhead costs.

Finally, distributors have a focused customer base, assume inventory risk, have a wider reach and are technically trained. However, they carry competing brands, have a say in the final pricing of your product and your company does not have control over the final look of the product to the customer. They also have low customer intelligence and represent an additional investment.