29 We can distinguish between several categories of Customer Relationships, which may co-exist in a company’s relationship with a particular Customer Segment: Personal assistance This relationship is based on human interaction. The customer can communicate with a real customer representative to get help during the sales process or after the purchase is complete. This may happen on- site at the point of sale, through call centers, by e-mail, or through other means. Dedicated personal assistance This relationship involves dedicating a customer representative specifically to an individual client. It represents the deepest and most intimate type of relationship and normally develops over a long period of time. In private banking services, for example, dedi- cated bankers serve high net worth individuals. Similar relationships can be found in other businesses in the form of key account managers who maintain personal relationships with important customers. Self-service In this type of relationship, a company maintains no direct relationship with customers. It provides all the necessary means for customers to help themselves. Automated services This type of relationship mixes a more sophisti- cated form of customer self-service with automated processes. For example, personal online profiles give customers access to customized services. Automated services can recognize individual customers and their characteristics, and oΩer information related to orders or transactions. At their best, automated services can simulate a personal relationship (e.g. oΩering book or movie recommendations). Communities Increasingly, companies are utilizing user communities to become more involved with customers/prospects and to facilitate connections between community members. Many companies maintain online com- munities that allow users to exchange knowledge and solve each other’s problems. Communities can also help companies better understand their customers. Pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline launched a private online community when it introduced alli , a new prescription-free weight-loss product. Gla xoSmithKline wanted to increase its under- standing of the challenges faced by overweight adults, and thereby learn to better manage customer expectations. Co-creation More companies are going beyond the traditional customer-vendor relationship to co-create value with customers. Amazon.com invites customers to write reviews and thus create value for other book lovers. Some companies engage customers to assist with the design of new and innovative products. Others, such as YouTube.com, solicit customers to create content for public consumption. What type of relationship does each of our Customer Segments expect us to establish and maintain with them? Which ones have we established? How costly are they? How are they integrated with the rest of our business model? bmgen_final.indd 29 6/15/10 5:32 PM