So technology alone is not the answer. Buying the most expensive oven won't make you a better cook just as buying the most expensive CRM systems won't automatically make you a better marketer.

Findings made by analysing CMAT™ (Customer Management Assessment Scorecard), the world's leading Customer Management benchmarking service (see article by Williams and Woodcock), have revealed conclusively that companies cannot drive their customers to the level of bonding through information technology alone. CMAT™ findings show this requires appropriate customer insight and corresponding management of customer communication; engaging customers at every touch point with a quality of service and tone of voice that exemplifies the brand's promise.

So if price/promotion and technology can't provide the answer then what can?

Well there is no simple definitive answer, however our experience reveals that success is invariably associated with communications which deliver personal recognition and promote active involvement and engagement with the brand.

If we take another look at CMAT™ we see some startling facts associated with those companies suffering from low bonding scores; facts which suggest these companies are not able to practice even the most basic principles necessary to establish relevance and advantage at the individual customer level, let alone nurture a sense of brand bonding. For example:

But it's not just about getting the right practices in place. You need to truly understand what it is that drives and motivates these customers. You must identify their needs and tailor your brand promise accordingly. In other words you need to ask, "What powerful insight do we have about our best customers?"

Take American Express for instance. The 'member since' date on the American Express Card strongly resonates with an American Express customer's need to belong, to feel recognised and valued.

Not surprisingly, when we come to look at those brands that have focused on building engaging relationships with their best customers, we usually see that they are the brands enjoying the highest bonding scores.

For example, the results of a recent survey undertaken across the OgilvyOne network show that brands with successful relationship marketing programmes are in fact those with higher bonding scores; 12% of customers at bonding versus 4% without such programmes.