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Take a look at one final example to understand the long-term importance of relationship thinking. In 2006, Porsche released a brilliant commercial in which a young boy saw a new sports car from his classroom window). He was so entranced that he failed to listen to his teacher, much to his embarrassment. However, after school, he rode his bike over to a Porsche dealership. The salesman was surprised at first, but let the boy sit in the car. In the end, he asked the boy, “What do you think?”

The kid replied, “I’ll see you in 20 years.”

Whether Porsche lives up to that promise or not, at least the company recognized that relationships are a strategic opportunity. They involve long-term thinking and a clear view of everything involved with their customer interactions. In the commercial, Porsche argued that it takes an extraordinarily long view of customer relationships. It realizes that the relationship doesn’t start the moment a customer walks into the dealership; rather, it can start years before, develop over time, and last years after purchase. The story may be cute, but the message is critical.

Relationship innovation has a deep and important goal: making a meaningful connection that transcends what your products and services do. You should never confuse this goal with building customer loyalty. Although good relationships do produce loyal customers, you can also have loyal customers without a good relationship. Any company that offers discounts can gain some measure of loyalty. But it’s a shallow, spurious loyalty. If another company discounts deeper or if your customer moves up in income, you could easily lose your customer. You’re not loyal if you cheat at the first opportunity. You are loyal if your interactions with a company transcend challenges, and this only happens when relationships are meaningful and valuable to you.

The lynchpin in all of this is that you need a full view of all of your activities to make sense of them. You have to see how you’re supporting or disappointing your customers over time—and where your best opportunities lie for innovation. The next chapter looks at the waveline diagram, a tool that gives you a full view of how a customer sees, understands, and experiences your company’s products and services.