How To Build Relationships With Clients
By Annissa Coy
You would think that building a relationship with a client would be easy and come naturally to most businesses but it does not. In fact many businesses are terrible at building relationships.
Why?
Because they fail to do the one thing that they have to do in order to develop a good, solid, long lasting relationship and that is to make a connection.
A client wants nothing more than to feel that their needs, wants and concerns are cared about and that they will be cared about in the process. A client isn’t stupid either. They will know if you are just going thru the motio
ns or if you are genuine. They can tell if you really care about them or if you just want their check to clear. The cliché “fake it till you make it” won’t work for you in this instance. Your client has a choice and you want to be their choice every time hands down.
Think about it. How many times have you walked into a business and felt like you mattered? An even scarier question, how many times have you walked into a business and knew immediately that you didn’t matter at all?
There are companies small and large that do this beautifully. You know the ones. There’s the coffer shop that has your drink made before you even step thru the door. The car wash that remembers your favorite fresh car smell and makes sure that the driver’s seat is always put back in your favorite spot before you get in to drive away. And even the online store that ships your orders to you next day for free.
You go back to these places and would never consider going anywhere else because you have a connection with them and know that your needs, wants and ultimately your happiness matters to them. That you matter to them.
So how do you make a strong, solid, long lasting connection?
1. Create Outrageous Value – Give your client over the top outrageous value. Deliver above and beyond their expectations and deliver more than you promise to the point that they think WOW every time they interact with you or your business.
2. Ask Them What They Want – Don’t sit and wonder what your client wants or needs or worse yet think you already know. Check in them to make sure you are both on the same page. Ask them what they want from you and then give it to them.
3. Listen When They Talk – You client knows better than anyone what you need to do to connect with them. So ask them constantly. Check in verbally often and then take action on what they tell you. If you don’t’ they will know you really don’t care and feel you aren’t listening to them.
4. Atmosphere – Make sure that the culture and atmosphere in your company makes your clients feel welcome and cared about. Even if your business doesn’t have a retail store front and you only talk to clients on the phone this is vital. Atmosphere is portrayed in your décor, cleanliness, tone of voice, words, smile, actions and location of a retail establishment. Be sure it says you matter.
5. Education Based Marketing – Your client is not a mindless drone. They are a person who wants to be able to do the right thing and make an informed decision when it comes to spending their money. So it is your job to inform them why your business is the best place for them to spend their money and there is no better way to do that than to educate them about your product, service, etc. and what they need to be looking for from you. It’s a great way to ethically brag about yourself and your business while creating reciprocity with your clients.
6. Be Ethical – Creating a strong company culture that always puts ethics first. If you want a relationship and connection with your clients then they have to know, like and trust you. Never waver on this. If a client feels treated badly and let’s face it, this can happen in the best of businesses, fix it immediately. Once you have lost a client’s trust it can be all but impossible to earn it back.
Gone are the days of transactions in business. Clients are way savvier than that and demand that you earn their respect and their money by being in a relationship with them. And the good news is that there are so many terrible businesses out there doing just the opposite that they actually make it quite easy for someone like you that cares and wants to connect to swoop in and be the hero.
If you nail this in your business you will be guaranteed success and never worry about competition again.
Annissa Coy invites you to participate in the conversations that take place at http://firehouseeducation.com and take advantage of the tons of free training and content on the website that can help you transform your cleaning or restoration business. So go ahead and click on the Follow Me button at the top right hand corner of the website and subscribe so you can stay involved in the action.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Annissa_Coy
Tim Somers
Bizarre Marketing, LLC
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