Building good business relationships is not something you can do overnight. It takes more than exchanging a few tweets on Twitter or ‘jabs’ on Facebook, and a lot more than sending regular emails (especially self-promotion).
How often do you tell your current and past customers that you appreciate them? What could you do to show them? Well, everyone loves receiving unexpected gifts. Even on a tight budget, these don’t have to cost the earth; How about vouchers to Amazon or Starbucks, tickets to a movie or theater (or to an event you know they’ll like)? You can set reminders to send such gifts at intervals throughout the year, what a great way to stay in touch!
With new contacts and prospects, it would be a stretch to woo them with gifts in the same way. But you can give them something of value that is useful to your business, perhaps a special report or a short e-book that you have written; access to an audio or video that is not generally available. It’s important to detach from automatically expecting business in return, people can sense ulterior motives miles away!
You may believe that the vendors should be the ones to establish a good relationship with you, and indeed that is true. But relationships work both ways! If you’ve had a demanding or unreasonable customer, you know the heartbreaking feeling they get when you call or email them. If you put the shoe on the other foot, being a considerate and polite customer will earn you points for when you really need to place a rush order.
Now, your initial reaction when having a relationship with your competitors may be to keep a safe distance between you! And yet, building a relationship based on mutual respect can pay off. My personal take on the competition is that it exists mostly in our own moments of doubt, although it has taken quite a while for that penny to drop! There is no reason why you can’t learn from each other and maybe even work together, once your relationship is solid.
If you’ve been in business for some time, you will have made a lot of contacts at the ubiquitous networking events. Life as a small business owner can be extremely lonely, so when you meet like-minded people who you enjoy chatting with over coffee, it is natural to develop that relationship. Whether they offer the benefit of experience or provide an occasional supportive ear, these colleagues are worth their weight in gold.
Just as personal relationships are built on liking, mutual respect, and trust, so are our best business relationships. Like tends to be instinctive, but respect and trust must be earned.
