Building solid relationships with people is important. They are your lifeline. We are the reason any business has profits at all.
It’s a sad fact of life that small businesses and corporations alike treat their customers to an F-rated service. It’s no secret that the mission statement in many national organizations (and local treasures) is “screw as many people over in the shortest time possible.”
Customers are there, but strong relationships aren’t. It’s time we change. However, it’s not as easy as being a stand-up human being who says all the right words and does all the right things. Here are a few mindsets worth considering to make sure your customers will value and cherish you over the long-haul.
(Who knows – maybe some will even refer you to their friends. You never know where a new prospect will turn up! Better have your game face on.)
1. Set the Right Impression
The image is everything. This we know already. Hopefully, you’ve already learned in your business that the image people form when they first meet you… sets the bar really high.
Just as you have other clients to attend to, keep in mind that your clients have other business to attend, as well. They come to you because you are an expert in your industry. Don’t waste their time with unnecessary stupid talks. Provide them with the information that they are looking for, save their time and yours. Say less and say only necessary things, keep them comfortable. That’s how they will make a good image of you.
2. Honesty
If it seems like the world is full of liars, crooks, and thieves… it is. Doesn’t it feel like everybody is trying to rob you? Or scheming up a thousand and one ways to finger your pockets and snag another dollar.
Still, it’s beneficial giving people benefit of the doubt. Your customers feel the same way. Do you often worry if you’re being taken for a ride or not?
Your customers feel the exact same way you do. This is why maintaining a reputation of integrity is crucial towards ensuring peoples’ trust.
This includes being honest about your service guarantee. To secure the sale and increase the LCV, it is non-negotiable for you to throw words from your mouth like they’re a constantly-repeated song.
3. Make Them Smile
One way to do that is to offer your customers and clients with free stuff. And to add the cherry on top, offer them completely tailored to their specific needs. If you’re real estate broker offer them with a high-reward attention-grabbing yard sign and have your name and/or company’s name printed at the bottom. A good way to promote yourself and offer something of value to your customer which will bring a smile for both.
But, be vigilant in building a trustworthy relationship plan – and be diligent about working with your customers and clients in turning that plan into a reality. As there are an infinite number of scenarios and possibilities involving mistakes, and any of them can occur at any time, knowing what kind of attack plan to create is a hit-and-miss game. Even so, it is instrumentally wiser to have plans developed than none.
4. Stay in Contact
Create a solid routine that involves regularly “checking up” with your customers. This enhances your trust factor and is amazing for establishing your brand.
When you position yourself as someone who actually cares about their customers, weeks or months or years after the sale… When was the last time you heard of someone doing that?
Only the people who nail repeat sales and soar their profits through the roof do something as “crazy” as keeping in touch. Why? Because the bottom line matters. If the bottom line is keeping your customers happy, then making your customers happy – by showing you actually care about them – goes a long way.
The possibility also exists that you may actually develop a friendship with your customers. There’s nothing wrong with that, is there? If you’re in real estate industry which requires a strong relationship and effective communication to help people find their dream-style homes for which you might have to go out of the town, enjoy some dinners and have a ball. Strong friendship remains even after a business deal and many times helps in securing new leads & referrals.
Staying in touch isn’t hard, either. This is where using the power of social media to talk with your customers is a great idea. Facebook, Twitter, Gmail, Skype, etc.
Conclusion
Building trust isn’t terribly hard to do – and as you’ve just seen, doesn’t require a lot of effort. The name of the game revolves around being a decent human being. One who is ethical, savvy, knows how to successfully handle people, loves solving problems and is comfortable securing the customer’s loyalty by providing the honest reviews on their important issues like reviews about best smart locks that will give you the best home security along with monitoring and control remotely.
This is not an exhaustive list by any stretch of the imagination. I hope you picked up the underlying thread in this article. Building strong customer relationship is less about your profession… and more about focusing on people and treating them like people.
This is a reason why your customer service should always be the highest priority: without servicing customers and solving their problems, they’ll take their business elsewhere… meaning you’ve just lost money. The name of the game is service, and continuing to provide your customers quality service over the long haul will only make the relationship grow.
