As we’ve discussed before, it is vital to cultivate your relationships with your customers. Entrepreneur.com offers us 5 great ways to build solid relationships with customers:

Build your network–it’s your sales lifeline.

The more people you know, the more likely you’ll meet someone that requires your services or would like to buy your product. Instead of trying to shove your product down someone’s throat, help them see how your service can solve their problem. If the person with whom you are conversing doesn’t have the particular problem you can fix, maybe they will know someone who does need you.

Communication is a contact sport, so do it early and often

Communication is key to gaining new clients and creating the coveted return customers. Always be respectful in your communications while keeping your business in the forefront of potential clients’ minds.

E-mail marketing keeps relationships strong on a shoestring budget.

Be careful with this one. Don’t get on your client’s bad side by spamming them with unrequested emails. Make sure you follow good email sign up rules of thumb.

Reward loyal customers, and they’ll reward you.

Hold on tight to your best customers. Research has shown that they will indeed reward your business.

Loyal customers are your best salespeople

How many times have you asked a friend for a recommendation for a service, store, or restaurant? Your existing clients provide valuable marketing on your behalf. Make sure their customer experience is positive so that you get the benefits of positive word of mouth.

Keep Building

All of these steps are part of a continual process. Don’t just follow them and check them off your list. Keep reviewing them and continue working!

Naomi Karten reminds us to put on our customer hat and think:

When I’m a Customer, I Want . . .
1. To be taken seriously
2. Competent, efficient service
3. Anticipation of my needs
4. Explanations in my terms
5. Basic courtesies
6. To be informed of the options
7. Not to be passed around
8. To be listened to (and heard)
9. Dedicated attention
10. Knowledgeable help
11. Friendliness
12. To be kept informed
13. Follow-through
14. Honesty
15. Feedback
16. Professional service
17. Empathy
18. Respect

Take a step back and put yourself in your customers’ shoes. What would you like to happen in the given situation? Find that answer and make it happen!

Latest reports indicate that the ‘Customer is king’ again as mortgage boom fades. It appears that a downturn in the mortgage market has made lenders rethink their current business practices:

AN END to the boom times of rampant home lending could see banks turning their attention to customer service to maintain profits.

Turning their attention? Why wasn’t it there to begin with?

The customer is always king

Your business serves customers and they should be your priority. If your customers are happy and successful, your business will follow suit. Don’t put off the customer for other temporary distractions.

The old adage states that the customer is always right. While this isn’t always true, you can do your best to make sure the customer is always happy with your service.

Your business depends on customer service

“We see the outlook for the banks’ future revenue growth closely tied to their investment in, and capability relating to, customer service,”

Your company’s growth hinges on quality customer service. If you provide a poor quality experience for your client, they will spend their money somewhere else. Never forget to invest and continually improve your customer service.

Customer Service isn’t just a department

Your business should be customer service centered. If you have a customer service department, don’t think they are the only ones that should be worried about your clients. Your focus from top to bottom should be on making the customer successful.

Don’t let this happen to you!

The mortgage lenders are realizing too late that customer service did matter all along. Even when your business is booming, you must remember to treat the customer right. Don’t assume that because you have the volume of business you need today that this will continue tomorrow. Make your business customer centered and when there is a downturn, the headlines will highlight your companies continued success because you never forgot who got you there: your customers.

I stopped by Subway today for a sandwich and paid with my credit card. When I was handed the receipt to sign, I saw this line right above the signature line:

No returns/credit/exchanges after 30 days

I bought a sandwich, took it home and ate it. Who would bring a sandwich back to Subway 28 days later and request a refund? Would a Subway employee give the refund?

Examine your company’s paperwork. Does the fineprint make sense? Subway’s receipt could have said:

All sales are final. No refunds.

Considering that we’re talking about fast food here, I don’t think you’d have many customers complaining.

Are you forgetting to give clients the necessary information to make a decision?

Yesterday I was looking at a Bill Pay service offered by my credit card company. My big question was: will I get frequent flyer miles for amounts I pay through bill pay? I go to my account’s website and click on the bill pay link searching for more details. Instead of an explanation of all the features, benefits, and requirements I get a sign up form and a long legal disclaimer. I start reading the legal mumbo jumbo looking for answers but find only more confusion:

“In-Network Payment” means a bill payment made with your credit card to a merchant which accepts credit cards through Bill Pay. … If your credit card has a rewards or points program, your bill payments are eligible to earn rewards or points. …
“Out-of-Network Payment” means a bill payment made with your credit card to a merchant which does not accept credit cards through Bill Pay … These bill payments do not earn rewards or points.

Great, so I realize that I’ll only get rewards if I pay in-network companies. So where is the list of in-network merchants? No where to be found. I’m not going to sign up for a service that may require me paying extra when I don’t even know it will give me what I want.

Explain Everything

If your product or service has great features, present them. If your service will have certain restrictions, make those clear up front. The lawyers may be happy with a lengthy “terms of service” agreement, but you need to augment that with straight forward explanations your customers will understand.

Close but not close enough

My wife went to our nearby Chick-Fil-A to get an ice cream cone. On the menu there is a picture of a creamy looking soft serve ice cream cone named “Icedream.” Anxious to have a cool treat on the hot summer day, she buys and soon learns a surprise. “Icedream” is not the ice cream she was expecting. It tastes like ice made from skim milk. The dessert name and picture were misleading.

Product names should match your products.

Honest Naming

I called my mortgage company yesterday to inquire about paying off my balance. The customer service representative explained the process and said there would also be a “satisfaction fee.” Who does it satisfy? Not me! Call it a processing fee or a we-want-to-stick-it-to you-on-the-way-out fee. Don’t insult your customers and call it a “satisfaction fee.”

Don’t call good that which is bad.

Evaluate Your Naming Conventions

Are the names you use misleading? Do your product names really represent the product? Look at your product names through the eyes of the first time customer. Can they be misinterpreted?

Use accurate and truthful naming and your customers will buy what they think they are buying.

I read a recent article over at sitepoint.com that reminds us what we should be talking about with our potential clients:

Do your prospects a favor. Don’t preach to them. Ask them more than basic qualifying questions. How do they define success? What are their concerns? How comfortable are they with technology? What are their goals? What help do they need developing specifications or choosing a technology platform? Have they thought through all of the elements required for a successful project?

Never assume you know what your client needs or wants.

When you ask questions and restate what you think they need, it gives them an opportunity to elaborate or clarify.

Get a feel for their business and goals. This will help you better come up with a solution to their problems. The client may not even know all of the services they need for their project. So if you don’t fully understand their needs, you may be missing out on some business.

Don’t be selfish! If you put the customers first, that respect will be felt and acknowledged with their business.

Darren over at Problogger.net recently drew some wonderful parallels between blogging and farming. Shortly after reading his post, I found a new article about small farms in Indiana. These small farms could just as easily be your small businesses. They rely heavily on direct sales with customers. Not only must they cultivate their crops but the relationships with customers:

The advantage of selling direct is you get the entire price you charge customers. But the hard part then is how do you find those customers? How do you build those links?

What should your company offer?

One way farmers can draw customers is by growing a crop few others are selling locally.

You will need to evaluate the competitive landscape around the area you serve. Look for a service or product that isn’t so ubiquitous that you’ll find it hard to prosper.

Pay attention to your customers

Small farms also have the ability to develop close ties to regular customers. Farmers should pay attention to what repeat customers are buying and why.

What are your most successful products? Which of your services do people frequently request? What do you sell to your return customers? Talk to your customers and ask what they think of your work or products. By asking and conversing with your clients you become less of a corporate enigma and build relationships of trust. These relationships lead to repeat sales.

Make your business worth visiting

Farmers markets offer a great venue for developing repeat customers … Farmers need to connect with customers and explain the benefits of fresh, locally grown produce to turn the novel experience of visiting the market into a weekly routine

Do you connect with your customers? Is doing business with your company so pleasant that people will want to return? When you interact with your customers, explain the benefits of your offerings. Leave the marketing fluff behind. Can you see a farmer extolling the benefits of a tomato with abstract and vague generalities? No! Lay out concrete ways your product or service can help your client reach their goals.

Travelocity is stepping up to the customer service challenge. In fact, in a recent press release they outline some of their major improvements to customer service. Let’s look at some of their new guiding principles:

Your customers’ plans change

Adjust 20 policies including the ability to change or cancel flights within 24 hours of booking for emergency situations and follow-up phone calls to hotels to help ensure all reservations are being held as originally booked;

Your customers will have a change of plan. Things always come up, be it an emergency or simply a need to reschedule an appointment. Lessons learned:

• Be flexible to your client’s needs. If they can change or cancel plans easily, they will be more likely to return later.
• If you rely on someone else to deliver for a client, make sure they do!
• It is OK to change your policies to better serve the customer. Don’t get stuck in a rut because things have always been done a certain way.

Training and Empowerment

Developing a two-day training course for Travelocity’s more than 1,000 agents that transforms their mindset with customers from order takers to empowered problem solvers. Agents now have the ability to make more judgment calls immediately, further minimizing a customer’s time on the phone.

Lessons learned:

• Put a framework in place so you can easily let your employees think independently and make decisions.
• Corporate goals that hang on the wall are useless. Train your people on what the goals are and practice how they can achieve those goals
• Focus your efforts on solving your customers’ problems. If you can fix the issue or meet the need, you’ll have their business

Be Proactive

In February 2005, a customer accidentally booked a flight with a return date one month to the day later than they had wanted. When the customer alerted Travelocity to the situation, the agent resolved the issue immediately at no additional cost to the customer. … Travelocity then proactively resolved the same issue for a number of other customers. Had the problem gone unnoticed, the customers would have arrived at the airport for their return flight home one month too early. Since then, Travelocity has continued to research this and notify customers who may have unintentionally booked the wrong return date.

• Recognize patterns that occur with your customer interactions. If a problem has happened to one, it may have happened to others.
• Quickly solve problems that your clients are facing. A timely resolution can turn a problem into a relationship building opportunity with the customer
• When you discover a problem with your process, change it so you don’t keep repeating the same error

Champion Your Customers

Travelocity has made the effort to rethink their standard operating procedures. This will pay off for them with increased customer satisfaction, more return customers, and higher profits. What can your business learn from their example?