Be courteous and considerate and be concerned about their personal lives. Do and say things that are important to them and, above all, treat customers as individuals. If customers feel that your service is no longer personalized, they won't feel special and may decide to take your business elsewhere. Building and maintaining strong customer relationships is important for sustainable business growth.
It's common for business owners to focus their resources on getting new business. However, you don't need to rely on winning new customers to get new projects. Continuing to work with existing clients can keep the project portfolio full and lead to referrals to other clients. The most essential trait of a strong and meaningful relationship is vulnerability.
Vulnerability-based relationships are positive, judgment-free and improvement-oriented. Trust, communication, love, and other important relationship characteristics stem from vulnerability. Good customer relationships make you feel like a true partner for your customer. They trust you and listen to you, and you feel good about the work you do for them.
As a result, your relationship builds and expands to bigger and better things, whether it's through longevity, additional projects or businesses, or increased references of praise to other clients. Show appreciation when a customer does something incredible in their life or helps the company, no matter how big the achievement. It's a sure way to make them feel good about themselves and the work they do. Creating a customer relationship where feedback is respected and freely shared lays the foundation for successful long-term relationships.
An empathetic understanding of where the other person is coming from in the relationship and what they are feeling is important to any strong relationship.
