{"id":9566,"date":"2013-04-11T01:30:39","date_gmt":"2013-04-11T01:30:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.beyondphilosophy.com\/?p=9566"},"modified":"2019-10-06T06:30:32","modified_gmt":"2019-10-06T10:30:32","slug":"how-to-build-lasting-business-relationships","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/beyondphilosophy.com\/how-to-build-lasting-business-relationships\/","title":{"rendered":"How to build lasting business relationships"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"How

How to build a relationship<\/p><\/div>\n

I am amazed how organizations can be so clever and yet so dumb. Organizations constantly talk about the importance of having loyal customers<\/a> but they rarely do anything about it. I am a great believer that business is not as complex as people make out. Take building long lasting relationships with Customers, every business wants to do this as they know Customer retention<\/a> is the key to maximising profitability. So how do you do this? Just look at your own personal life and examine your own actions and you won\u2019t go far wrong.<\/p>\n

Let me give you an example of a personal relationship and how it applies to business.<\/p>\n

I met my wife Lorraine when I was 17 and she was 16. We have been very happily married for 32 years and have three great kids, now adults. Now here\u2019s the interesting thing\u2026. don\u2019t tell Lorraine, but the reality is that with the billions of women on this planet the chances of Lorraine being the \u2018only\u2019 person I could fall in love with are remote. So why did I fall in love with Lorraine and still remain loyal to her today and how do these principles apply to building strong business relationships with Customers?<\/p>\n

1.\u00a0 It begins with an attraction!<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Personal life\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

a).<\/strong> Without question, at the beginning, there is a physical attraction involved. I liked the look of Lorraine and for some obscure reason she liked the look of me. As we were both interested in each other we decided to invest time in exploring each other further.<\/p>\n

Building Customers relationships<\/strong><\/p>\n

b).<\/strong> Organizations are quite good at this. They make their product or service. They package it and advertise it to make it look attractive. They put it in places where their customers will see it. They get Customers to explore their offer.<\/p>\n

2.\u00a0 Are we compatible?<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Personal life<\/strong><\/p>\n

a)<\/strong>.\u00a0Attraction will only get you so far. As Lorraine and I started to get to know each other we got on well. We felt relaxed in each other\u2019s company. We discovered we are very different people in many ways but similar in many other ways. Most importantly we shared similar values.<\/p>\n

Building Customer relationships<\/strong><\/p>\n

b).\u00a0<\/strong>To build a relationship with a Customer you need to be open. If you think of the companies that people love, Apple, Zappos, Ritz Carlton, etc., it is because they share similar values with them. This doesn\u2019t mean that they like everything they do. Apple can really annoy people and yet we buy their products in droves. There are also people that hate Apple which is fine; you won\u2019t be attracted to everyone. There are, of course, those organizations like the banks who say they have values like you, such as trust and integrity, but are then \u2018found out\u2019 as having completely opposite values. This, as we have discovered in the past few years, causes Customers to leave and feel aggrieved.<\/span><\/p>\n

3.\u00a0 What happens when you disagree?<\/strong><\/h3>\n

\u00a0Personal Life<\/strong><\/p>\n

a)<\/strong>.\u00a0Lorraine and I hardly ever argue. But when we do I see arguments as being constructive.\u00a0 They let you know where there are areas of conflict; you understand what you are doing that is annoying the other person and can then do something about it.<\/p>\n

Building relationships with Customers<\/strong><\/p>\n

b).\u00a0<\/strong>Sometimes you will annoy your Customers. These are called Customer complaints. You should treat them as gifts or free market research. They help you understand your Customers and if you are sensible you learn from them and change which will help build a stronger relationship.<\/p>\n

4.\u00a0 Compromise<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Personal Life<\/strong><\/p>\n

a)<\/strong>.In my view if there is one word that sums up the secret of a successful marriage it is \u2018compromise\u2019. Both Lorraine and I know we won\u2019t get our own way all the time. If one person compromises all the time, this will be eventually be seen as being unfair. So it\u2019s about \u2018give and take\u2019. We compromise and we are happy to do so as we love each other.<\/span><\/p>\n

Building relationships with Customers\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

b).\u00a0<\/strong>The same applies to Customers. If you stick rigidly to your guns all the time people will not feel valued. It is making those exceptions that show that you value your customers.\u00a0 Netflix changed their service last year. Their customers hated it. They realised they got it wrong. They said so publicly and they changed back to what Customers wanted.<\/span><\/p>\n

5.\u00a0 A deep understanding<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Personal life<\/strong><\/p>\n

a)<\/strong>.\u00a0When I walk in the door and say hello, in a one word response I can tell what Lorraine is feeling. I can tell if she is happy, sad, tired or just normal. This is because I have a deep understanding of her. Based on how she is feeling I alter my approach. If she is sad I will find out why and be sysmpathic. If she is happy we will joke around together.<\/span><\/p>\n

Building relationships with Customers<\/strong><\/p>\n

b).\u00a0<\/strong>Most organizations treat their Customers as if they are transactions. They process them. We believe that you need to have a deep understanding of your customers. You need to do this by looking at them as people. It is essential that you consider their emotional experience<\/a> and understand Experience psychology. We cover this in our <\/span>CEM Certification live webinar training<\/a> which I deliver. \u00a0By understanding the Customer\u2019s emotional experience you can design deliberate experiences based on how Customers feel. Our journey mapping process, Moment Mapping, builds an emotionally engaging experience.<\/span><\/p>\n

6.\u00a0 Proactivity<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Personal Life<\/strong><\/p>\n

a)<\/strong>.\u00a0Lorraine and I do things for each other as we know the other person will like it and here the important point is that we do these things but we don\u2019t always tell the other person. In other words we don\u2019t do it to gain something. We do it to enhance the other person\u2019s life. These can be small things, maybe I won\u2019t watch a film on a flight as I know Lorraine will enjoy it and we can see it together.<\/span><\/p>\n

Building relationships with Customers<\/strong><\/p>\n

b).\u00a0<\/strong>The same applies with Customers. You should do things for Customers just to make their experience with you better. You should consider what they need, before they know they need it and implement it. When they discover this is what you have done they will be impressed as it shows you that you value them and understand them enough to do this.<\/span><\/p>\n

7.\u00a0 Communication<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Personal life<\/strong><\/p>\n

a)<\/strong>.\u00a0I undertake a lot of key note speeches<\/a> around the globe. No matter where I am we talk with each other every day, no matter what continent I am on.<\/p>\n

Building relationships with Customers<\/strong><\/p>\n

b).\u00a0<\/strong>Communication with Customers is vital. It is much better to over communicate than under communicate. For example, as everyone has a cell phone these days it is much better to phone in advance to let a client know your, or a delivery\u2019s, expected time of arrival or that you are running late rather than leave them waiting around for you and potentially feeling frustrated.<\/span><\/p>\n

8.\u00a0 Honesty<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Personal Life<\/strong><\/p>\n

a)<\/strong>.\u00a0Lorraine and I are totally honest with each other. We tell each other the truth no matter what, even if we know the other person won\u2019t like what we tell them. This may cause a short term disappointment but builds long term trust. I know I can trust 100% what Lorraine tells me.<\/p>\n

Building relationships with Customers<\/strong><\/p>\n

b).\u00a0<\/strong>The same applies with Customers. Honesty with Customers is paramount. Trust is at the core of every relationship.<\/p>\n

\u00a09.\u00a0 A symbiotic relationship<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Personal Life<\/strong><\/p>\n

a)<\/strong>.\u00a0Today, after 30 years of marriage we have reached the point where we are not two people, we are one. If Lorraine died tomorrow, I would not see the point of living. It would be too hard and like my Grandfather before me, I would die of a broken heart.<\/p>\n

Building relationships with Customers<\/strong><\/p>\n

b).\u00a0<\/strong>Ideally business gets to the point where they have this symbiotic relationship with Customers. They are so integrated with Customers they intimately know them and the relationship continues. However, I guess this is where this analogy breaks down – I wouldn\u2019t suggest organizations go out of business because a customer leaves them! J<\/span><\/p>\n

You can look into this as much as you like. I don\u2019t see it as rocket science. I see it as common sense. But as Will Rodgers once said, \u2018Common sense isn\u2019t that common\u2019!<\/p>\n

What other attributes would you add to my list of what you do in your personal life when building relationships and how does this apply to business?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\nColin Shaw<\/a>\u00a0is founder & CEO of Beyond Philosophy, one of the world\u2019s first organizations devoted to customer experience<\/a>. Colin is an international author of four best-selling books.\u00a0Beyond Philosophy<\/a>\u00a0provide consulting, specialised research & training from offices in Atlanta, Georgia and London, England.
\n
\nFollow Colin Shaw on Twitter:\u00a0<\/span>@ColinShaw_CX<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I am amazed how organizations can be so clever and yet so dumb. Organizations constantly talk about the importance of having loyal customers but they rarely do anything about it. I am a great believer that business is not as complex as people make out. Take building long lasting relationships with Customers, every business wants […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[83,285],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9566","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-customer-experience-1","category-customer-retention"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/beyondphilosophy.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9566","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/beyondphilosophy.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/beyondphilosophy.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/beyondphilosophy.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/beyondphilosophy.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9566"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/beyondphilosophy.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9566\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/beyondphilosophy.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9566"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/beyondphilosophy.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9566"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/beyondphilosophy.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9566"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}