You hear a lot about how most small businesses fail within 2-5 years. That’s pretty scary when you’re starting your business. But the truth is a little more encouraging.
Some early business failures are the result of marital break-ups. The business was a joint effort which now has no chance of working.
Same for business partnerships. Some people find out too late that their personal friendship doesn’t translate into a working relationship. So the business closes down.
Other people just weren’t prepared for the hard slog and don’t want to have to put in the monumental effort required to get a business off the ground. They discover too late they don’t want to eat, breathe and sleep the business.
Ditto for those men/women who are pressured by their families to give it away and get back to having a family life again. It’s easier to walk away in the early stages, before you know what’s possible.
The remaining business failures are caused by one or all of the following. Poor management. Lack of customers. Lack of motivation. Lack of focus. Poor cash flow. ‘Lack of’ being the operative words.
What’s the most important element of your business after what you have to offer?
Customers!
There’s no point in focusing on financial management, staff management, etc. if you don’t have customers. No customers or not enough customers mean there’s no money, or not enough money, coming through the doors and into the till to make your business viable.
So how do you get more customers who want to stay the distance with you?
By building relationships.
You don’t sell to inanimate objects. Although some businesses treat their customers as if they are.
You’re always dealing with people. People buy your product or use your service. And when they tell their friends and business associates they had a good buying experience with you, you’ve scored a success.
Have you ever wondered why some businesses are so much more successful than others? Even businesses in the same category, with the same products or services to sell, differ in their success.
In my regional shopping area there are three newsagents within 3 blocks of each other. All selling the same items. One is so much more successful than the others. When you walk in, there’s such a sense of vitality and friendliness in the air, you can’t help but want to hang around and soak up the ambience.
Why?
It all comes down to the people behind the business.
You can know everything about your business, but if you’re too difficult to deal with, or aloof, you won’t be able to be as successful as the person who’s charming your customers every time they enter their business.
Most of us have been to a MacDonald’s, Hungry Jacks, Big Rooster, Pizza Hut, et al. If you patronise more than one MacDonald’s, do you notice a difference in ambience from one to another? I do. MacDonald’s is run by a textbook. But there’s also that special added ingredient of the personality of the franchise owner.
That personality shines through to their staff and determines how people are greeted when they enter the restaurant. Some restaurants are brimming with friendliness; others just do what they have to do. And if given a choice, which one will you go back to? The friendly one always wins out.
Think about how you choose your doctor or dentist. All things being equal, meaning they're very competent, which one do you gravitate towards? If you have a choice, it's always the one who shows you personal warmth and has a genuine interest in you.
Consciously or subconsciously, we all do business first with people we know, like, trust and have confidence in.
The more you let your customer know that you’re a friendly business, who is interested in them, the better chance you have of developing loyalty in this fickle buying community.
Every business transaction is about WIFM. What’s in it for me?
And that’s a two way street. Your customer is interested in themselves first. Naturally. They’re paying you.
And if you’re interested in them, there’s a great deal in the transaction for you. Their loyalty, repeat business, word of mouth, referrals, recommendations. All free of charge because you put them first.
Human beings haven’t changed in a billion years. We still have the same emotions we had when we lived in caves. We love, hate, experience greed, envy, suffer loss, and most of us revel in being appreciated, recognised and valued.
Be the business that shows warmth and goes out of its way to do something special or unexpected for your customer. Greet people warmly when they enter your business or telephone you. Always look for ways to let your customer know you really value their patronage and want them to keep coming back.
Building relationships isn’t rocket science, but it is time consuming. And very rewarding. What it does is keep customers buying from you for a long time. That customer retention means your efforts to get new customers are actually growing your business rather than maintaining a status quo if your existing customers are using the exit sign too often.
Yes, I’m a Guerrilla From The Bush and have learned so much about building relationships and what’s possible; I can’t help but want to share it with you.
What’s your experience with building relationships? What do you do to let your customers know you want them to keep coming back?
I’d love you to post your comments and let’s see if we can help each other. Better yet, let’s have as many people as possible pitch in and share their experiences.
Take care,
CAROL
To see what we’ve achieved, click on our website at www.interfaceaustralia.com. We’ve developed markets for 6 products without national or international retail distribution.
Read the story of how our business began on The Ironing Board Cover Lady. No sales hype. Just a down home story about how we started our business on the dining room table of our rural property, driving on ‘L’ Plates, without an instructor.
A comment about LinkedIn. If you’re not a member of LinkedIn, when you click View Full Profile, you’ll be asked to join. It’s free and the option is yours. There are benefits to joining. Once you’re a member, you can key in the name of any person you do business with. If they’ve taken the trouble to complete a Profile, you’ll be able to assess their background, their capabilities and the calibre of person they are. You might be, as I am, often pleasantly surprised. So go have a look.
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