We exercise, eat right and visit the doctor to keep ourselves healthy, and we spend time with our family and friends to keep ourselves happy. But what about our business relationships?
Without proper maintenance, our work alliances can grow feeble like any other relationship. Without care, they can become unhappy – and unsuccessful. But there are 10 simple steps you can take to keep your professional bonds healthy and thriving.
One of the things successful entrepreneurs are exceptionally good at is establishing positive business relationships with their employees, business associates, suppliers, customers, and everyone else that contribute directly or indirectly to the continued survival of their business. Even businesses with great products and services have failed because they couldn’t establish positive relationships with those that matter.
If we ask what makes a company or a business successful? Most readers will give credit to the team, the leadership of managers, executing strategies, planning, and offering unique products & services. But there is a hidden factor behind the success: a ‘Relationship.’ Of course, we are talking about healthy business relationships.
Customers are those pillars that hold the business, and they can make or break the business at any time. Therefore, it is important to keep the existing customers and get the new customers on board. These could only happen when building a good and healthy relationship with your customers.
Just like your personal relationships, business relationships take time to develop. It’s an investment. And as with anything you invest in, it compounds over time just like shares. Overall, it’s all about trust, bond, commitment, and fulfillment.
To put it simply – to be successful, businesses need to establish positive relationships with customers.
How are business relationships today?
First, you may be wondering what we mean by business relationships. Business relationships are those connections created between all entities part of commerce. These can be business partners, stakeholders, board members, and relationships between coworkers, employers, and employees. All who are associated with the company share the business relationship.
These relationships may also include salespeople, potential customers, banks, media, service providers, and government agencies. And they are vital to developing and supporting the success of any business. We’ll tell you how to do it. Keep on reading!
Why are business relationships so important?
To grow your business, you need customers to whom you’re going to offer products and services. So, suppose you listen to them and develop the products as per expectations. Then, you automatically build a relationship, which counts in the long term.
Apart from the customer point of view, a good business relationship also positive results in employee satisfaction, cooperation, motivation, and innovation. In addition, business relationships built on loyalty help companies create and be surrounded by solid and long-lasting relationships with employees, customers, and suppliers.
1. Business relationships improve your communication skills
By proving business relationships, you will communicate and interact often with your customers, employees, suppliers, and business associates. This frequent communication will no doubt sharpen your communication skills and boost your confidence when interacting with others. When you are confident during communication, you will be able to set up even more relationships without balking.
2. Business relationships foster friendship
Business relationships can turn into long-term—or even lifetime—friendships. And it is understood that being friends with someone is more than being just an employee, or customer, or business associate. With friendship comes trust, fun, and lots more. By building business relationships, you will have more friends, and you will get more value from them, just as they will from you.
3. Business relationships give you a personal sense of fulfillment
Business isn’t only about profit. The joy that comes from profit is usually short-lived if that profit isn’t sustained. But the joy and fulfillment that comes with having positive relationships last longer. And the more fulfilled you are, the more motivated you will be to establish even more relationships.
4. Business relationships bring repeat business
Attracting one-time customers who come once and never return won’t help your business grow in the long term. Growing a business to the point of commercial success requires building a large pool of loyal, repeat customers. Now, the business world is tilting towards the subscription model with the ultimate goal being to establish and maintain business relationships with clients for the long term.
5. Business relationships help branding
The long-term success of your business hinges largely on its reputation. If you are kind, courteous, and attentive to your customers, employees, and business associates, you will establish a good reputation for your business. And people will believe you and your business as trustworthy and experienced. When this happens, the result is more business from existing customers.
6. Business relationships help promote your business
Word of mouth marketing is one of the most effective marketing methods. When you build good relationships with your customers, employees, and other people you deal with, they will become your marketing agents. They will introduce your business to their friends and relatives. And remember, a customer reached via word of mouth is a sold customer. Such customers have no doubts about your business because they have come to know your business through people who know and are satisfied with your business.
7. Business relationships improves teamwork
A healthy relationship between you and your employees and between your employees themselves is vital to the success of your business. By treating them with respect and applauding their successes (no matter how small), you will increase their productivity, their commitment to their jobs, and their contributions to the growth of your business.
8. Business relationships bring about customer satisfaction
In business, you can’t get everything right all the time. There will be times when you will disappoint your customer or when they will misunderstand you. In such instances, it’s important to fix whatever problems that might have arisen.
Most customers can easily move past issues and get back to good terms with you if you treat them with respect and listen to them. Even when customers are upset with your business, you need keep building a positive relationship with them. You and your employees need to understand this.
9. Business relationships help keep your business moving—even in challenging times
When the economy is grimacing, people—including your customers—become cash-strapped. But if you have built a solid relationship with them back in time, they will still do business with you no matter how little. This is because the little business that will be done in such times will be done between friends.
10. Business relationships build even more relationships
When you build positive relationships with your customers, suppliers, employees, and business partners, you will enjoy the previously discussed benefits. And since you will no doubt want more of these benefits, you will be more motivated to establish even more relationships. And those you have built relationships with will introduce more people to your business that you can establish new relationships with. Do you get it?
Lastly,
The Bottom Line
The word relationship brings trust and belief; always remember in the open market, you never know who can be helpful to us. Therefore, respect and start establishing the business relationship with everyone involved in your business; as we all know, a good brand image can turn the table in the industry. You could get more opportunities and investors because of your good reputation and the relationship you have created with others.