I have relationship with a lot of businesses; vendors, shippers, advertising providers, web designers, mechanics, and sales people in every store I visit. Some of the experiences I have with the businesses I patronize are delightful, some easily forgettable and some just, well… rotten.
Of course, I believe that every one of my customers has a great relationship with me, but is that really true? Do you always get my best attention? Do you always hang up the phone with me and have a warm feeling? Are you completely willing and anxious to refer your friends and associates to me? It would be nice if I could find the answers to these questions, wouldn’t it?
I think it would be great to find a venue to discuss how my customers view me and my company and the changes that I could make to create a better relationship between us. I could hire a big PR company to do a study of the relationships with my customers. They could personally interview all my customers to find where I might be missing the boat. OR… I could simply ask my customers…
“What would make this relationship better for you?”
In my experience, people are generally quite willing to tell me what they think. There are tons of opinions about everything and my customers have an opinion of the relationship we share. It’s just a matter of engaging them in a discussion.
Often I lose track of the bigger picture. I’m busy trying to give everyone the attention they deserve and meet their pricing demands or their shipping schedules or their special packaging requirements and while being attentive to all the small details, I sometimes fail to see the biggest picture. The biggest picture is whether or not the relationship is productive for my customers and me.
So today I ask you, my customers…
“What would make this relationship better for you?”
I’d love to hear from you, I’d love to fine tune the relationship to be sure you’re completely happy with my products, my service, and our relationship.
Would you be willing to take a couple minutes and drop me a line to let me know?
Thanks so much!