In business, it all boils down to making clients happy. Happy clients mean good business. As a business owner, you should strive to make life easier and better for your clients. Luckily, this is an easy task to undertake.
Taking care of your clients should be built into your business model from the start. They are literally your bread and butter, and plus, it’s just nice to be a nice business!
Making life easier for clients also means more business for you. People want to be valued and they want things to be easy. By incorporating those pillars into your business you’ll naturally draw people to yourself.
Here are three simple things you can do to improve your client relationships in your business.
Have Simple Systems
The whole reason you’re in business is that you think your product or service makes things better for other people right? So make it easy for people to use your super invention.
This is kind of a tall order on its face, but it can be broken down into smaller things. For example, on your website and any ads make it easy to find your contact details. On your invoices, make it clear the ways that you accept payments.
Simple systems go a very long way to improving yourclient relationships. If it’s hard to do business with you, you’ll lose business.
Give Clients a Chance to Use Their Voice (And Listen to Them!)
Feedback is hugely valuable to your business, so give your clients a chance to provide it! Client feedback can help you to improve your systems and business. It also makes clients feel valued when you ask for their personal opinion.
Here’s the tricky part: everyone has a survey they want their clients to take. I was once asked to take a survey on the hiring process by a company that turned me down for a job. Personalize your ask and make the feedback form easy to read and short. It shouldn’t be a burden on your client at all.
Be Reliable and Polite
I can’t overstate how big of a deal it is to be polite. It seems like such an unimportant detail, but it’s one of the most important out there. Politeness keeps people coming back and can easily improve client relationships. Especially if you work predominantly online- it can be easy to misconstrue tone via an email.
If you tend to send emotional emails or speak in the heat of the moment, try slowing things down. Don’t respond until you’ve had a chance to vent somewhere else. Always err on the side of a more polite tone. This not only keeps clients coming back, but it’s a way to keep the communication doors open. People will talk to someone who is polite. What’s the point of talking to someone who doesn’t respect you?
It also matters that you are reliable. Promptly respond to client emails, calls or messages. Meet your deadlines and deliver on time. Clients should know they can count on you to get the job done.
No matter what kind of business you’re in, client relationships should be prioritized and preserved. Take the time to make things easy, simple and yes, downright fun for your clients!
