When it comes to your most important clients, you want them to truly appreciate the products or services your company provides and to think of you in the most positive terms possible. So, how can you strengthen the bond between your business and your clients?

Strive to be the Best

This should be the most obvious goal for your business, but never settling for second-best shouldn’t just be something you say. You need to live by it, too. Providing your clients with consistently excellent products, services, and communication is a sure-fire way to make an excellent impression on them and develop a relationship founded on hard work.

Get Their Feedback

Once you have established a bond with your clients, be sure to request their input about the products or services that you offer. It’s important to collect feedback on every aspect of your business, such as why a client chose your company in the first place, whether they think your rates are fair, and whether they would recommend you to friends, family, or business contacts. This information is vital to improving your business, but it can be tricky to obtain it. After all, most clients might get a little annoyed if you were to call them up and reel off 20 questions.

Instead, if you run a smaller business, try working some of the questions organically into a conversation, whether it’s on the phone, by email, or even in a face-to-face discussion. Be sure to take notes on what your clients tell you because you’ll need to organize the data you collect to make sense of it. A popular way to make this data collection easier is by offering an incentivized online or paper survey, where you give the participant a chance to win prizes if they answer some questions. These surveys, with their standardized questions, can provide better hard data than open-ended questions you might mention in conversation.

Once you’ve collected your information, you can examine the data and see where your business is excelling and where you could use some work. When you see consistent suggestions for improvement, do your best to implement changes to your process, thereby showing your clients that you respect and listen to their opinions.

Give Them a Gift

It doesn’t matter if it’s the holiday season or you just want to send along a token of your appreciation, selecting a gift for your client can make quite the impact – you just need to be sure you’re making the right kind of impact. Keep your gifts professional and appropriate by opting for items that can be used in the office, such as engraved pens, letter openers, and personalized stationary. You might also consider sending along comestibles, like a basket of fruit or a tin of cookies, because most everyone can enjoy them. For a more out-of-the-box idea, try giving your clients live plants that they can use to brighten up their offices. Succulents are an excellent choice for many offices because they require minimal watering.

By following these simple guidelines, you should be able to forge and strengthen relationships with your clients. Just remember that relationships need regular communication to continue growing.

Peg Smith is an experienced writer who has written for a number of notable publications. As a lifestyle expert, Ms. Smith is able to offer advice and insight on a multitude of topics, including those pertaining to business.

Peg Smith is an experienced writer who has written for a number of notable publications. As a lifestyle expert, Ms. Smith is able to offer advice and insight on a multitude of topics, including those pertaining to business. http://www.glassdoor.com/Job/Laser-Spine-Institute-Houston-Jobs-EI_IE241460.0,21_IL.22,29_IC1140171.htm

Author Bio: Peg Smith is an experienced writer who has written for a number of notable publications. As a lifestyle expert, Ms. Smith is able to offer advice and insight on a multitude of topics, including those pertaining to business.

Category: Business
Keywords: business, small business, business relationships