The thing that struck me out of this discussion is the vital nature of long-term relationships. Especially in a service business like mine, building and strengthening relationships is so important. Ask yourself this: Would your former customers hire you again, or give you a reference? If not, maybe that’s a sign of something you should change.
Of course, a successful long-term business relationship must be mutually beneficial. I think a good one also requires putting some effort into it, to smooth out the rough spots and find more business for both of you.
Here are some examples of how the long-term relationship idea can play out:
The knowledge base
With longtime customers, you don’t need to spend hours or days understanding their entire business. You should already know it. That gives you the ability to deal with the new issue, the challenge your customer faces right now. And your customer knows how you work, whom to call, and how to say to you, “I gotta have this project done tonight!”
Interdependence
Customers have a lifetime value. Relationships do, too. Seth Godin, who writes about marketing at today’s speed, put it like this in one of his posts: “Self-sufficiency appears to be a worthy goal, but it’s now impossible if you want to actually get anything done. All our productivity, leverage and insight comes from being part of a community, not apart from it. The goal, I think, is to figure out how to become more dependent, not less.”
Trust
For most businesses, doing absolutely everything in-house is rare. Manufacturers need to buy parts, service companies need to buy equipment, etc. To be successful, these vendors need to be strategic partners. You should be able to lean on them, not have them hold you up from delivering. When your name is on the line, you never want to be at the mercy of a third-party vendor that has a history of not being responsive to your needs. That’s where your experience and fostering long-term relationships should transfer to trust.
Building stronger relationships, whether you are in a service business or building widgets, is a key component to success.
Josh Sommers is president and CEO of Focus Media, a leading Hudson Valley advertising and public relations agency. He can be reached at josh@advertisingandpr.com or 294-3342, ext. 303. Read his blog at www.advertisingandpr.com. His column appears Fridays.
