Tweet

Love the One Youre With Strengthening Existing Customer Relationships

Written by: Paul Cherry

Article Overview: Strengthening customer relationships is like strengthening a marriage. Have you ever faced a situation where you thought your relationship with a customer was still going strong, only to find she's got her eye on a rival vendor? LOVE THE ONE YOU'RE WITH stresses the importance of salespeople nurturing existing customer relationships, including examples of questions that will help you get to the heart of your customer's true wants and needs.

Love the One Youre With Strengthening Existing Customer Relationships

Strengthening customer relationships is like strengthening a marriage. Have you ever faced a situation where you thought your relationship with a customer was still going strong, only to find she's got her eye on a rival vendor? You come back from a sales meeting feeling confident and secure, only to find a message on your voicemail that your business won't be up for renewal because a competitor bid lower! You feel so betrayed -- how could your customer do that to you after all that you've done to support her, without even a hint that she was unhappy with you?

QUESTIONS TO STRENGTHEN EXISTING CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIPS


Wait around for your customer to affirm your relationship status, and you'll probably hear about it after she's taken her business elsewhere. Instead, be proactive and uncover her true feelings by asking the following questions:

• "What is it that you value most about doing business with us (me)?"
• "What do you feel we are (I am) doing right to sustain our business relationship?"
• "In what ways are we (am I) helping you to achieve your goals?"
• "In what ways can we (I) improve?"
• "What changes do we (I) need to make to ensure greater success?"
• "If you could change one thing about our relationship, what would it be?"
• "What goals would you like to see us (me) accomplish with you in the next 12 months?"
• "How can we (I) make your job easier?"
• "Would you be willing to serve as a reference for my product or company? If so, can you elaborate on what you would say about us? If not, why not?"
• "What will it take on our (my) part to win the business you are giving to our competition?"

DON'T BE AFRAID OF THE ANSWERS


Maybe you're reluctant to ask these questions because you're afraid of your customer's answers. After all, what if she says she isn't satisfied? What if she wants faster turnaround, greater discounts, and higher quality? But if those issues or anything else are indeed bothering your customer, you need to hear it from her before she runs into the arms of the competition. So embrace negative answers -- respond to them with gratitude and a desire and determination to meet her requests by asking for things in return.

What if, deep in your heart of hearts, you already know your service or quality leaves much to be desired? Then you don't need to ask her those questions -- you need to fix the problem, and fast. If you don't, your competition will be happy to do it for you!

If it's better pricing she wants, persuade her to commit to purchasing greater volume. If she wants faster turnaround, price those projects at a premium so that they receive the extra attention, commitment, and support that your customer values.

Like a marriage, a business relationship is always two-sided, so don't be afraid to ask what you can do to enhance the relationship while asking for something in return. If you do, the answer to the age-old question "Can this business relationship be saved?" has a much better chance of being "Yes!"

Related Articles
  Work at Home Mom - The Secret to Success
  Are You Relationship Marketing
  Real Work at Home Jobs - Why Cant You Find One?
  Customer Focus in a Slow Economy
  Invest in New Customers or Existing Ones?

Article Tags:



Related Forum Posts
Re: Two Useful Books To Help You Focus On The CLIENT - Hi David, To add to your thread, I'd like to recommend Jonathan Tisch's "Chocolates On The Pillow Aren't Enough: Reinventing The Customer Experience". Tisch's book includes content on "Welcoming Customers", "The New Art of Customization", "The Challenges of Customer Diversity" and "Offering Something Extra to Your Customers" to name a few.
Re: Quote of the Day - Oprah - Love it - thanks GT!
Re: Quote of the Day - "Failure is a word I don't accept." - Joh - Love that one - thanks GT!
Re: Quote of the Day - "It's not what we do once in a while that - Love it - thanks for sharing GT!
Re: Quote of the Day - ToddMcFarlane - Love the last one David - thanks for sharing!


Share this article with your friends. Fund someone's dream.

Leave a comment below or share on the left and you'll help support entrepreneurs in Africa through our partnership with Kiva. Over $50,000 raised and counting - Please keep sharing! Learn more.

Tweet

Newsletter

Get advice & tips from famous business
owners, new articles by entrepreneur
experts, my latest website updates, &
special sneak peaks at what's to come!

Name:
Email:

Popular Articles

Web Design in 30 Minutes - Can this be Right?

Think Time

SEO Gurus, Software and Ebooks

Suggestions

Email us your ideas on how to make our
website more valuable! Thank you Sharon
from Toronto Salsa Lessons / Classes for
your suggestions to make the newsletter
look like the website and profile younger
entrepreneurs like Jennifer Lopez.