As you get to know your customers, you’ll learn more about them, their likes, and dislikes, as well as how you can best help them. Getting to know your customers can be a real joy for both of you. And as your relationship grows, your customers will grow in their desire to want to be around you.
Examples
- My accountant Gary got to know me by taking me to lunch. By spending time together talking about things related to our businesses, our life philosophies, and just shooting the breeze, we were able to strengthen our relationship beyond the joys of tax preparation.
- I got to know writer Henneke Duistermaat of Enchanting Marketing via an email exchange. We chatted back and forth about a few things including her book, cycling adventures, and an upcoming conference we were both planning to attend. Even though Henneke lives in another country, and most of our interaction happens online, she was able to get to know me better through simple email exchanges that deepened our connection.
Suggestions
- Spend some 1:1 time with your customers. You can go to lunch, chat on the phone, or check in on Skype. The time spent getting to know them on a personal level will be well worth it.
- Relationships are built over time. So don’t just connect once and think you’re done. No no. Continue to check in with your customers, and interact with them over time to get to know them even better.
Application for your business
- Write down one thing you will do to start getting to know your customers better. Is it spending time to chat with them about last night’s basketball game before talking business? Or will it be giving them a call, grabbing coffee, or something else?
- Map out a frequency of interaction you would like to initiate with your customers to continue engaging them and getting to know them over time. Does a check-in every month or every quarter make sense? It is ok to have different check-in intervals for different customers.
