Relationship Marketing 101

My closest friend from college would definitely be Marlene. We lived together for a year while attending BYU. We clicked right away and had a great time together. We sang together in a choir at the Tabernacle on Temple Square. We made banana bread at 1:00 am. We combine funds to rent a piano for our apartment.

Since that year in Provo, Utah, we both moved several times and never lived in the same town again. She faithfully sends a family Christmas letter that keeps me updated on her family. I mean well to send you one of hers, but I rarely do. I found out last fall that I would be close to her house when I dropped my kids off at college, so I emailed her to see if I could spend the night with her on the way home.

Although I never write and we haven’t seen each other in about 5 years, I felt comfortable asking him about the relationship we had established years ago. And, of course, she was delighted to have me. She gladly opened her house to me.

We all have people like this in our lives, people with whom we have a deep and lasting relationship. We are not tied together because we are related. We are united because we developed a relationship of trust and we have never broken it.

Some of the things that have brought us together are:

• shared experiences
• leaning on each other
• Knowing that we can trust each other

Do you have previous clients like this? These are clients with whom you have developed a relationship over the years. Customers like this are loyal to you and your business. Even if they no longer work with you, they will be happy to take your phone call. Using those same principles, you can develop and strengthen your business relationships for lasting loyalty.

The shared experiences you have with your clients will mostly revolve around the work you do together. Do your customers look forward to hearing from you or do they avoid returning your calls? Make sure it’s a good experience working with you! You can also create experiences for your customers that are more social in nature. You could host a quarterly or annual customer event. Keep it simple, but make it fun. Shared social experiences help deepen your relationships and show that you care about them as people and not just as a business transaction.

While your friends may lean on you to get them through tough times in their personal lives, your clients lean on you to solve a problem they’re having. Whatever problem you solve, make sure you do it right and make them feel like their problem is important to you. I’m sure you’ve had people in your personal life who don’t seem to understand your problems when you share them. They may act distracted or uninterested. Those people don’t become close friends because you don’t feel like you can fully lean on them. If your clients feel that you are distracted or uninterested in their problems, they will find someone else who can give them the attention they want.

You know you can trust your best friend, whether it’s with a secret or just to do what she says she’ll do for you. When you respect the privacy of your clients and keep your projects confidential, you are building trust. When you deliver on the job you promised, you also build trust. Even if you make a mistake, having the honesty and integrity to admit and correct it builds trust with your customers.

Although you may need to draw a line between your personal and professional lives, if you treat your clients as you would a friend, you can develop lasting relationships. Make sure they have a good experience working with you. Let your customers know that you are interested and committed to their problems. Have integrity so they can fully trust you. Doing these things will help you build loyalty to your business.