Relationships In Today’s Economy

With our economic state in peril, everybody is trying to do more with less. This is putting a major strain on most employees and owners. As we look for new cuts that need to be made, most companies think the first cut to be made is in marketing and business development. The ironic part is that marketing and business development are what will bring new work in the door. If we continue to cut our business development efforts, we will continue to cut our customer activity.

One big part of business development efforts are relationships. We get so bogged down with work that we no longer take the time to go to the networking events, trade shows, community and charity events, etc… This turns out to be the death of new and repeat business.

In a downward economy, relationships become even more important than ever. Your customers are receiving on average 3-5 phone calls a day trying to sell them a replacement for your services. While in the past these calls would be ignored, your customers are starting to pay attention, since you are no longer in their face reminding them that your product is superior and that you do care about their problems.

The truth is that you still care but you just don’t have the time to give them that special attention you once did. Don’t worry though, your competition does. As market shares shrink and customers go away, your competition, is finding more time to call on your customers and if you are not going to give them that special attention, they will.

The trick is not to get caught up in the reduction of workforce. Stop cutting and start building. Continue along the same path that got you where you are today. Offer that service that no one else can in today’s economy. I have seen record sales and we have not been able to hire fast enough in this current economic condition. The reason is that as everybody else is shrinking and cutting back, we are expanding and hiring new customer solution providers. I refuse to cut anything that effects the customers overall experience. I refuse to cut anything that affects the quality of our service.

More and more companies are going out of business playing the, “I can sell it cheaper than you can” game. This is leaving a tremendous void in customer support. There are thousands of new customers every day looking for a replacement to the company that just went under. They need a solution and they need it fast. Focus on being that solution, and offering them the kind of personal attention that has been lost in this recession, and you too will start to see the success that I have been lucky enough to experience.

With this comes great responsibility. Do not ever take for granted the trust your customers have put in your organization. It is easy to get lost as work starts to pour in and priorities must be set. Your top priority must always be your customer’s needs. You must continue to genuinely care about their problems and offer quality solutions. Keep those relationships growing and you will see your market share continue to grow; they are the life blood of your organization.