by Jennifer Gibbs

Created on: May 06, 2011

Like a garden, business relationships must first be cultivated before they can be expected to "bear fruit" in the form of referrals and word-of-mouth business. While this often entails a clearly designed and defined strategy or game plan, combined with a concentrated commitment to doing more than merely "selling" to your customers, it's an effort that pays off in the only way that matters to any small business - RESULTS!

What IS Relationship Building?

Before you can successfully commit yourself to a relationship building initiative or campaign, the first thing you've got to do is come to a clearer understanding of what the term "relationship building" actually means. In the simplest of terms, relationship building means regularly communicating and interacting with your customer or client base, not solely to sell them something, but to in some way further enrich their lives. Luckily, "enriching lives" is a fairly broad descriptor that lends itself to be accomplished in a number of wildly different scenarios or circumstances. For instance, some businesses provide email newsletters to regularly communicate with their customers. Newsletters are a form of relationship building because they mean that a regular, conscious effort is being made to share important, relevant or "inside" information about your industry, product, service or other specialized knowledge that makes their lives better, richer, longer, healthier or in some way happier. Furthermore, newsletters can offer additional incentives like sharing coupons, special discounts, special "sneak previews" of upcoming book chapters, results from an industry clinical study or trial, interactive games, great freebies or reviews on popular, must-have products or services.

Why Relationship Building Means More than JUST Selling

When you build relationships with customers and clients, instead of viewing them only as transactions, an amazing thing starts to happen. You start to care about them, and they begin to care about you. They see you not as a company or service provider, but instead as an expert. Not as a salesman, but as a trusted adviser. They don't come to you to "be sold to", they come to you to "buy" or "invest" in something. It's a subtle difference, but it's a huge one - especially when it comes to your ultimate Bottom Line.

All You Have to Do Is Ask!

The primary reason that relationship building is such an important part of a successful business model is that you are given a trusted status and all of your free insights and recommendations almost make your regular customers, readers, followers and fans feel as though they might just "owe" you a favor. Since you're enriching their lives and making their existence on this Earth even marginally easier, they wont mind if you ask them for a favor... especially if the favor you're asking for doesn't cost them a penny. After you've been communicating with your readers and audiences, all you have to do is ask them if they would be willing to send you the name of a friend, relative or colleague who could benefit from your products or services. Then, go a step further and see if they won't take the time out to personally make those critical introductions, even if it is only through an email on LinkedIn or a similar professional networking site.

The point here is that once relationship building becomes a foundational component of your small business, enjoying a noticeable increase in referral and word-of-mouth business is next to inevitable!

Learn more about this author, Jennifer Gibbs.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.