Managing Customer Relationships

When I was asked to write about this topic, the first thing that came to mind was how I have managed my own customers and relationships throughout the many years I have been in sales. I asked myself what are some essential things that make a great relationship. Below, I will discuss in depth what those are. 

I truly believe that if you practice these key essentials, then managing the relationship is the easy part. For many years, I have practiced three methods: open communication, listening and trust. By utilizing these, I have been able to build, manage and keep my relationships no matter what business I have been a part of.

Open Communication

Having open communication is key to a successful customer relationship. It is important to establish this in the beginning. When you have that open communication, then you and your customer will understand the importance of what they expect from you and what you expect from them. Therefore, whenever something unexpected happens, or if they are unhappy with something, they can be more comfortable expressing that to you. It may be a simple concept, but it is vital.

Listening 

Do you consider yourself a good listener? It’s something we don’t really think about, as it is an intrinsic trait. Oftentimes, we think we are listening, but we also live in a distracted world and aren’t always as focused as we should be.

Listening can be an underrated skill, but we use it when we don’t realize we are doing it. A successful relationship with your customer requires attentive listening. Listening to your customer is key. Although they may seem like small things, get to really know your customer by learning things about them and taking note. For instance, ask them what their favorite restaurant is, when is their birthday, or what they like to do in their spare time. When they need your services, this could be the difference of them calling you for help versus your competitor. 

While it is great to have these lighthearted and more personal conversations, however, I do understand that customer relations are not always “sunshine and rainbows.” Listen intently and be empathetic whenever the call is a dreadful complaint. Good or challenging, we must listen to it all. Honestly, if you actively listen to them, they will take notice. A good partnership with your customer consists of always listening intently them no matter what. 

Trust

Finally, you must have trust. By definition, trust is the firm belief in the reliability, truth, ability or strength of someone or something. 

In most successful sales relationships, you both must trust one another. Truthfully though, it doesn’t happen overnight. With open communication and listening, over time, the trust will develop. When your customer has trust and faith in you, you truly have a valued partnership. 

It may be easy to earn trust, but it can be difficult to gain it back, if someone loses trust in you or your organization. The ongoing management of customer relationships is how you get through those tougher conversations, complaints and criticisms.

Here at Guarantee Restoration, we truly exhibit all three of these skills when talking to our customers. Afterall, partnership is one of our five core values at GRS.

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