“Relationship Building”

It’s no secret that fostering good relationships with your customers will give you an advantage in retaining contractors. But how much time and which customers do you focus on?
This is an interesting dilemma, when solved, may yield to increase revenues. The truth is, you can’t afford to neglect any customer, but there may be some advantages in spending the most time on the right customer. As small business owners your time is limited. Who do you visit, speak on the phone with, or give those coveted sports tickets to? Who is the right customer? Malcolm Gladwell, in his popular book, “The Tipping Point” (Little Brown 2000) described people he referred to as “mavens”. Mavens are people that disproportionately influence other members of a network. They are passionate gathering information, and are usually on the leading cutting edge of trends. He also suggested that these mavens work well in collaboration with connectors. Connectors are people who have wide social networks. Hopefully, you can see where I am going with this. It may sound like I want you to figure out what’ is going to be the big hit at the Spring Fashion show, but in business finding the right informative socially adept customer could lead you in the direction of increased sales.
Ask yourself, who are the customers that may influence others in their respective circles, either through their knowledge or their unique personality to connect? We probably all know someone who is passionate about something and when they talk about their interests, they draw in their audience. I know we are talking about picking up trash, but identifying the customers that are passionate about their jobs, and by correlation how well you perform yours, will have a negative and positive impact on your business. Recognizing these customers, their uniqueness, and then focusing on cultivating your relationship, can payoff with increased revenue and referrals.
Every business has these customers. Identifying and allocating resources to reach them may payoff for years to come. You may even find the ultimate combo…a maven – connector.

Story by NiteHawk Sweepers