Being Married To Your Customers, Part 4: Attentiveness and Clear Communication September 02, 2011, by Peter Mirus in Marketing
When spouses don’t pay attention to one another, or communicate productively, they risk losing touch with one another.
Be attentive.
Imagine this scenario: the girl changes over the course of the marriage; new “customer priorities” emerge. Did the boy recognize those changes as they took place, or two years after the fact? Was he being as attentive as he should have been?
As a good spouse or a good business owner, you need to be attentive not only to the other party specifically, but also to everything that is happening around that person (in other words, the environment or operating conditions).
Example: Your business maintains a high profit margin by keeping your prices high in a poor economy. You aren’t paying enough attention to the conditions in which your customer is operating. Will you retain that customer?
Communicate clearly.
Business relationships, as well as personal relationships, can be very complex. If I talk to a mid-level manager in a company about a strategic change of direction, I'm not just talking to that person. Through that person, I'm certainly talking to superiors and subordinates.
Through that person, perhaps I am talking to a spouse or a valued friend. Perhaps I am talking to other consultants with overlapping areas of expertise.
This underscores the importance of good business relationships and clear communication. All of the above individuals may have some impact on business decisions. My message has to be clear enough to be received in close to its original form so that the facts and arguments that I have presented are not misconstrued.
The strength of the relationship with the client, moreover, helps to ensure that my thoughts receive a warm reception not just at the point at which they are delivered, but beyond through the multiple possible relays.