Successfully cultivating connections with clients results in long-term business growth.
Connecting with clients is a crucial part of building a business. According to statements from Peter Foxhoven, business owners should take special care to develop and maintain relationships with their clients. Peter Foxhoven is the Director of New Business Development at Advantage Administrators and a guest speaker on podcasts, like the Appendix N Podcast.
He explains that connecting with the client can happen in several ways. “Building relationships in the business world is such a crucial part of the entrepreneur’s role,” Peter Foxhoven notes. “No matter what industry, you need to have connections with other professionals—but, most of all, you need to have strong connections with your buyers. It doesn’t matter if you are B2B, B2C, or D2C; you need to have a firm grasp on what is important to your customers and be able to meet those needs accordingly.”
Peter Foxhoven says there are five main ways a business owner or entrepreneur should connect with customers:
Know Your Audience – If you don’t know who you are trying to serve, you will have a tough time building that relationship, says Foxhoven. His advice is to avoid making assumptions about the audience, getting to know their actual pain points and motivators before testing theories on what will appeal to them.
Keep Communication Lines Open – Keeping constant updates is integral to delivering a transparent and authentic service. Even if the news is negative, provide honest updates, says Foxhoven. If customers are left guessing, they will only be more frustrated and lose trust in your brand.
Assess and Improve – Take stock of how customers feel about your work. Checking in or sending out a survey is an excellent way to see where you stand in their mind. Don’t take everything to heart, he says. But, do listen whenever there is room to improve and make the adjustments needed to build a more substantial business.
Under-promise and Overdeliver – Many businesses want to overpromise and then struggle to come through on the delivery. Instead, Foxhoven says not to promise anything you aren’t sure you can bring about. “Only promise what you feel confident about,” he explains. “You can wow your customers by then delivering faster, better, or cheaper than initially promised. When you do more than you say you will, you earn major points with anyone else you are working with or working for.”
Peter Foxhoven explains that you need to become an expert – Build up your professional knowledge and capabilities until you are considered an expert. Foxhoven says being an expert is crucial to becoming the authority other people trust to work with. As you become an expert, finding your niche within your industry will help you further lock in the right audience who can appreciate what you offer.
