Most sales and marketing professionals understand that it can be much easier to keep and grow the business from a existing client relationships than it is to secure a new ones. Therefore, it simply makes sense to seek out opportunities to build loyalty among your existing customers.

It begins by building a foundation of confidence.

• Provide outstanding service – under-promise and over-deliver through every phase of the order or project, including estimating, approvals, production, delivery and billing.
• Show concern for their satisfaction after you’ve delivered. Find out how it’s going and what they liked or didn’t like. Were there any surprises?
• Did you meet the objective? Showcase your contribution to their growth.

Take the relationship to the next level by continually adding value.

Value is a journey – not a destination. There will always be new opportunities to add value – if you make it a practice to look for them. Remember that every win builds confidence but memory fades quickly.

• Be proactive and provide ideas to help your customers grow their business. Continually dig and listen to identify and understand their needs and to uncover new opportunities.
  • Apply what you’ve learned on previous projects and find ways to replicate or expand your winning solutions.
  • Keep your eyes open for news that affects them. Read the trade publications and business journals. Forward articles of interest that point to a new business opportunity or threat. Always include the implication and a solution.

• Understand your client’s job and find ways to make it easier and more pleasant. The more you understand their business and their job, the more opportunities you will find to add value.
  • Are processing invoices eating up much of their valuable time? Perhaps there is additional information you could show on the invoices, or you could submit them in a different format or on a different day of the month.
  • If you’re handling multiple projects for them, don’t bombard them with separate emails regarding each project. Summarize for them weekly (or daily if needed) to show status and next steps required.
  • Are they getting in trouble with their receiving department because they can’t figure out where deliveries should go? Doing something as simple as adding PO numbers to the attention line in your shipping labels versus just the packing lists can make a big difference.

• Help them overcome a problem. Roll up your sleeves, be a part of their team and fix things.  Own the situation – even if you didn’t create it.

• Build a personal relationship
  • Learn what motivates your client. Does he or she want to get promoted? Or does he or she want social recognition? Is their number-one goal to cut costs or do they want to drive revenue? Your ticket to loyalty is helping them achieve their goals.
  • Become their friend. Know what they love and show genuine interest. Knowing small details about their life gives you an opportunity to build a personal relationship. Remember that all things being equal, people prefer to buy from people they like.
  • Resist the temptation to let technology replace the human touch. Make time for personal meetings and conversations. Today, it’s much too easy to rely on email and text messaging to communicate. While it’s quick and provides the benefit of documentation, the convenience comes at a cost because it diminishes opportunities to develop the personal relationship that’s so crucial for learning and discovering more opportunities to build loyalty and sustainable business.

What are some of your favorite or special ways of continually providing value to your clients? Or as a client what is something you enjoy having and consider valuable?

As 2012 begins, many people’s fresh New Year’s resolutions are already being challenged by the old realities of our everyday routines. If work, school, family and other activities continue to chip away at keeping your resolutions, I’d like you to consider a simple question:  Are you living your life backwards?

You can see this is not a typical blog post intended to educate you on ways to grow your client base or build brand loyalty. This one is aimed at your heart and personal wellness.

As I said, the New Year can get busy quickly – rushing to secure new business to meet this year’s budget, getting the kids back into the swing of school and homework, doing the taxes. Add this to our usual list of responsibilities, and the struggle to take

care of ourselves seems overwhelming. Finding time to take care of ourselves – go to the gym, prepare a healthy meal, read a book with your child, make an appointment with the doctor or even get a full night of sleep – seems impossible. The key word here is “seems”.

The Dalai Lama summed it up when asked what surprised him most about humanity. “Man,” he said. “Because he sacrifices his health in order to make money. Then he sacrifices money to recuperate his health. Then he is so anxious about the future that he does not enjoy the present; the result being that he does not live in the present or the future; he lives as if he is never going to die and then dies having never really lived.”

As you are rushing through new assignments at work or helping the kids with their latest “independent study” project and you find your stress level rising, ask yourself this question:  Am I living my life backwards?

If your answer is “yes,” then perhaps it’s time to make yourself a higher priority. Remember that without good physical and mental health as a base, the rest of your life suffers. If you really want to live, create some balance and schedule your “me” time as carefully as you’ve been scheduling your client meetings. If you’re worried about the impact on your work, don’t. For in the end, your effectiveness and productivity will rise along with your mood and energy.

Wishing you good health and happiness in the coming year!