Forums: Discussions for entrepreneurs and small business.

Hi
I`m looking to bond with my customers so they know, like, and trust me.  I want them to feel like they know me.  I want them to feel like I`m their friend.  What are your best suggestions for bonding with customers?  What do you do with your close friends to indicate you care about them?"
http://www.inteleants.com
InteleANTS - Business Support Services

I`d suggest that you maybe drop the idea of "bonding" with your customers, and instead, use the word "respect." In other words, a customer really could care less if you`re their friend. They don`t intend to invite you over for dinner, or talk about their latest troubles and triumphs with you.

However, the attributes you`ve mentioned also go along with respect, in that you`d like to be respectable, and worthy of respect to your customers. Would you agree?

One thing you may want to analyze is the mission statement (not yet a tagline) in your top graphic on the landing page. It`s too long, too confusing, and with the purple boxes in the background, not easy to read.

Bonding with clients all depends on what kind of business your running. I`ve been making house calls for close to five years, where I groom clients pets. To tell you the truth, after a while, the clients do get comfortable enough to, yes, tell me their troubles and triumphs. I on the other hand never say anything about my own life in great detail, unless it pertains to the business. Some of my clients wave and tell me, "Love You", as I load up my truck to leave. So again, it all depends on what kind of business you run. I don`t go out of my way to be friends with my clients. I`m just myself, as I am at any other time during the day or night. I also highly respect them and have built my credibility throughout the years of being reliable and honest.

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AJ

I feel that you do need to bond with a customer to a certain extent to understand their needs. For example, at the car dealership I work at, it is helpful to know if a person has kids, because then you can help them select a vehicle large enough to accomdate car seats. It is certainly not out of line to ask a parent how many kids they have and how old each of them are. Then, as you find out more about them, and drop a few comments about how school is starting soon, they start to trust you and feel like your interests are aligned with theirs.

I find that customers love to hear my personal stories of cars I liked and didn`t like. They also like to hear about my personal experience of paying off my car loan or waiting in line at the DMV. They want to know that I understand what they are going through and that yes, I`m a real human too. If I only stuck to the paperwork and just gave them their monthly payment and due date, they`d think I`m a loan shark, or that I was cold, evil and somehow judging them based on their credit. I think it is funny when a customer says, "I`m signing my life away" and then they laugh when I say, "No, it is only a few years." They know that I realize it is hard to make a car payment, and it is a lot of money. It is a real commitment to own a vehicle, and it is nice to know that the dealer sees the customer as more than a dollar sign.

As far as my business, I feel it is a real gain to know where my customers are coming from. If I know about a customer`s personal life, I know how to suggest gifts for their friends and family, clothes that fit them but they can still appropriately wear to parties... and what day they need it by. If they are really comfortable with me, then they might even suggest ways to improve my work and they`ll tell me what they`d like to see in the future. My favorite customer is the one that says, "You need to make more stuff for men, because I want to buy some shirts for my boyfriend." and "I`ll call you in the winter, because I want to see what you can make me in velvet." She doesn`t feel awkward to tell me that she doesn`t see what she needs. She feels comfortable enough to just ask for it. I would much rather a person tell me what they like or expect out of me rather than quietly moving on to the next merchant.

You don`t need to take a customer out to dinner or golfing to bond with them. You just need to make some converation, and ask questions so that you can adequately help them. It also helps if they are comfortable around you, so that they can return the favor with honest feedback.

Being in the promotional item business. I make sure all of my customers get a couple free products with every order they buy for their clients with a customized note.    I don`t suggest anything expensive. just a .50 to 2.00 gift most companies have buying power to buy in quantity so they are actually not that expensive. and they are a write off..

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Jesse Jordan
Director
Decarte Soy Candles
www.decarteproducts.com

I do a number of pen shows east of the Mississippi that are both private (meaning at the retail store) and public in various cities.  I do this so that the customer can see me the owner and artisit of Shaw Pens.  This way they can talking an ask any questions but more importantly they see there is a real person behind my product.  The stores win because I bringing my complete line of pens they buy only what was sold  that way they are not heavy on inventory.  Most of my shops are small businesses that have been in business from 1 year to 100 years.