Are Your Customers Willing To Put Their Reputation On The Line For You?

For many businesses, particularly those providing services, more than 85 percent of business comes from personal referrals and recommendations, and yet many businesses spend thousands of hours, and dollars, trying to acquire new customers, and relatively little time and effort nurturing and retaining their existing ones.

Valuing and retaining your current clients and customers is essential. Not only will you benefit from their continued custom directly, you are also more likely to benefit from any new clients or customers they recommend. And given that it’s it's 6-7 times more expensive to gain one new client or customer than it is to retain one, retaining your existing clients and customers, and being highly recommendable, can have a huge positive impact on your bottom-line.

Clients and customers who already trust and respect you:

• are more likely to acknowledge, and value, what you provide and the benefits they gain from dealing with you
• may be more willing to accept your prices, terms and conditions without question or negotiation
• are often more loyal
• require less 'selling to' and
• are more likely to continue doing business with you, and even increase the amount they spend, as their trust in you increases.

They are also significantly more likely to recommend you to people they know and trust giving you an opportunity to gain new clients whilst reducing your acquisition costs and improving your profitability.

Some people may be willing to provide a recommendation or testimonial without giving it much thought. But, and it's a big but ... most people will only recommend you when they are confident you will be able to deliver on your promises as it's not your reputation they're putting on the line when recommending you. It's theirs.

So how can you improve your chances of being recommended more often and acquire low-cost / high-value clients who are positively pre-disposed to dealing with you? Adding value to your existing clients and customers on an ongoing basis is essential.

• Deliver on your promises, on time, every time. Over-promising and under-delivering is one of the biggest reputation damagers there is. It may be tempting to over-state your experience, capabilities and past achievements, but make sure you take the time to clarify understanding and expectations before agreeing to something you may not be able to deliver on.

• Be respectful. Avoid assuming people want to be treated in the same way. Many don't. If you're unsure about what may work for them - ask! The very act of asking demonstrates respect, so long as you act on any information they give you.

• Genuinely care. We can only add value and serve effectively when we fully understand what a client or customer truly needs and wants. Discover their motivations before trying to sell yourself or your products or services, and if you feel you're not the best person to serve them, recommend someone who is! Random acts of kindness can have long-lasting, positive, effects.

• Make the person you’re dealing with feel both valued and valuable. Adding genuine, spontaneous, 'no strings attached' value such as forwarding a relevant article, website, or passing on a hint or tip you've come across, for no other reason than you feel it may be helpful or useful for them, nurtures the connection you have and shows you genuinely care about them. Good manners carry a huge amount of weight. Be friendly without being overly familiar and be mindful of the fact that people will remember how they ‘feel’ about you more than what they read about you.

• Act with integrity and live your values. Be clear about what's important to you in terms of what's negotiable and what's non-negotiable and act accordingly. When you and your team live your values, and demonstrate them in tangible ways on a day-to-day basis, you build trust, and trust engenders confidence which helps improve your chances of being recommended or referred to others.

One of the greatest compliments, and reputation-enhancers there is, is to be highly recommendable.

People who are willing to recommend you, without incentive or reward, are putting their reputation on the line for you. Protect not only your own reputation, but that of the person recommending you, by delivering what's expected with integrity and you’ll find yourself more in demand than ever.

Article Contributed by Hannah Samuel, International Speaker with Training Edge International . She is a specialist reputation advisor, author and speaker.
Email : Hannah@trainingedgeasia.com;
Website : Website : www.trainingedgeasia.com