Tips for building stronger business relationships

One of the best ways to get business in the real estate industry is to keep your customers content. A satisfied client will be more likely to use again, and also more likely to recommend your services to families, friends and coworkers. It’s important to keep your relationship a happy one, and small business expert Melinda Emerson offered six tips to strengthen your relationships with your clients.

• Never Solve a Customer Issue With Email. Don’t be afraid of an angry customer, but instead of typing out your response, give them a call to find out what the issue is and put yourself in charge of solving it. People appreciate a personal contact, especially when something has gone wrong.
• Contact Your Customers. You should be using a recency strategy in your business. Meaning, you should call or contact your clients within seven to ten days of them receiving your product or service to make sure everything is going well.
• Nurture the Relationship. Most customers should consider you a friend. Think of yourself as a farmer. Farmers tend to the soil, plant the seeds and water the plants to watch them grow. Farmers know how to nurture relationships.
• Do a Needs Recheck, Before You Try to Upsell. Make sure you know what is going on with you customers before you hit them with an upsell. Remember to serve before selling.
• Remember Your Role in Customer Service.If you sold it, when there is a problem, the customer is going to come back to you to fix it. Are you going to give them customer service or lip service? Don’t pass the buck. Own the issue and fix it.
• Look for Ways to Leverage the Relationship. You should always be thinking of how you can help your customer more.