Kate and Mara were best friends-turned-enemies because of business. Their friendship started when they both started the same business in their first year at the University but turned sour as the year went by. Kate had a great sense of time management and so, she was always that her store very early but Mara did not have that particular capital, instead, she relied on her very high emotional quotient to employ highly effective people who would effectively communicate with the clients, create journals on their likes and dislikes and receive feedbacks from them regardless of whether the feedbacks were negative or positive.
In no time, Mara started making millions in months while Kate kept struggling with the thousands of dollars and inevitably, she felt betrayed by her best friend and so, the sweet friendship between those two disappeared.
On a particular day, as a concerned bystander, I decided to find out what was happening between them and my discoveries were shocking.
1. The importance of a good team.
This was the first difference I noticed between the two brands. Kate's store had lesser numbers of workers who appeared tired, angry and overworked so, they only performed their duties without attempting to go the extra mile and being the pushy boss Kate was, she wasn't getting any of that, she would always berate and complain about her workers before the clients and in a way, the trust of those people towards the level of meticulousness at Kate's brand began to dwindle.
Mara, on the other hand, had grabbed the tips to forming a great team and made good use of it and so, her workers' countenance was always one of enjoyment without a single dose of complaint about their duties.
As a business owner, your team members are the face of your business - they are the ones your clients come in contact with first. Thus, learn to take time out to listen to their inconveniences and work on them so that they perform well to the best of their abilities.
2. The business ambience matters.
The majority of the clients you will come across are vain and want a relaxing environment to calm their nerves. Therefore, of what use is going to a store where the owner keeps rambling about their problems to you? Of course, you'd avoid going there the next time if it were you.
As a business owner, learn to place the comfort of your clients first and stop badgering them with your personal issues - even if the person is very close to you. The importance of setting appropriate boundaries and seeing that, at that point, they are clients, not friends is not to be overlooked. Learn to stop complaining about your workers, about your dispatch riders, about the hardship in sourcing materials and definitely, not about other clients. It makes you carry an aura of dejection and debasement and no one would wish to associate with such.
3. The culture of honour matters.
One other thing I noticed at Kate's store was the fact that the employees had no sense of honour for their clients. They all clamoured to attend to someone who appeared wealthy while leaving an old gentleman behind because his clothing was too simple not knowing that the old gentleman was one of the topmost professors in the country. I also realised that the gap between races was so wide it felt like one was in the age where blacks were distinguished from whites and so, there was a gap that needed to be bridged and this became worse when some of the workers started gossiping about the Asian race right in front of a client. To me, as an observer, it was a total turn-off.
As a business owner, one of the reasons you might be steadily losing customers might be because they do not feel valued and honoured. You berate them for their lack of awareness, you grumble at each of their requests and you turn your nose in the air at every opportunity because they didn't buy much from you: they will leave you for someone better in no time. Your clients are the ones helping you so, get rid of that attitude that seems to show that you are the one giving them a favour. It's the level of honour with which you attend to them that they respond to.
Now, as a business owner, you can determine if your business is lacking in one or more of the points listed above and there is no need to fret because the solutions are not far-fetched.
1. Employ highly competent workers and organise routine training for them.
Although everyone cannot behave the same way, there must be a sense of uniformity in the way your workers relate with your clients and whoever is not ready to adjust should be made to leave without leaving room for sentiments.
Your business is not a charity organisation so there has to be a level of excellence to be seen by your clients for them to trust you with their money.
2. Develop a good feedback mechanism.
As a business owner, learn to organise feedback mechanisms for your clients. Although some clients might not be tactful enough in the way they present their complaints, it's your duty not to flare up at them. If a client says your pizza isn't nice enough, accept that not everyone has the same taste buds rather than trying to justify your actions with someone else's good review.
This way, you could learn what is running through their minds when they patronise you and make subsequent adjustments. Remaining rigid and refusing corrections or ideas from those who patronise you is a sure step towards any business' doom.
3. Learn to place value on your clients
The least customer you have can make you a billionaire, therefore, stop treating people like trash because that one person you have treated poorly because he didn't buy something worth a big amount could be the one who would prevent the client that is ready to pay a billion from coming to you by giving you a negative review. How painful will that be?
Be your client's friend, be the first person they would always think about for referrals, have conversations with them and make them feel that they are valuable.
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