Now I don’t mean literally but seriously, have you thought about how important your clients are to your business? What would happen if suddenly your clients started to do business with someone else? You know how difficult it is to attract new people and how expensive marketing and advertising can be. So what would be the impact to your business if slowly your clients started to leave? Would your income suffer? Most certainly.
For most small businesses even a small five percent drop in customers can mean the difference between paying your bills or not. Without your clients your business simply could not survive. Perhaps now you understand why I believe it’s so important you make every effort to go above and beyond customer expectations and to hug them as often as possible.
What does it mean to hug your customers? When you physically hug someone you show them how much you care about them. It’s a way for you to show your appreciation. In business, every time you do something unexpected for a client it’s like giving them a hug.
When I start my day I think, “Who am I going to hug today”. It’s the thought I place in my head at the beginning of the day and if an opportunity arises that I can say or do something for a customer that would make their day a little better then I do it. Or I create the opportunity by going out of my way to do something special for a client.
It’s not about spending a lot of money or d grandiose gestures. It can be something simple like buying their favourite bottle of wine, sending a birthday card to them, their spouse and kids. If the client travels a lot call around and find the gyms in the area where they are staying and pay for their drop in or give them a travel program without them having to ask. You would be surprised at what a kind word or some recognition does to boost someone’s day.
Make it easy, fun and stress free to do business with you. This is another way to hug your client. Review your policies and ensure they don’t annoy or inconvenience your clients. If a problem arises resolve the issue quickly and do whatever it takes to mend the relationship.
At the end of the day people do business with people they trust and respect. If you can add little hug to seal the deal then you will create tremendous customer loyalty. The added benefit is that by hugging your clients your business will thrive, your clients will be happy and you’ll feel good because you’re doing something nice for people everyday. Now it’s your turn to go hug a client.
Two weeks ago I faced the greatest challenge in my speaking career. I’m someone who is always up for a challenge. I’ve done a lot of extreme sports in my life like sky diving, rappelling over a 100ft gorge and careened down class five rapids. But this was an experience that topped all that.
