When it comes to business, communication can either drive your company to success or into the ground. It all depends on how you approach it. The following provide a checklist to gut check your business communication to make sure you are setting the foundation for success not stalling along the way.
You Create Lasting Relationships – Does the % of your contacts that have come back for more than one appointment say something about how you communicate? You bet it does. Communication (and we like to use the word engagement to go a little more in depth) is the key to developing strong reliable relationships. This goes for anyone and everyone who’s trying to connect to others. Communication helps others understand your goals and intentions and creates a foundation of understanding. It also makes customers feel as though they are important and appreciated. It shows that their business matters and so does their input. If you aren’t sure what your % of returning customers is don’t worry! We have an easy tool that will help you determine what it looks like – just fill out this contact form.
You make things transparent – One of the biggest mistakes business owners make in communication is not being clear about what they do during the first impression with a contact. Whether it’s your website, a new customer appointment, talking over the phone with a prospect, or meeting people at a networking function, BE your brand. Don’t beat around the bush and give cryptic responses. It’s refreshing to people, trust me. Having a greater understanding of what your company is all about will help others trust you more and create better chances for return business – how simple is that?!
You are constantly innovating – A constant flow of communication within a company allows for new ideas to develop! Amazing things can happen when you put a group of individuals together to share their own thoughts and experiences. Doing so will allow for improvements and fresh ideas for your business and how it’s run. When you empower your team members to speak up and treat their ideas as valuable they will respect you and your customers more, creating an all-around better experience for everyone. Here’s the real gut check – if you take each person out to lunch and casually ask them how things are going and if they have any ideas on how to improve the business you will know how open people feel day to day. If they pour out ideas you’ve never heard before then you need to start encouraging it more regularly. It will make a big difference to your bottom line and company morale.
You ask for feedback – Your best tool for understanding the health of your business communication is your customers. Create an easy and non-threatening way for your customers to talk to you and you will receive reliable feedback. This information will help you make necessary changes to succeed. Make sure you offer this communication in the way the customer is most comfortable in giving it – email, text, written evaluations, through a reviews site, etc. FreshLime has an easy way to get this customer feedback. Get in touch if you want to know more at the bottom of our homepage.
For more insights on marketing strategy that actually works for small business, subscribe to the FreshLime Newsletter here. Connect with Jay Bean, Founder of FreshLime and Small Business Marketing Expert on LinkedIn and Twitter. And last of all, if any of these tips have helped you or if you have anything to add please comment below. We’d love to hear from you!