Five Ways To Boost Business Relationships

Are you concerned about the importance of business relationships? Here are five ways to boost your connections and improve your business culture...

How To Build Business Relationships With Customers

Building strong and lasting business relationships is crucial to your company's success, which is why it's a skill every entrepreneur should master. Many business owners make the mistake of believing they can focus solely on the product or service options. Big mistake.

Building effective business relationships is just as important as any other aspect of your company. You need to cultivate relationships with a variety of people that could help your business, such as:

• Investors
• Employees
• Peers

And potential customers.

According to Forbes, 85 percent of professional success comes from people skills. Therefore, if you're going to be in business, you're going to have to learn how to network — and if you're not an extrovert, you'll need to work on a strategy for positive results.

Let's take a look at the best five ways to boost business relationships...

1. Serve More Than You Sell

If you're trying to build lasting relationships with potential customers, it helps to serve more than you sell. Marketing experts will tell you to think about the needs of your target audience and then meet those needs in multiple ways.

For instance, providing value to your potential customers on social media can help steer them toward a purchase faster, and lead to long-term loyalty. Example of what to share:

• Important information that could help them
• Funny memes related to your industry
• Relevant statistics via an infographic

Sharing a multitude of valuable, entertaining content types helps you develop better business relationships with potential customers.

2. Be Consistent

In order to build lasting business relationships, you must be consistent. Be someone that people can count on to deliver amazing insight, appropriate content, and tremendous value.

Offer your assistance without being asked on a regular basis and you'll create an impression so strong, your network will have no choice but to reciprocate. If you follow this rule, in time you'll make real business connections that could last a lifetime.

3. Give, Give, Give

In order to get anything out of a business relationship, you have to be willing to give something.

Be willing to give away things like free samples to potential customers, or free reports to potential new clients. You could even try to help people in your network solve a problem by putting them in touch with someone you know who could help them solve a problem. Just look for ways to be of help to people.

Once your contacts see the value in what you can offer them, they'll be willing to return the favor.

4. Share Your Knowledge

Sharing your knowledge can strengthen your business relationships.

If you can help people by sharing what you know, then you're already a few steps ahead of the game. Additionally, take a look at some of the largest companies. Note how they nurture new relationships and maintain old ones.

One company that has made developing positive business relationships and sharing knowledge part of their business culture is Amway. The company is a relationship-driven business. They share knowledge constantly with prospective business associates and employees, such as information that dispels the Amway pyramid scheme myth.

5. Remember The Little Things

Taking the time out of your day to check on someone, or ask about how their day or how their aspirations are going, can make a big difference in advancing your business relationships.

Sending some sort of small gesture of kindness to the people in your network can help keep your business to business relationships strong. Sending a personalized note or card for a special occasion or holiday is a nice touch. Think about small things you can do to put a smile on someone's face, and you'll be remembered as someone thoughtful and supportive.

Final Words

Creating a network of intelligent, driven people can help your business thrive and do wonders for your reputation. With the above tips in mind, you can begin boosting your current business relationships and cultivating new ones.