It’s always nice, when eating at a nice restaurant, for the owner to come up and ask how everything was.  That personal contact goes a long way in keeping customers happy – and returning.  It seems that customer service is now handled by making a potential customer or client wait on a telephone for what seems like forever, often forcing them to repeatedly listen to a recording saying that the call will be handled in 10 minutes.  Small businesses are usually built around personal customer service.  If you are a business owner, when is the last time you “worked the floor” or handled the phone, or had lunch with a good customer?  Customers and clients like to do business with the owner.  Even a friendly “hello” or “nice to see you again” goes a long way in customer relations and service.

The importance of knowing your customers and/or clients could actually be extended to suppliers, vendors, and others connected with your business.  When is the last time you visited with your banker, accountant, or legal advisor?  A friendly call to your biggest supplier(s) can go a long way in building relationships.  A call to one of these people thanking them for prompt delivery can pay big dividends if and when a problem really develops. With most communication now done online, a handwritten thank you to a long-standing customer, someone whose recommendation resulted in a new customer, or a vendor you appreciate stands out among the bills and junk mail.

Owning and operating your own business is not a “backroom” or “hide behind the business plan” business.  It is a “front-room” business. Go out and meet the customers – and anyone else who has an interest in your business.