Why Should You Build Customer Partnerships?

by Jeff Lippincott
Posted Sun., 1-11-04

    If you are reading this article your first question is probably: What does "customer partnerships" mean? Such partnerships are those relationships between a seller and a buyer whereby the seller has sincerely convinced the buyer that he is honest, competent, reliable, trustworthy, and has integrity. When a seller creates a customer partnership with a buyer he usually has created a long-term customer. When a seller falls short of creating a customer partnership with a buyer he usually has a short-term customer or no customer at all.

    Long term customers are better from the perspective of the seller. They are a source of repeat business. They can often times be sold other business that they have not purchased in the past. Since they have already been "won over" to a certain degree by the seller, the revenues generated from their business cost the seller less to get. These customers typically are a source of free advertisement for the seller because of the power of word-of-mouth and referrals.

    Short-term customers are not ideal. Half a loaf is better than no loaf, but successful sellers don’t just take what they can get. With short-term customers the sales costs are high with regard to the revenue generated. They do not provide repeat or add-on business to the seller. And they usually don’t make referrals or spread positive word-of-mouth.

    So what is it that distinguishes a long-term customer from a short-term customer you might ask? The answer is that sellers with long-term customers usually have built more meaningful relationships with those customers. Although people can have many types of relationships with one another, there are ways to rank them. One way is as follows:

1. Family (tightest bond - close)
2. Spouses
3. Partners
4. Associates
5. Friends
6. Acquaintances
7. Strangers (no bond - distant)

    The highest level relationship two people can have is when they are part of the same family, i.e., father-son, mother-daughter, brother-sister, uncle-niece. They are usually related to each other by blood. Trust usually exists between them, but not always. The next highest level relationship two people can have is being husband and wife, a partnership between a man and a woman. They are not related to each other by blood, but they have made commitments to each other that practically make them blood relatives. There better be trust between these two people or else the marriage is probably going to fall apart. The next level relationship down is that of a partnership. It could be a business arrangement, a personal arrangement, or whatever. The key to this kind of relationship is that two or more people work together to accomplish something and in order to work together they must each trust each other, understand each other, and have a certain amount of respect for each other.

    The relationships below the partnership level have varying degrees of trust associated with them. Associates can work in the same office, but they don’t have to like each other, respect each other, or trust each other. They might work together or they might not. In most instances they get along. Friends by definition like each other, but they may never try to accomplish anything together. Hopefully they trust one another, but even this is not true all the time. About the only thing that always can be said about acquaintances is that they know each other. And strangers, the lowest level on the relationship scale, don’t know each other and have NO relationship with one another. There is no trust between them because there is no reason for trust to exist.

    When a customer initially comes to a seller he has needs and/or problems that must be solved. The seller supposedly has a solution to sell (not a product or services). At the outset the seller and customer are strangers. No trust exists between them. As they interact they become acquaintances. That may be as far as their relationship goes. If it stays there or only goes a little bit higher, then the customer will likely be a short-term customer or not a customer at all. If the relationship gets up to the partnership level then it is likely the customer will be a long-term customer.

    A partnership level relationship does not have to be a formal business-type situation. It just has to have the characteristics of that type of situation. For those characteristics to exist a seller can build trust by being confident and caring. He should have empathy and be a good listener so he can understand the customer and not appear manipulative. If he can establish credibility and knowledge this will help build trust and respect, too. He should keep in mind that customers are usually won by deeds – not merely by words or credentials. Actions that indicate that the seller is reliable and will act in the customer’s best interest go a long way in this regard. Pricing the services fairly is another indication of honesty, credibility and integrity.

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