Managing your clientèle in order to make each client feel special

Every business has some sort of a clientèle. You might be a cell phone company where your clientele is a normal person, or you might be a steel company where your clientele is other big business owners like yourself. Just because they are very different doesn't mean you don't have to treat each client the same. There are some difference, but the basics are the same.

Every customer must be treated with respect. Just because a customer may only pay you $40 a month, doesn't mean they aren't valuable to your company. They will still talk about your company and will still recommend or not recommend your company to friends and family. They can help you get more customers, or can help you lose customers very fast. Just because it's one customer or just a few, doesn't mean that they won't have a big impact.

Give your clients a specific amount of time. You have to have a person, or department that deals specifically with the clients and people who are buying your products. That way, the bigger clients will have someone specific they can go to and the smaller clients will too. If you have larger clients, you might want to organize specific events for them, or invite them to certain events if your company has a booth at a basketball arena. Come up with gifts to give to your clients, both small and big. They will appreciate the thought and it will give you good advertising. Also, give discounts for being a long time customer. Usually new customers will get an incentive to start with the company, but the way to get loyalty is to keep the customers who have been with you for a while.

Sometimes your clients will demand more from you without you getting a fair return. I worked in a call center for a couple years. Customers would demand all the time that they should get a new phone shipped to them for free just because they drove over their own phone. Of course this is a ridiculous request, as the phones had a one year limited warranty on them and the customers could get insurance if they chose. It was clearly their fault that the phone was broken, but they wanted our company to fix it for them. They were making a request that clearly couldn't be met. Sometimes you do have to let a customer go because they are making requests that would end up hurting the company more. You don't want to be giving your services or products out for free and end up paying the customer. Try to negotiate with them and let them know that their request is unreasonable and that you would like to make a new deal. If they don't agree, you will have to choose. Make sure that you weigh the consequences before you make a decision.

Managing your clientele can be very difficult. You want to please everyone so they will be happy and will keep using your company. But you don't want to please them so much so that you are actually paying them to be your client. A client that has had a good relationship with you for a long time will be more likely to stay with you during a hard time or a time when you have to negotiate. Be a good distributer before the time comes up when you need them to work with you. It will work out better for your company.

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