5 Ways To Strengthen B2B Client Relationships in a Crisis
Chances are that if you’re in the B2B space, your business is really feeling this crisis, especially if you're anywhere near the service industry. You’re having to do some careful thinking about the future of your business.
You already know that the quality of your relationships with your clients is the most important driver of your business. What if these tough times could actually be an opportunity to solidify this core principle of your business?
Here are five things we’ve found some success with at RadioMogul. A high percentage of our clients are in the restaurant space, so you can bet these tips have been tested in battle these last couple months :-)
1. Lend a Helping Hand
Make an unsolicited offer of help - don’t wait for your clients to ask. If it’s monetary, like cutting a break on your fees, and you can afford it, great. If it’s non-monetary, like helping your clients get customers, or financial relief, or any kind of help, do that. Don't just decide what you think would help, ask your client.
2. Support Creatively
Once you've established from your client how you can help, and you've done so, now is the time to try some other creative ways to support them. For example, we’re not a social media promotions company - we provide music solutions - but we do use social media, which means we can support what our clients are doing, and anything that supports what our clients are doing, on social media. Use resources you have toward making your clients' lives a bit less stressful.
3. Remember the “custom” in “Customer”
Policy is of course important for your business, and gives you rules to follow. But now is the time for “the personal touch” with clients who may be struggling. As a business scales, custom solutions can be challenging, but in times like this, they can be a lifesaver for clients and partners. In a large system, there is inevitably some “falling through the cracks”, but for a smaller B2B system, there is no wiggle room for that. Let your clients know that you have policies but that in a crisis, you are willing to "bend the rules" a little to help.
4. A Little Quid Pro Quo
As you're doing what you can to help, this may be the time to try the old “I wonder if you can help me out with something...”. Is there something (of no immediate cash value) that you’ve perhaps been hoping for from your partner, but holding off on, such as different payment terms, or a new contract, or an operational adjustment? This may be the best time to get it. It doesn’t have to be an obvious request for quid pro quo, but even if it is, it’s business, and business people understand transactional value.
5. Learn from your Clients
Yes, it’s good to read what’s happening outside of your own industry, and keep up-to-date with what's happening in the business world in general. But with your clients you have the advantage of a more detailed knowledge of how they operate. Are they doing anything particularly well? Is that something you could do better in your own business? In our case, in spite of the current challenges, a number of our restaurant clients are going out of their way to give back to their communities, by running food drives, and feeding groups of front-line healthcare workers. Seeing how our clients have pulled this off, and the wonderful benefits that come from such gestures, has inspired me and my team to undertake our own initiatives to help with projects that improve our community.
Now is the perfect opportunity to show that you understand the lifetime value of a good customer. Use this outlook to cement your relationships during this crisis. Demonstrate with actions like those listed above, that emphasize the value of the long-term relationship.
It may cost you a bit of effort or even a bit of cash now, but it will reap rewards in the long run. Your clients won’t forget that you were there for them when the chips were down.