Ignoring Peter AND Paul

The Frugal Landlord
I was speaking with a man recently who owned an apartment building with four units. One was about to become empty, and he had been contacted by a potential tenant from a reference through one of the other tenants. The potential tenant was very excited to move into the new apartment, and came with great references.

Are small investments in your business keeping you from attracting the clients you want?

The only drawback was that the potential tenant thought there wasn't enough storage space in the kitchen, and had asked to have cabinets installed over the sink. The total cost of the job would be about $250. This distressed the landlord, as the rent was only $575/month, and he wanted to make repairs to the rest of the building, and didn't want to spend too much money on the building. Because of this, the landlord decided not to install the cabinets, and the potential tenant decided not to move in.

In the end, the apartment went empty for one month as the landlord tried to find another tenant. That month, he lost a total of $575 because he didn't have all four units rented. Had he installed the cabinets, he would have had that money, and the $250 he spent on cabinets would have raised the value of the building, and also have been a tax writeoff. What was a win-win-win situation became a total loss because of that old adage: it takes money to make money.

Business Is Client-Centric
Losing a great potential tenant is the equivalent of not making a great sale. Tenants are clients, and more importantly, they're repeat business! Every month, they come back and buy your services. Landlords spend almost no money in advertising. All they have to do is maintain a great product (the apartment), and provide great customer service (such as shoveling the walkway after a storm, and fixing those leaky pipes).

Every business must maintain this focus on the client. If you are serving your client a product or service that deteriorates in quality, you're being a terrible landlord to your clients. Large companies are great for lavishing potential clients with schmooze and attention, but are even better at then taking it all away once a contract is signed. In the advertising world, internal discussions at agencies often use the term "The Client" in a negative way! If the client wants something, they are "being difficult."

There is one rule in business above all others: in order to succeed, you must provide a product or service that people buy, and keep them buying it. If you're the only person providing that product, they'll probably choose you. If you have competition, your best bet to making you better is to look towards your clients.

John Fluevog employs Open Source Footwear, allowing his clients to design their own shoes!

Clients Are Magic
One of the greatest things about clients is that they have all the information you need to build the best business possible. Your clients can tell you everything you need to crush your competition. The trick is knowing what to ask, and in deciphering their answers. They will also rise up to your expectations, as long as you lead confidently, and practice informed decision-making.

Four ways to begin harvesting the magic are as follows:

1. Admit Your Faults -- Clients know why your services are good, and how they could be better. If you openly admit where you're trying to be better, you're showing how your products services are always improving. They already like your products now, but they'll like them even more every day. This action is even more valuable because it opens up the discussion for the client to suggest ways you can improve current aspects, and how to install new ones they would like to see.
2. Affect Random Acts Of Kindness -- From time to time, throw your clients an unexpected "bone." Give them unadvertised free upgrades, product "add-on's," whitepapers, or special access to your programming simply for being a great client. If you sell shoes online, mail your clients free shoelaces six months after a purchase. Don't send keychains -- give them something related to the product or service they bought that will be valuable to them. This encourages them to give you feedback, and to visit your web site to see what you've been up to.
3. Give Your Clients A Place To Meet -- Create an environment where your clients can speak with each other. Give them the opportunity and place to share their experiences with each other, and to talk about your business. Let them share in an unrestricted environment, but be sure to actively monitor these discussions. Listen to what they're saying, and take ample notes. The things you need to improve will be discussed right there, and the things that are great may actually turn your clients into salespeople to your other clients! They're going to do this anyway, so if you create for them the easiest, most unrestricted place to do so, you'll be able to benefit from it. With the very affordable price of computers, you could create a great online resource that requires minimal upkeep.
4. Repeat -- Go through this cycle constantly. Take what you've learned when your clients talk to each other, and use that to make your business better. Then, go back and admit that they're right, and show them how you're making improvements based on their feedback. Showing them you appreciate their time and opinions empowers them, and shows them that they're valued. Following that feeling up with a random act of kindness sometime later continues that feeling, and keeps them coming back.

Moving On
When you invest effort in and attention to your clients, you are investing in your business. Often, companies want to "lead" their markets by acting as the authority on their goods and services. Unfortunately, leadership is the process of listening to the best, and then making the most informed decisions. Your clients are the experts in what they want. Listen to them, give them what they want, and be so great to work with they'll want to work with you over and over again.