• Posted by: Tom Borg
• In: Employers - Managing

» Add a Comment  Send to Friend

Mistake #2 That Small Business Owners Make:



They don’t communicate with their clients on a regular basis.


Imagine if you will, a bright, red telephone in your office. This telephone is the hotline to the most

important person to your business – the client. Unfortunately, the phone cord has been cut. There

is no way you can use this telephone to communicate with your client. Wouldn’t it make sense that

you would want to get that telephone line repaired so it could connect you to the lifeblood of your

company? Curiously enough many small business owners do not think that way.



Frank Cooper the author of many books on client service, makes it clear that without the client

there is no paycheck for us, our managers or employees. If that is true, why would anybody not

want to communicate with this most important person?

Some of the excuses I’ve heard include:

“I don’t have the time – I’m too busy!”

“I don’t want them to know who I am – they might have a complaint.”

““I didn’t think it was that important.”

( fill in your own )____________________________________


One way for you to consider using to communicate on a regular basis with your clients is:

Be visible

One of my clients, Terry Johnson, Owner of Johnson’s Car Wash in Wayne, MI does this very well.

Throughout the day, he makes it a point to walk around and stop and talk to his clients. He knows

many of them by name. He listens to them and he hears what they like and he hears what they

don’t like. By walking around and talking with his clients he has a solid connection with the people

that signs his paycheck.

Another major benefit is that his clients feel a connection with him.


“They feel special because they talk to the owner “.


Is that important? – You bet it is. Remember when I mentioned earlier two of the top reasons for an

employee or manager leaving your company is because:

1. They are not listened to

2. They don’t feel appreciated


Your clients are the same way. They want to be listened to and they want to feel appreciated. By

being visible your clients have access to you and they like that.


Another way we can communicate with our clients is through

Focus Groups.

A focus group is where you invite your clients who are a good representative of the people you

serve and the people you would like to have as future clients, to come in and share their likes and

dislikes about doing business with you. It is important to do four or five groups on a particular

subject to get an accurate response. It is best to hire an outside professional to conduct the focus

groups. The reason is your responses from your participants will be more honest. Another words

they will say things that reflect how they really feel and not say things just to please you.







Another way to communicate with your clients is to

Watch their body language

as they interact with your managers and employees. Do they look like they are glad to be doing

business with your people or do they look like they are only tolerating the process. Of course there

will be clients who don’t enjoy much of anything, but the question is are the majority of your clients

happy to do business with your company? If they are, what can you observe that is contributing to

that successful experience. Is it the way the manager or employee is interacting with them? How

about the ease for them to be served?


How about the environment? Is the area well lit, with pleasant music in the background? You

be the judge. Take good notes and spend some time thinking about what is working and what

isn’t? What should you continue to do what should you stop doing or change?


One other excellent way to communicate with your clients is to


Use a Client Suggestion Box

This can be a very effective tool when used properly. The main thing to remember is to have it in a

convenient place to for the client to access. Make sure there are pencils or pens and suggestion

cards with enough room on the card for them to write down their comments. A smart business

owner consistently reads every one of the cards and responds appropriately.


So to summarize this chapter:
1. be visible
2. listen to your clients
3. talk to them
4. let them know you care
5. use focus groups
6. learn their names
7. provide a client suggestion box and consistently read them and respond


Content provided by Tom Borg