Cornershop ethos

There was a time ago where there were a local shops at the heart of the community where you could walk in, get a smile and be greeted with a cheery “would you like your usual order?”. I live in a village and love the fact that this is still in play in smaller communities. A great many of places this seems lacking now and everyone has become a number to get grunted at by unhappy client meeting drones.

Small businesses knew you were as the customer important and treated you as such. There is a need to bring back this approach to clients where they are treated with value and not just like another number to add to a bank balance. If you own your business or are freelance, one good thing is that you are able to write your own book on how to deal with your clients. This is one thing that you have control over and will greatly affect your success depending on the approach you take. The way you treat your clients can also affect your business both negatively and positively. Not really a giant leap considering they are the ones you are working for.

On the whole, if you work for someone else you are inclined to be polite to them. Often swearing and treating your boss like dirt results in a quick visit to a job centre. There is an inbuilt politeness that you treat your boss with as you don’t bite the hand that feeds you. With clients this approach can also be taken, but there is a chance to personify the way you deal with them. One of the best lessons I got in this was from a sales manager I once knew who always sent his contacts birthday cards and also spent at least 10 minutes talking before pushing the hard sell onto them. Some would be skeptical and suggest he was only doing this for the cash, the thing is he may or may not. What I saw was someone being personal and not just going for their wallet and running away.

One thing I am noticing about a lot of online businesses in the recent number of years is the return to this cornershop ethos. It stated with a few and the snowball seems to be something that even the bigger businesses are looking towards. People don’t like being a number, when it comes down to it the “personal touch” is important. We all love it when companies get more personal, from gifts and birthday cards to being called by our name in a bank. It doesn’t hurt for a bit of politeness coupled with the personal touch. Knowing their names is a good start and caring for their well being. i am not talking about tucking them up in bed and when they have a cold giving them chicken soup. I could sum up what I am talking about as just simple good old fashioned customer care. Just as you are not a number; neither are your clients.