It goes without saying that authentic relationships have always been a crucial part of developing businesses. Showing that you care about customer relations as well as your connection to other like-minded people and companies is invaluable when it comes to making you stand out and be seen as a valued contributor to society. These days, it’s becoming increasingly difficult to keep up with the speed of technology and therefore grasp what it is that you need to do to stay in touch with your customers and competitors alike. Let’s discuss key actions you can take in order to ensure you maintain a hearty bank of useful and meaningful relationships in this digital age.
1. Create Meaningful Content
Gone are the days where companies can get away with simply creating an e-store and hoping customers feel confident with their products and services. If you really want to show you’re interested in customers’ needs and that you’re at the top of the ranks in terms of field knowledge, creating a blog or visual media content is a great way to gain more interest in what you are doing and build more connections with those who may be interested in your product.
2. Comment On Other People’s Content
No one can make it alone in this world, and that’s very much the case for businesses. Think about how you make friends in your personal life, and transfer those principles across to a digital business platform. Conversations and interesting contributions will show your community (and the global community) that you are genuinely interested in what’s happening around you, and opens up the doors for people to click back onto your site where possible customers may find something they need from you.
3. Offer To Write Or Receive Guest Posts
Creating useful and diverse content in the form of blog posts is a creative way to build national and international connections, and enhance your company’s online image. Branch out and find opportunities to contribute to other people’s material, building links back to your site as you go. It’s a win-win situation because you’re not only helping drive traffic back to your site, but you’re building solid connections with similar business people who want to share useful stories and insights with their customers.
4. Follow People With Similar Messages
If you have social media accounts (which you really should have if you’re looking to truly thrive in this digital age), spend a significant amount of time scouring those platforms for people to follow and engage with. Read through their posts and content, and if you find you have something in common, hit ‘follow’! They’ll be notified of your interaction and will most likely follow you in return. This opens the door for you to get inspired by what they’re doing, and step up your game if you feel there’s something you aren’t doing as well as them. It’s great to broaden your horizons as much as possible so that you can keep up-to-date with what’s happening in the world.
5. Share And Give
Platforms such as LinkedIn are great places to build professional relationships and show your respect and support for those you connect with. If you have spent some time getting to know someone in your field and enjoy communicating with them, endorse their skills on their LinkedIn profile and leave reviews regarding their business and content. Showing regard for people who may even be your competitors demonstrates that you are a genuine person who is prepared to learn, connect and challenge themselves, and what’s more, you’ll most likely have this favour returned, which will benefit you greatly.
6. Follow Up Offline
If you manage to rustle up some solid online relationships with other like-minded people, seek opportunities to meet up with them in person. Sometimes you’ll discover they’re passing by your city and this is a great opportunity to get to know them on a more personal level. You never know who you’ll need to call on for a favour in the business realm, and networking in this way can increase your opportunities. Having the chance to show someone your hometown or physical business space shouldn’t be undervalued. Equally, if you find yourself passing by a town wherein you know some of your connections are based, take advantage of the chance to meet up or at least let them know you’d be keen to see them.
Conclusion
Business relationships have stepped up a notch. No longer can we solely rely on face-to-face meetings with the hope people stay in touch with us and help build up our businesses. The realm of social media, blogs and suchlike are becoming increasingly necessary platforms to harness. The way to build long-lasting, meaningful, useful relationships involves creating, engaging with people, and contributing. Look at what your business is doing well already, and consider how you can branch out further.
