Business Communication: Building Mutual Relationships

I strongly believe relationships in business – a company and its customers, a company and its employees, a manager and team – must work like a marriage. Both parties must mutually benefit, reciprocate, and want to engage in a healthy relationship. And healthy communication in those relationships include being genuine and clear, sharing not only the goods, but sometimes the bads and the risks. It requires us to know each other pretty well.

Let’s talk about a specific example.

Let’s say you’re a salesperson at PSP, and a customer came to you to buy a computer. The customer had a budget of $1,500 but you strongly recommended the $2,000 computer which the customer bought. One week later, an issue arose and you had to deal with the repairs which took several days.

At the time of purchase, if the customer was super happy to learn about all the all the added features he/she was getting by spending the extra $500, thanking you for all the advice, the problem that came up will likely be dealt with pretty smoothly. Overall, the customer was happy with the purchase from the start.

But what if the customer felt pressured to purchase the more expensive machine? Well, if the customer never felt comfortable with their initial purchase, you can bet they won’t be happy with the new issue. Getting it sorted out might not go as smoothly since the relationship between you and the customer was never mutually beneficial.

In any relationship, unless it is mutual, you’re more likely to encounter issues sooner or later. So be honest, be genuine, and put yourself in their shoes, so you can make the relationship mutually beneficial and successful. This requires clear and honest communication to work.