5 Customer Relation Lessons I’ve Learned From Our Newborn

This year has been pretty amazing. The single most epic moment of the year happened on May 1, as my wife and I welcomed our second son in the world. Kids are pretty amazing. They are so small and fragile, yet they have the ability to single-handedly change your schedule and priorities.  As I was rocking him to sleep one night, I realized the lessons this little guy was teaching me about myself had profound implications for my inbound marketing agency and how we delight and serve our new and current clients. So, I wanted to share a few of the customer relation lessons my new little guy has been teaching me.

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Building relationships are at the core of our inbound marketing agency. For a relationship to work, clear communication between two or more people is essential. My son is almost 3 weeks old. He can’t talk, but he can definitely communicate. He lets us know when he needs something, and he lets us know right away! When it comes to delivering inbound services for my clients, communication is also key. Below are 5 customer relation lessons I believe can help our businesses to create better relationships, which in return, will allow us to deliver better services.

1. A Schedule Makes It Easier

My wife is a master at this! She has the superhuman ability to get our boys on a schedule that makes all of our lives a whole lot easier. They sleep when we sleep and they are awake when we are awake. This allows us to capitalize on the time we have together. Since we now have 2 under 2, it also allows us to spend quality time with both of our boys. The same goes for our businesses. Make sure we schedule times to connect with our clients. If you’re like me, you’ve got 1000 things on your mind and your to-do list. Setting a schedule on your calendar app will help a ton! (If you don’t have a calendar app on your devices it’s time to upgrade, like yesterday)

2. Bonding Is Important

The first few weeks at home with a new baby are all about bonding. We are introducing them into our world and making sure they are happy and comfortable. One thing we do to bond with our clients is spent face-to-face time with them, especially in the early stages. This allows us to get to know each other and build trust. Trust is the key factor in long-term business relationships. How well do you know your clients? Do you understand their pain points and how your services are helping solve those issues?

3. Early Effort is Worth It In The Long Run

Bringing home a new baby is a lot of work, and to be completely honest, my wife’s part is way harder than mine. But we both agree it’s worth it! Taking time to do things right for our clients upfront helps both parties in the long run. Do the little things well and the big things will be easier.

Tweet: Do the little things well and the big things will be easier. @shelleymediaart

4. Teach Them To Crawl First

Sometimes we get so excited to deliver to our new clients we speed the process up. But we need to ask ourselves, is this a really good approach? Before our first son could walk, he had to crawl. It was an important part of the development process. The same goes for our clients. The promise is in the process. Take your time and do it right. Don’t over-promise and under-deliver. As an inbound marketing agency, our goal is sustainable long-term success.

Tweet: The promise is in the process. – @shelleymediaart

5. Blowouts Happen. Clean Them Up Quickly

I hate to end with such a negative point, but it’s true. Sometimes things just go wrong. How we handle the “blowouts” is important. The longer you wait to address and clean up the mess, the worse off both parties will be. No matter who is “right”,  take the high road. Address confrontation quickly and calmly and get to a solution that benefits both sides.

As a dad of now two, I have come to realize there’s a lot to still learn. I’m sure the next few years will give me a ton of blogging content and truth be told, I’m a little nervous to see what I learn during the teenage years. We must never forget: the sale isn’t the end, it’s just the beginning. We must nurture our new and current clients and position our agencies and businesses as problem solvers working to ensure they meet their goals. These 5 simple customer relation lessons will help build trust and mutually beneficial relationships for years to come.