{"id":508,"date":"2012-04-11T23:23:38","date_gmt":"2012-04-12T04:23:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/allisonwatts.com\/blog\/?p=508"},"modified":"2020-12-24T16:01:32","modified_gmt":"2020-12-24T22:01:32","slug":"relationship-currency-new-economy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/allisonwatts.com\/relationship-currency-new-economy\/","title":{"rendered":"Relationship Is The Currency Of The New Economy"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Relationship<\/a><\/div>\n
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Relationship Is The Currency Of The New Economy<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
by Allison Watts
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Everyone is connected now because of social media and the internet.<\/strong> This is changing the rules of business and it is more like the old days because to succeed in business today, you have to realize that relationships are much more important than transactions. If you are not providing excellent service and quality “products”, people find out. And if you are providing excellence and quality, people also find out. Take care of people, provide excellent service and be grateful for their business and they’ll tell everyone. If you don’t, they’ll also tell everyone (and go elsewhere). <\/em><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n

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In “The Thank You Economy”<\/strong>, Gary Vaynerchuk sites Zappos and Four Seasons as examples of businesses that are thriving in this economy. The companies that will prosper in this economy wow their customers and create customer loyalty. One study showed that customers are willing to pay 5-25% more for superior customer service. <\/em><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n

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Our best marketing and the best marketing in this economy is excellent customer service.<\/strong> We have to care more. In the Thank You Economy, Gary V says you need to instill the right culture in your business with these 6 building blocks:<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n

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1.  <\/span>Begin with yourself<\/strong>– First you have to be committed to customer service and an attitude of gratitude.<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
2.  <\/span>Commit to the movement<\/strong>– no turning back<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
3.  <\/span>Set the tone- <\/strong>As the leaders, we set the tone. Actions speak louder than words.<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
4.  <\/span>Invest in your employees-<\/strong> Reward them and help them be happy so they will create happy customers.<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
5.  <\/span>Trust your people- <\/strong>Do you have rules that get in the way of them creating happy customers?<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
6.  <\/span>Be authentic-<\/strong> Have your heart in it.<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n

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To do this, we may have to shift the way we think and the way we conduct our businesses.<\/strong><\/em> Marketing is much harder now because customers are distracted and have very short attention spans. If we’re not giving them what they want, they will go elsewhere.  We need to remember that our patients are truly the reason our practice exists and they create our success or failure. <\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
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Patients are looking for providers who want to develop and sustain a relationship with them.<\/strong>  They want to know that when they do business with you, they’re going to come out with a renewed sense of excitement about the relationship and the care they received. Our goal is to create and earn presence and relevance in this new economy.  Relationships are the currency in this economy,<\/strong> so dentists and our teams need to become masterful at <\/span>relationship marketing<\/span><\/u><\/a> and building.  To do this, we need the technical as well as the “soft” (communication) skills to build authentic, solid relationships using these tools.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n

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When a customer does business with us, they want a pleasant environment and experience as well as an excellent result.<\/strong> We want to give them all of these, not because we want to do a single procedure for them, but so that we have the chance to help them have the smile they’ve always wanted and maybe even change their lives!<\/em> We also want to think about what’s best for them long-term. A single patient can be valuable long-term, not just in the treatment they do, but through referrals.  If we truly take care of our patients, they come back and bring their family and friends.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n

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Most successful dentists have always genuinely cared about their customers.  We’ve worked hard to build solid, win-win relationships with our patients and community.  Even though some of the marketing techniques are new, business fundamentals remain intact.<\/em>  Technology has made it “easier”, but the learning curve can be challenging. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
To create the best opportunities for your practice, you must make your practice visible by marketing (including online) and then provide exceptional service. <\/strong> Dental patients now research online and ask friends for referrals and input on their next purchase, so it’s no longer an option to build a connection with people, it’s a requirement.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
I want to leave you with these questions:<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/div>\n
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