It’s all about the relationship – don’t they get it?

I was out on my daily morning walk yesterday and found myself reflecting on the value of relationships – personal and professional. Due to the growth spurts of my 2 boys I often find my daily walk includes a stop at a well known bakery and our newly adopted local fruit shop. This is where my story about the power of substantial relationships has its anchor point.

For the past year I have been trying to find a new greengrocer. You see my old green grocer, Sam retired last year after 44 years in the same shop much to my and others dismay. Many of us who shopped there were happy for Sam to finally retire but bereft at the loss of a fabulous weekly / daily relationship. I mean (being very selfish) who was going to replace the 21year relationship I had with Sam. I loved seeing him and talking to him – I saw his children grow up and he saw me become a parent amongst other things and we even barracked for the same footy team. Upon reflection we shared a deep and long-standing relationship based on something of real value and substance. It wasn’t just me being a customer or him being a greengrocer, it was so much more than that.

So back to my walk. In the last 12 months I have shopped at another greengrocer shop near the bakery but it just wasn’t the same. They were not interested in me in any way. No eye contact, just gruff grunts and empty words – it felt like they had a ’empathy bypass’.

About 2 months ago I had had enough. I decided to walk up to another Greengrocer shop not too far away and to my absolute pleasant surprise found that the new owners and their staff knew about the value of relationships, not just selling fruit and veg. I love going there and building new friendships. And how’s this for coincidence, they know my Sam and his brother (who also had a fruit shop). Sam’s brother has recently retired too and many of his customers now go to this fruit shop. And the new owner of my current greengrocer is called SAM. HOORAY!

But wait there is more.

In the past 2 weeks who turns up working there 3 half days a week? My SAM. He was bored and needed something to do. When I saw him we hugged and were so happy to see each other. It was a great reunion.

I cannot speak for all people, however a number of my friends and colleagues are voicing the same views. We want to deal with real people who not only give us good quality at reasonable prices but people who value us as human beings in an integrated relational world. Not just in the retail world but in business relationships too. Have a look at www.cluetrain.com and see what I mean.

It got me thinking about any business and how we cannot have a business without some form of relationship with others. Here are some questions you might like I consider:

• How does your business value relationships with its customers and suppliers?
• How genuinely do you and your team connect with people who come into contact with you?
• What do they remember you for?
• What do your customers say about you when you can’t hear them?

I don’t know if your feel like me but for what it is worth I really don’t like going to large shopping centres and I am sick and tired of having to explain my entire banking and business history to the NEWEST business banking person each time I want to speak to the bank about my business needs. There is no relationship to speak of. No value creation and no value communication. The big banks and the large shopping centres might as well just be big warehouses full of stuff now.

A colleague and friend of mine, Debra Templar, has written a book on ‘How women like to buyâ€? and according to her research:

• over 85% of retail buying decisions (including cars, mortgages, homes, etc.) made in Australia are made by women.
• In the USA and Europe approximately 41-47cents in the dollar is spent in independent retailers and in Australia only 21 cents in every dollar goes to the independants with 79 cents going to the big corporates.

In my opinion many big corporations have become so systemic in their way of thinking and acting that they have stripped out the intrinsic qualities so essential for value creation and communication and building of longstanding loyal relationships.

And what do many of us value? For one thing we rate authentic relationships very high on the agenda. I don’t know how much money Sam made a result of our relationship – I don’t care really because I got much than I paid for.

Many of my friends are voting with their feet, wallets, hearts and minds by going back to local shops and businesses where they can, not only get what they want and need, but can also develop real relationships based on something of value and substance.

By the way the latest medical research says that good relationships are not just good for our wallets they are very good for our health too. Here’s a link you might like to read as well.

www.cardioresearcher.com/Importance_of_Relationships

Relationship Dos and Don’ts