It’s a common assumption in business that no news is good news. Let’s just clarify that phrase: it doesn’t mean “there’s never any good news”, it means if you don’t hear from your customers you assume that all is well and they are perfectly happy.  It’s also usual to assume that those customers who shout the loudest get the most attention.

And it’s easy to fall into the oh-so-common cycle of reactivity.

A company doesn’t contact their clients because they label them as a ‘good customer’ – loyal, complaint-free and therefore happy to be left alone and put to the bottom of the pile of people to call.  Then when there is a problem with the ‘good client’, it’s necessary ‘red alert’ and all available time and resource are invested in sorting out the problem. Finally, other clients who have been ‘put on hold’ (because time and resource has been diverted to the customer with the problem) get fed up and say “if you don’t deliver I’m off to your competitors”.  The attention shifts again and the cycle goes on.

Every business strives to work against that trend and not fall into that trap of reactivity.  We all want to be proactive, calling our clients just to say ‘hey, how’s it all going?’. But it’s fair truth to say that if a business does fall into the trap of reactivity, it takes a while to get out of it.  So my advice to you is…..

Be a ‘bad customer’!!

By that I don’t mean start tutting loudly if you have to queue for more than a couple of minutes to pay for a coffee (chances are, the coffee will be nicer to drink after a minute or two anyway cos you won’t burn your mouth, but maybe that’s just me).

When I say be a ‘bad customer’ I mean buck the trend.

If we define a ‘good customer’ as being loyal, complaint-free and happy with little or no contact at all, being a ‘bad customer’ means you can feel totally justified in calling your suppliers for a chat, making them aware that you have done your research and that you know there are other companies out there who can do what they do.

If you don’t feel you have a total understanding of the product or service, have it explained to you – even if it takes 10 times for you to get to grips with it.

If you want to get a weekly or monthly update from your supplier, say so, and don’t wait for them to call you – pick up the phone and give them a bell.

If your supplier has a direct impact on the success of your latest marketing campaign, make sure they are involved at all points.

You’ll find that most suppliers, whether it be an SEO agency or the people that stock the stationary, are more than capable of justifying why they should continue to be involved in the future successes of your business – after all, they managed well enough at the sales pitch!

So here’s what you can do today:

- Contact your account manager and ask them to call you once a week/month/twice a month or whatever suits you best

- If you need to get a more complete understanding of the product or service, request a training session

- Don’t be afraid to say “I don’t completely understand what you do for me.  Can you go over it again?”

- If there’s a question over the on-going role of that supplier, bring them in and ask them to talk about what they have done so far and what they will do moving forward

- If your suppliers have done a good job, saying ‘thank you’ goes a long way to maintaining a successful two-way relationship!

Ultimately the secret to a successful relationship of any kind is locked firmly in the art of communication.  If your supplier knows what you want and how you want it, they can deliver in a way that’s the most efficient and (hopefully) profitable for you.  If you can help to establish a successful symbiotic relationship with them, you’ll find that it’s easier to get what you want.