10 September 2015

Relationships matter

"You can take my factories, burn up my buildings, but give me my people and I’ll build the business right back again."

These insightful words are those of great businessman Henry Ford, and they got me thinking about what we’ve learned about great customer relationships here at Bedshed, and the three great benefits of prioritising relationships in business.

Trust in sales
By building strong relationships with your customer’s means that they trust what you are selling them. By listening to your customers, adapting and always providing them with the best, honest, person to person service, they will trust you, respond to you and keep coming back for more.

Business development
Here at Bedshed, we’ve learned business grows faster when you talk. By having an open dialogue between franchisees and suppliers, we can make sure the business is moving in the right direction. This dialogue is facilitated by our annual buying trip, enabling us to build relationships with suppliers face-to-face, key when you’re trying to build up a bond in business, and hearing franchisees’ opinions on stock decisions. 

When the going gets tough…
Where you really see relationships come into their own is when the chips are down. If there ever comes a point where your business is struggling, having relationships with both customers and suppliers can help you pull through and come out the other side stronger. All businesses have their ups and downs, and building really great relationships with all around you in the good times will pay dividends in less prosperous times.

 

Gavin Culmsee, COO Bedshed