I recently spent time analyzing what guides me in my business relationships as owner. It didnt take me long to narrow down four key elements that I incorporate into my business transactions and relationships. In fact, my business relationships are an extension of how I interact in my personal relationships. Why shouldnt my customers and business partners receive the same standards that my friends and family receive in my personal relationships? The four key elements of my business relationships are: Trust - I need to be able to trust a business partner and vendor. If I find that a partner is not living up to their obligations in being trustworthy, then I need to sever that relationship. I believe that the same expectation must be extended by me to my customers and business partners. If Im not honest with my customers and business partners then why would they continue to do business with me? They wouldnt. Business relationships are a two way street. Both parties should come out of the relationship having gained something. If only one party wins, then its an unfair relationship. Reliability I believe that its my duty as a business person to offer reliable services to my customers. In the case of my business, most of my products and services are provided by third party advertisers. I receive a commission when my site leads to a confirmed sale. While my legal obligations are minimized, I do my best to partner with reliable advertisers. I always allow customer feedback and encourage my site visitors to contact me if they encounter problems. I do my best to resolve any issues that my visitors may have. In this way Im providing my visitors/customers with a reliable outlet to conduct their shopping transactions. Honesty Since my site ItsTherightWay.com is a news and sports commentary website, my obligation to my visitors is to provide them with honest content. When providing a commentary to my visitors, Im honest and to the point. I present the facts the way that I see them. While my visitors may disagree with my point of view, they hopefully will come to see me as an honest person. I believe that people need to present the truth as they see it and be honest with their customers, visitors and business partners. If your partners and customers see you as an honest person then they will be more likely to do more business with you. Its definitely in your best interest as a businessperson to conduct yourself in an honest manner. Integrity Integrity is defined by dictionary.com as having a strong moral and ethical code. In my personal life I think about how my maker would want me to act in a certain situation. This guides me in me in all my relationships. Each person has a different code of morals and ethics and Im not saying that it has to come from religion. I believe that every businessperson needs to form their own code of conduct. That code of conduct needs to have a set of morals and ethics. This set of morals and ethics is like a road map and must be consistently applied. If you adhere to your set of morals and ethics you will conduct yourself with integrity. Your business partners and customers will see you as a principled person who has a set of standards that can be trusted. I believe that incorporating trust, reliability, honesty and integrity into your business relationships are vital to being a success in business. |
