It’s the little things that matter in life. The same goes for your business. Getting ahead in a crowded market space is not an easy task. Of course, it’s all about the end product you deliver your clients. However, the more delicate details sometimes get lost meeting those all-important deliverable deadlines.

 

Communicate well and often, both externally and internally. To the outside, be open and helpful. Follow up on meetings with a quick email or call. Let clients know that they are still on your mind even after they paid their invoices. From an internal perspective, try not to flood everyone’s mailboxes with an endless stream of messages. Think before you send is the motto. Does something really need to go on an email or could you just walk up to the person and talk about it? Communication needs to have purpose and meaning, and in most cases, this behaviour starts from the very top.

 

 

Office swag. Think about the small things that tell the client you have an eye for detail. At the same time, it gives your employees a way to express their pride and joy working at your business. Consider personalised lanyards from a supplier that can go the extra mile for you and deliver truly unique and custom products. Personalised notebooks also do very well, especially when your employees take them into client meetings. It’s also a sign that your business is doing well, which is a sign of stability to clients. The last thing your clients want to do is invest time and attention into suppliers that might not be around tomorrow, especially in the current climate. Just don’t overdo it as brandishing your logo on every piece of office-ware might be creating an overly corporate environment.

A good example is office mugs. Do you really want to force your employees to drink out of the same looking cup? Balance out the office-ware without encroaching on personal space is a good rule.

 

Celebrate the successes. As we tend to sprint to the finish line, we are quickly confronted with that this is a 5K relay, not a 500-metre dash. It shouldn’t be an exception to the rule to celebrate when you’ve done well, it should be the rule. From a human perspective we might need more than just the paycheck at the end of the month, we need to feel a sense of achievement, even more so in a more prominent organisation where we tend to feel like just a number. So, shout about the successes and give people credit where they deserve it. The opposite is also true, don’t encourage an atmosphere of failure and punishment. If all you do is call out mistakes and emphasise punishment, this becomes the norm people will measure against. Choose to create a positive culture rather than a negative one. The same goes for clients. If all you do is wait for something negative to happen, the next fire to extinguish, then the overall emotion a client associates with you will be trending negatively. However, if you celebrate the successes, at least you will stem that trend and potentially create a more positive outlook. And that’s what you are after, those small things that add up and ensuring your business will thrive.