You Need Great Relationships With Your Stakeholders

A truly great Customer-focused company has an expansive idea of who it defines as "Customers." Of course, those who purchase directly from them will be called Customers (or Clients or Patrons or any other name specific to their industry.) Beyond that, they also view Employees as key Customers of the organization — it is often said that your Employees will not treat your Customers any better than the Company treats them! And that's not all! Here's a list of probable Stakeholders with whom your business needs to have positive relationships.
  • Suppliers and Vendors — Become a Preferred Customer with your suppliers. Appreciate their people, their products and their processes. Work smoothly with their systems, and give them helpful ideas how to improve.
  • Distributors and Channel Partners — Provide up-to-date information, reliable, speedy delivery, effective training, and favorable terms.
  • Government Agencies (Local, State, Federal) — Compliment informed and helpful staff. Submit applications and filings on time. Provide constructive feedback.
  • The Community in which you do business — All businesses are given permission to operate by their Community — and that permission can be revoked! Strive to become a "Neighbor of Choice" within your community (See the Boston College Center for Corporate Citizenship for some great, leading-edge ideas on this topic.)
  • Nearby neighbors — Cultivate and court your nearby neighbors, both commercial and residential. It is surprising how helpful they can be. Consider forming a Community Advisory Panel* to bring neighbors and significant neighbor stakeholders "inside the business" and to put individual faces and names to replace the impersonal storefront.
  • Family members of all Employees — Embrace the family of your Employees; bring them in as 'Partners' in this exciting venture. Hold celebrations, recognition events, and just "family building" events like picnics, holiday events, and special occasions.
  • Friends, colleagues, neighbors and community members of all Employees — Your Employees can become your best ambassadors to their larger personal circles. Invite them to participate in promotional events. Help them feel like "insiders" and win their loyalty.

That's quite a list! Just remember that we live and work in a constellation of relationships based on service to each other.

*A Community Advisory Panel is a group of individuals who represent the fabric of their community and who have made a commitment to meet with the management of a local business on a regular basis to discuss issues of mutual interest. Community advisory panels are a way to improve dialogue between businesses and local communities and build credibility and community trust.

Community Advisory Panels allow members of the community to share their concerns and ask their questions of management. Panels include key audiences within the community such as civic leaders, business leaders, homemakers, retirees, hourly workers, emergency responders, clergy, educators, environmental groups and health care providers.

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which results in improved profit, Customer satisfaction and loyalty.
PO Box 617468 • Orlando, FL 32861 • 407-668-6466