The ease of digital communication means most of us have much more frequent interaction with clients than ever before.

But have you noticed that although there might be many more touch points, they are often merely functional and pretty impersonal?  That could be a problem. If one-on-one interactions are becoming less common, how can we build and maintain closer, more meaningful contact with clients?

Some practical answers are found in a great little book which is one of the recent successes from Minuteman Press, our printing service for self publishing authors

The Power of Wow – Why Thank You makes Dollars & Sense is written by local entrepreneur Caroline Kennedy of Gift Wrapped Up. Her book introduces processes to encourage loyal repeat clients, improve revenue and create a client base that’s happy to rave about you.

Caroline believes you can offer your clients a Wow experience by

• Ensuring your product or service matches the client’s needs and expectations
• Understanding  the emotional drivers behind why your clients buy
• Innovating to ensure your products and services offer a point of difference
• Communicating  your message clearly with an emotional focus

Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it
William Arthur Ward

Both as a business owner, and as a customer, I know that small gestures such as saying thank you mean a lot, and can be vital in building long term relationships. It’s so easy, particularly in a challenging economic environment, to put all our efforts into achieving a sale, and not enough afterwards into the nurturing of the client relationship. But as Caroline says, it’s a basic human instinct to respond well when your emotional needs are met, or you are made to feel important.