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Building mutually beneficial relationships is the best way to long-term profitable business growth. It goes beyond the quick fix and short-term. This is the mentality that ensures your business not only has a good week or quarter, but decades of business growth.

Several components are built into the model for establishing, building and maintaining profitable business performance. These components are integral in the process of what I call R-Commerce. It is not about the E-Commerce (the electronics). It is about the R-Commerce (the relationships). These relationships are the roots of your business tree which grow deep to produce the bountiful fruit of profits. Without strong roots, you have anemic results that are transitory and tenuous at best.

Here are some key steps that can help you as you establish, build and maintain profitable business relationships.

Study the Market Regularly

We have to discover what customers, clients, members — whatever term you use for those wonderful people who give you their money — want, not just what we think they want. Too often business owners take on an air of “superior knowing.” They think they know the market because they’ve talked with a few people or they’ve been in the business for a period of time. This is market laziness. Scientific study requires continual examination in an ever-changing market. What worked before might not work today. It requires an on-going testing and searching for “What’s wanted now?” in the marketplace. Make use of Hootsuite to find out what people are tweeting about. Use Twiriod to find when people in your market are most likely to read your tweets. Keep learning and growing.

Develop Skills to Add Value

Building business relationships requires that each party contribute significant value. Otherwise, the relationship subsides or terminates. Relationship marketing is more than just being nice to people. It is being professional, cordial, meeting their needs and providing value. Study what is happening in the trade magazines of your key focus markets. Know the needs of your audience and what is causing them pain today. Once you have that knowledge, you can provide solutions for them. The more you make yourself and your company indispensable to those who can buy your services, the more you guarantee your own business success. Continue to add new market-valuable skills on a regular basis. This is the essential component for maintaining business (and personal) relevance.

Find Business for Them

The irony of the human condition is that we are all built to naturally focus on our own needs. You only eat for yourself (unless you’re pregnant). You only sleep for yourself. You only breathe for yourself. We are all very self-focused by nature. Yet, the way to succeed today is to focus on the needs of others. The more you help others to achieve the goals they want, the more favorably they are inclined to help you achieve your own goals. Get on Linkedin and learn about what your customer’s customers are looking for. By helping your customers link with more customers, you’ll ensure your business a nice place in their heart — and their spending budget.

Nurture Their Nature

Provide what they want, not just what you think is helpful. Study what they need, what is causing them pain and be their pain reliever. Automate as much as you can so you send them helpful articles (like this one!), tips on what is happening in the areas of their interest, potential prospects for their business. Find ways they can improve in areas where they have expressed interest or you note they want to improve. Even if nothing happens for your clients, they’ll know you made an effort to assist and help them. Be a resource for them and always be the person they turn to for solutions.

Continue the Process

Remember important events for important people. It never ceases to amaze me how it makes people happy when someone remembers their birthday. Hey, I’m impressed when they remember my birthday! I guess that means we’re all human and want those genuine, sincere human touches. It is on-going and never stops. Build the systems to maintain it and don’t rely on your own efforts to remember. Leverage technology to build relationships.

Too often today we decry the loss of humanity and genuine caring we see in our culture. It is not my purpose here to analyze why. However, I do notice that when so many other people are lacking in care and genuine concern, it creates wonderful opportunities to build solid, lasting, profitable relationships for those who genuinely care.

Focus on the needs of others and how you can help them and you will always do well. This is what relationship marketing and R-Commerce are all about.