Business is all about building profitable relationships with customers, suppliers, team members and other stakeholders. To facilitate those relationships, we use tools and apply time-honored principles. This is what relationship marketing thrives on today.

In this article, I’d like to share with you some tools that can help you in your work to build and maintain profitable business relationships. These tools enhance your communication with customers and other stakeholders, putting the power of human connections to work for you.

Connect Wirelessly — Amidst the Noise

Cell phones are a way of life now. We are using them for most calls. Yet, when you’re in a noisy environment and you’ve got to make that critical call to a potential customer, the last thing you need is a chainsaw roaring away near you.

There is a new device from Cobra that provides noise cancellation in a Bluetooth headset. The CBTH1 is an over-the-head bluetooth device which I have been using for the past week. I found the unit to be amazing in canceling out obnoxious noise around me. It made my conversations clearer; people with whom I spoke on the phone commented on how clear my voice sounded. The CBTH1 uses T5 Sonance Noise Cancellation technology to keep your voice clear in the midst of noise all around you.

This is a great tool in a noisy office or for the traveling salesperson who has to face noisy disruptions. The manufacturer advertises eight hours of talk time and 250 hours of standby time and can be charged by either a home charger or a vehicle charger.

Check out the video they have on their website of a chainsaw being muted during a call, www.cobrahandsfree.com. What a great advantage to be on the road in a noisy environment, and still be able to communicate clearly with clients and get the job done.

Use High-Quality Audio and Video to Connect with Customers

More and more business is being conducted over the internet these days. A big part of that is through the use of webcams. One webcam which was recently released features high-definition video coupled with high-definition audio. It is the new EyeBall from Blue Microphones, www.BlueMic.com.

I tested this webcam out on both my Windows computer and my MacBook Pro with amazing results. The sound quality was clear and resonant. The picture was vivid and crisp on my Skype video productions as well as when I produced video email messages.

I also received one of the company’s famous Snowball microphones. This microphone was designed for high-end audio production, and the sound demonstrates that. The components they use in production put it at broadcast quality. What this means to you in business is that your voice and message will come across on your MP3 audio attachments, promotion recordings and other audio work (think Skype messages) as professional and a cut above the rest.

I’ve used the Snowball for some podcasts as well as videos for YouTube. All of my experiments with this microphone — on both Windows and Macs — have demonstrated outstanding quality and clarity. The sound comes across in the “WOW!” level of professionalism.

In an economy where we have more challenges, it is important to maintain a competitive advantage. Using the right equipment in the right way gives you a leg up to build solid, profitable business relationships. These technologies can help you to position yourself and your message above the clutter of competitors. It is worth investigating these for use in your marketing and for connecting with customers.