Friends or Friendstumers? The business lenses


Intro....

Chai!, Bad English!, you think so right? Well, awakening to a new day with a host of experiences is the motivation behind the new Word (FRIENDSTUMERS). Don't bother checking the Oxford, Longman or any of your favorite, popular dictionaries as the response to your enquiry lie within you. It is a name coined to represent those friends who help your business grow.

Caution
If you do not have a business mindset, you may find the next lines offensive and boring. However, with a great conscience, you just might tag along with the message as you may find them useful too.

Friends or Customers?
We all have these many friends to whom we are connected. You put up a post of yourself partying or doing some great stuff and all the comments flowing in from left, right and centre on social media. That can be so fulfilling to be sincere. Such fulfillment that lasts for a few minutes or at most, a few days. Have you thought about reaching the pinnacle of your fulfillment together with same friends? Well, many of us do! How we manage the relationship between friendship and "customership"  with same audience however requires some techniques. If you do not possess them, you may be on the way to a business recess soon or even a total folding up especially when you are  new in business or exploring a new business line.

Tips on Relationship Management in Business

1. Tell your product/service's story in relation to how your friends have impacted it and can further impact it. Let them feel as though, they are the business.

2. Be consistent: focus on a particular value which you offer, create your value proposition and regularly churn out contents that are in line with your value proposition. You do not need to bore your audience with too many things which they will struggle to remember.

3. When they say they are friends, tell them that they are your potential customers and business links. Let them know what their patronage and referrals mean to you.

4. Offer great value: always ensure that the value you offer is consistent with what you propose. Be the best at your product/service delivery, appreciate sincere feedbacks and continue to improve on your delivery. Do not expect that your friends will buy from you because you are friends. Let them buy the value you offer only.

5. Do NOT underprice your value: Many times, friends want you to offer them great value at ridiculous prices which do not conform with general business principle of profit making. Some of your friends also claim to love what you do but they do not want to pay. DO NOT go at a loss to please your friends. The going concern of your business is at risk. Also note that true friends support your business by making you earn money which is commensurate with your value.

6. Reward your Friendstumers: In your line of business, create a reward system for your friends who patronize you and also refer you to others who do same. These are amazing set of people. The customer chain is only completed when their referral pays you for a great service. Then, the cycle can repeat itself again.

7. Build trust: Let your friends find you trustworthy. Do not make promises that you cannot keep to. Be courteous and keep up with appointments in utmost punctuality. Be that reliable friend all the time.

In Short...
As a business minded person with a circle of friends, a good attitude might just be all that is missing in your mission to convert friends to customers and business partners. The tips here may not be all that exists but they have been carefully written based on experience along my short but interesting entrepreneurship journey.

Welcome to my world, potential customer!

Sijuade Akinyemi-Eshilokun
Entrepreneur & Emerging Development Strategist

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