More than once I have heard business owners and managers say “customers are my friends.” I even heard someone say “I don’t go out to sell, I go have coffee with my friends and business comes from there.” This idea about friendships that can or cannot be developed with customers is not false, but it is not accurate and if not handled carefully it can be not only disappointing but also risky.
The relationship between two friends is very different from the relationship between a client and a supplier. Of course, friendship can arise in any situation where interaction between people occurs. But we must be careful not to confuse friendship with business relationships. A friend is not a friend because he is a client. And a client is not a client because he is a friend. Or at least it should not be that way. Because in the client-supplier relationship there is necessarily an interest involved, generally economic, material or service-related. And true friendship, in its broadest sense, is selfless. We learn that as we go through life.
When our true friends become clients, which is not difficult or rare to happen, it becomes a risky relationship. It combines a disinterested relationship with an interested one, so if it is not managed properly it becomes a relationship full of “conflicts of interest.” In other words, our values can be compromised, from equity and justice in the best of cases, to honesty and ethics in the most serious situation. And this can end in three ways, either the business ends or the friendship is destroyed or both. It becomes easy, sometimes unconsciously, to favor one client over another, or worse yet, to favor one supplier over another better qualified one. We can even lose the business sense .
As a friend I hope you are patient with the poor quality of my service, as a friend I hope you give me a better price or even not charge me, as a friend I hope you give me your business even if I am not the best provider for you, as a friend I hope you do not ask me for a discount (if I am the seller) or I hope you give it to me (if I am the buyer), as a friend I hope you attend to me personally even if you have a very professional team behind you, as a friend I hope you understand that I am late to our meeting because you already know me, as a friend I hope you always evaluate me well even if I do not deserve it and recommend me even if you lie.
In the strictest sense, a true friend should be absolutely honest and tell you the truth when you are failing, when you are not the best at what you do, when your prices are out of the market, etc. Such a friend would be your best ally because his honest feedback would help you improve and grow. But frankly, there are very few true friends who would be willing to tell us things as they are. Either because they do not know how to say it or for fear of hurting the relationship and even losing the friendship. So let's not leave that burden to our friends. Besides, the number of true friends does not make a client base large enough to sustain any business.
Instead, it would be more accurate to say that the relationship with a client is friendly . In the sense of the English word “friendly”, which means kind, cordial, pleasant, cheerful, well-groomed, etc.
But doing business with friends is perfectly viable, it is possible, it is sometimes necessary and it can certainly be convenient. You just have to keep in mind some good practices so as not to put either the relationship or the business at risk.
Consider the following when your friends become your customers:
- Keep it Pro. Above all, be a professional. Don't allow yourself to do anything you wouldn't do with a client you don't have an emotional relationship with.
- Set expectations and don't assume anything. Before exchanging products/services, make sure your friend knows exactly what to expect. And don't assume that he will understand you, that there won't be a problem with "minor flaws," that there won't be anything to negotiate, that he knows your situation, etc.
- Avoid freebies. While there may be an unwritten agreement not to charge each other for what each offers, the best practice is to clearly agree to charge each other. This way, point 1: professionalism is maintained. Otherwise, the problem is that if you did not pay for the product/service I gave you, you do not have the right to demand from me. And if you cannot demand from me, I cannot rectify if something goes wrong.
- Discounts and benefits. It's possible and somewhat natural that you'll want to give a discount or benefit to that great friend who came to buy from you. The way a regular customer earns that discount or benefit is in exchange for a referral's data, or for the amount of billing or frequency of consumption. A friend can earn that right just by being a friend and that's fine, but make sure it fits your policy, don't exceed the benefit or break the applicable rules. Here, too, professionalism is in order.
- Close the loop. Just like you do with any other customer, close the service loop with the satisfaction survey. And ask them to try to be as objective as possible in their feedback (facts and data). If the survey is anonymous, they may feel more comfortable.
Carlos Rodriguez Zorrilla
Business Coach & Trainer: Growth, Sales & Management