How to Maintain Relationships with Online Partners

Business-to-business companies know
the importance of maintaining healthy
customer relationships. It’s more expensive
to acquire customers than to retain them,
so keeping everyone happy and continuing
to work smoothly together saves both
parties a significant amount of time and
money. When it comes to the e-commerce
space, though, cultivating those
relationships can be tricky. If you only ever
communicate online because you are
hundreds of miles apart, adding personal
touches like lunches and sending flowers
that your brick-and-mortar counterparts
get to do becomes challenging. There are
other ways to be a good partner, so here
are some tips for staying close with online
vendors and customers.

Respect their intelligence

Businesses that interact with consumers
more often than other companies do not
always know their customers’ level of
expertise in their industry. B2B
organizations, however, can be more
technical with one another. Do not be afraid
to give your partners more information
than they ask for: odds are they will
appreciate it, and you will not have to worry
about altering your language to be generic.
Go ahead and let your vendors and
customers relish in all that you know (you
may spare yourself from sending dozens of
emails and calls). When you respect their
intelligence, all parties can be more
productive.