What they can’t do is meet you face to face and shake your hand. The internet has opened up and people are more ready to trust interactions that take place on it. But that doesn’t mean you don’t have to try extra hard to develop a good relationship with your long distance customers.

There are three areas in particular that you need to have a plan for when you have customer relationships that span the distance. They are trust, connectedness, and attentiveness.

Trust

Trust is hard when you can’t meet someone face to face. Sure, there are some people who readily extend the hand of trust. But if you want people to pay for your product or service, you need to be able to prove to them its worth it. They need to trust it, and by extension, trust you.

So how do you get someone who lives on the other side of the country to trust you? You need to show them the complete package. This means that your web site needs to be more than a placeholder. Consider adding a blog to communicate regularly. It also means that you will benefit from positive online reviews, so tap some of your favorite customers to write reviews of your business on popular review sites, such as Yelp.com.

A great way to build trust is to include online videos of yourself talking about how your business can make a customer’s life better. If you are comfortable getting in front of a camera, you should be using online videos. People have an easier time trusting someone when they see them.

You can also build up trust by building your reputation. Get involved in online communities and make thoughtful contributions. The more you are thought of as a caring expert, the easier it will be to get people to trust you.

Of course, the first rule of garnering trust is the most important. Be worthy of trust.

Connectedness

People want to feel connected. You can’t sit down for a coffee with your customers if they don’t live nearby. So you need a plan for staying in touch. It is helpful if you think of it in terms of sitting down for coffee. Staying connected isn’t about keeping your marketing message in front of your customers faces. Its about always being there. Its about sharing with your customers.

One great way to do this is with an email newsletter. Use it to just talk to your customers. Write to them weekly in a friendly, conversational tone. Point out things that will be helpful. Answer questions. Tell them what’s new. Think of customers as friends, and communicate with them in like manner.

On the flip side, find ways to be available when your customer needs you. Provide ways for them to reach out to you with their questions. And, as I talk about next, get back to them quickly.

Attentiveness

The best relationships are the ones where if you call someone and get their voice mail you can leave a message and you know that they are going to call you back the first moment they get a chance. In life, you can measure the health of a relationship by how often you talk and how quickly you get back to one another.

To be personal with your long distance customers, you need to pay special attention to attentiveness. Be quick to answer questions and to solve problems. Follow up more than you would with a local customer. Send emails out of the blue to see how your customers are doing and how you can better serve them.

By paying attention to your online customers, you establish the fact that you value them. They are important to you, even if they are not near you.

One way this might play out is if your business has a bunch of customers in a different time zone. Wouldn’t it be nice if you put live customer service in place to help them in their own time zone? That would be really paying attention to and caring about your customers.

It is possible to be personal at the distance of the internet. You need to have a plan and work at it, but with a little extra effort, you can make each customer feel cared for.

photo credit: jurvetson

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Bradford Shimp teaches small businesses how to interact online. Learn more at BroadRiverCreative.com.

First, for the sake of this post, I want to define what I mean by talker. I am not referring to the person who might tell one friend about your business. A talker is someone who can’t shut up, who has lots of good things to say about you and doesn’t mind saying them. An ideal talker also has an outlet to say these things to many people. A talker may be a blogger, for instance. It doesn’t matter what the outlet is. All that matters is that when this person talks, people listen.

For someone to promote your business on their own time through their own outlet, they need to have had a positive and interesting experience with you. Either they find something special about your product or service, or they had a great experience during the sale process. This is enough to get them talking. But just having them mention your product once is not enough. You want to encourage them to keep talking. Here’s how.

Recognize and Thank

If you are going to encourage talkers, the first thing you need to do is find them. It is important to pay attention to what is being said about your business. Once you hear someone talking up your business, you have found a fan in the making.

When you do discover someone saying positive things about your business, reach out to him or her. Show that you are paying attention. A simple thank you can go a long way.

Open Up

Once you make the connection with a talker, throw open the doors of your business to him or her. There are lots of things that you can do. Invite them to a webinar, invite them to your newsletter, tell them about what’s new before anyone else knows. One thing that can go a long way is this, make it very clear to the talker that they can reach out directly to you at any time. Make yourself available to them.

Being open should be a company policy no matter what. If people are going to become real fans, they are going to want a personal connection. You aren’t a rockstar, you are a small business owner. Always be personal and always be available.

Stay in Touch

Don’t expect people to stay excited about your company on their own. In order to maintain the energy its takes to keep a person talking, you need to feed the fire.

The main way you do this is to keep being an awesome business. Keep your ears open and shape your business so that it continues to please customers.

After ensuring that your business stays on top if its game, you want to make sure you stay active with your talkers. This means being involved with communities that intersect with your business. This may take the form of going to trade shows and conferences, being active on social networks, posting on forums, or any number of things. Contribute in the spaces that are relevant to your business and customers.

Also, create your own community. Once you identify a few fans, get them on a list. Offer things like beta tests, free samples, even get togethers where you share and listen. By continuing the conversation and focusing on building relationships, you can really encourage your talkers to keep talking. Remember, they like to talk in the first place. You just need to be sure to give them lots to talk about.

Be the Model

Another good method of gaining fans and getting people to talk about you is to be the model. Make sure you do your own talking. Talk about the businesses and people that impress you. Connect with them, and build a network.

Doing this will get you out there in the communities that relate to your business. You will become recognized for giving recognition, and for being a business owner that thinks of others first. You will also find outlets for talking that you can later point your talkers too. If you have never given an online review, how can you expect or even show customers how to do it?

By modeling the habit of talking up people and businesses, you set the precedent for your own talkers. The important thing to know is that people talk as part of a community. That is why you need to reach out to people who mention your company. You can build relationships with them and create a community, which when constructed, will begin to grow.

Don’t just be thankful that someone helps spread your story. Interact with that person. Build something with him or her. Take it to the next level by building a community of talkers, of which you are a role model.

photo credit: Spuz

Recommended Reading

I am constantly on the prowl for good business books. Right now, I am reading Crush It, by Gary Vaynerchuk. I love Gary’s take on passion and business. This book will give you a kick in the butt to get up and get moving as you pursue your passions and your business.

If you are interested in Crush It, you can get it through Amazon by clicking here or by visiting your local bookstore.

Have a Small Business Question? Ask me and I will answer it here – email me with your question now.

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Bradford Shimp is the publisher of All Biz Answers. He is also the co-creator of Idea Anglers, a place to see your ideas come to life through collaboration. Follow on Twitter @bradfordshimp. Let Bradford help you with your business – visit BroadRiverCreative.com