There should be a *loving* relationship between you and your clientele. After all, they sustain your enterprise. You give them products they need. If you feel anything short of love for your customers, then look at them in a different light. Think of them as the lifeblood of your business, and focus on how essential they are. Your customers should be people you enjoy seeing and doing business with. They should not be an annoyance to you. Remember to place yourself in the position of the customer and everything will work out.
Your customers should be deserving of this love, respect and care that you will offer them. This will best be accomplished if your business plan includes a way to effectively choose your target audience. You need to figure out who is in need of your product and who has the resources to purchase it. Do not forget to target people who have a lot in common with you. This is a good start to establishing a healthy, trusting relationship between you and your customers.
A good way to meet your customers needs and establish a respectful relationship is to help them with issues that do not revolve around your store or business. Fix and help them with products that they purchased somewhere else. Offer recommendations on other non-competing businesses around town. Help them with personal troubles by listening to their frustrations about their families. Often it is not even necessary to provide them with solutions; they might just want somebody to listen to them.
All of this helps you establish a healthy, trusting, and loving relationship with your client base. By listening to their needs and giving them what they want, you will impress them enough that they will return again and again. The end result? You have a successful, profitable business, and a healthy and happy community of customers and friends!
