Remember when an aggressive sales force and a competitive price were the key ingredients to growing and sustaining a successful business?

The downturn in the economy, marked most prominently in Northern California by the failure of Bay Area dot.coms and the subsequent struggles of South Bay high-tech firms, has increased competition for whatever business remains.

The new millennium has spawned a service-based economy in which companies are reaching out to cultivate new customers — and striving to retain the ones they already have. Accomplishing this task and remaining competitive in this new environment will depend on the quality of your business relationships.

Customers want to know more than how much it costs; they want to know the benefits of doing business with you. Marketing and selling those benefits is your challenge.

In 21 years of business I've discovered that being an ethical person is...ironically...a great marketing tool. Humanity, integrity and reliability are more important than the best deal.

Here are nine points that will help you lay the groundwork for long-term success.

1. PRESENT A POLISHED IMAGE
Spend some money on your marketing materials. You don't have to get a second mortgage, but spend enough that your customers and prospects feel they're dealing with a reputable company.

2. GET IN YOUR CUSTOMERS FACE AT LEAST SIX TIMES A YEAR
A sale is made when the customer is ready to buy, not when you're ready to sell. If you're not in front of them at that moment, you will lose the sale.

Newsletters, post cards, handwritten notes, phone calls, special promotions — all of these create awareness and build relationships — and increase the likelihood your customer will remember YOU when it's time to buy.

3. RETURN PHONE CALLS PROMPTLY
All customers like to feel they're important. Returning phone calls promptly is a sign you respect them, their time — and their business.

4. IDENTIFY AND SELL YOUR VALUE
Customers buy value, not features. Ask yourself these two questions:
— What makes me different?
— Why should anyone do business with me?

The answers will yield the benefits you bring to your customers, and key selling points your competition does not possess.

Better yet, ask your customers this question: “If you were to recommend me to a colleague or friend, what would you say about me and the way I do business?” Your customers will tell you what they value in you the most; these are precious marketing nuggets for you to develop further.

5. BE A PROBLEM SOLVER
Customers buy based on what they stand to gain . . . or lose. Here's where being a good listener really helps. What's causing your customer pain? What can you do to alleviate it and make them feel better, make their lives richer?

Your job to allay your customers' fears and convince them you can solve their problems and meet their needs.

6. BE RELIABLE
There a well-known story of a famous baseball player who lost an eight-year, $143 million contract because he didn't show up for a doctor's appointment for his injured back. In effect, he lost the sale.
Look at your own buying habits. Is doing business with reliable people one of your primary reasons for choosing a vendor or a product? Do you think it's high on your customers' lists?

7. MAINTAIN HIGH STANDARDS OF INTEGRITY AND QUALITY
Strive to exceed your customers' expectations — easily done when you give them more than they ask for. If you treat people well, even if you don't do business with them, they will refer you to other people. It's all about how we treat each other with integrity and humanity and reliability.

The question is — “How do you want to be known?”

8. SAY THANK YOU
One of my friends, an etiquette professional, believes that “manners make money.” I agree.

Say thank you three times — by phone, by mail (a handwritten note, not an e-mail!), and in person — and your customers will be impressed that you took the time to let them know how much their business means to you. Wouldn't your mother be proud!

9. BE PATIENT — IT TAKES TIME TO ESTABLISH RELATIONSHIPS
If you think you're going to visit a prospect only once and get the sale, think again. Customers like to do business with people they know, like and trust. This doesn't happen on the first visit.

If all of your marketing and sales decisions are short-term, you'll never derive any long-term benefits. Get to know your customers, and strive for repeat business and referrals.

One final thought: Spend less time chasing money and more time building relationships. Success in business depends on relationships...and relationships take time.

REPRINT POLICY: This article may be reprinted in your publication, company newsletter, etc., provided that you give a by-line (by Jeff Rubin) and print the following credit exactly as written. Please send a tear sheet or electronic copy:

Jeff Rubin, a former newspaper reporter and editor and instructor at The Learning Annex in San Francisco, is The Newsletter Guy, owner of the Pinole, California-based newsletter publishing firm of the same name (www.thenewsletterguy.com). He's written and designed more than 1,600 company newsletters since starting his business in 1981. He may be reached via e-mail at jeff@TheNewsletterGuy.com or by phone at (510) 724-9507.