We have been blessed with slow and steady growth.  We have settled into the Orlando market as a leader in Search Engine marketing and SEO friendly web design.  We have been graced with many opportunities to help small businesses grow their business online and for all of those blessings, we are grateful.

With more and more clients relying on us for continued growth, especially during a difficult financial market, it is imperative that we as a company LISTEN to their needs and concerns and address them accordingly.  Here are just a few of the valuable lessons we’ve learned from our clients:

1.) It’s OK to give stuff away.  No, we aren’t a non-profit, but it’s ok to GIVE back to your clients.  Offer them a FREE social network class, or offer them a free on site web site evaluation, whatever it is, it’s ok to give.

2.) It’s IMPERATIVE that we communicate. Email doesn’t always cut it.  Clients love to be engaged on the phone or in person.  Spend some time with your clients on a weekly basis.

3.) We Don’t know everything. Sure, we are experts at organic seo, etc., but that doesn’t mean we can’t stand to learn more cool stuff.  Oftentimes clients will send us links to new search engines, or technologies and ask us about it: Spend the time to investigate, and spend the time to relay your findings to them.

4.) Be a human being.  Business is truly business, but there’s nothing wrong with asking Sally how her daughter is recovering from that cold, or how she is coping with changes in her marketplace. Create a relationship and above all, be yourself.

5.)  It’s Ok To Brag. There’s nothing wrong with telling the world that you just landed that huge national account, there’s nothing wrong with bragging that you were just featured on TV: (shameless plug: Watch me discuss social media on The Daily Buzz)

What are some things you’ve learned from your clients? How can other’s implement those lessons into their business?

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The family and I visited our local mall yesterday, mainly to accomplish one of my wife’s objectives, we absolutely HAD to have a head band for our newborn like Tori & Dean’s….and the Apple store had opened at the mall that weekend. (more on that in a later post…)

I was dragging a bit from exhaustion and decided that a cup of coffee was in order.  I waited in line to get my pick me up and was finally greeted by the barista (aka, coffee boy…).  I asked for a regular coffee which is right up their alley and doesn’t require blenders, caramel, mocha stuff, latte, etc. Straight up coffee.  I receive my coffee, settle up and then go to the cream and sugar area which was crawling with folks waiting for their more compicated coffee concoctions. I had to push and shove and ask politely a few times to move up to the preparation station. I arrived and placed my coffee down on the counter to customize it. Somehow, my clumsy hand knocked the coffee and dumped it all over my hands and the counter top. I was embarrased as I had an audience now and was also in a bit of pain from the 200 degree hot coffee burning my typing fingers!

The senior barista makes her way over after seeing the commotion and gives me a dirty like and then goes to get a clean up rag.  She had no concern for my scorched fingers, didn’t really care that HALF of my coffee was now on the counter, didn’t offer to refill the cup and just basically ignored me at the counter waiting for me to go away because I had interrupted her flow. Guess those recent training courses where they closed the NATIONAL chain of coffee stores really paid off.

While I realize this has NOTHING to do with search engine marketing or web design, I couldn’t help but reflect on how we can all improve our customer service. It’s the little things that make all of the difference, attention to detail, common courtesy, and I guess mainly a respect for human beings.