How to delight your stakeholders

Would you like to take your business to the next level, but are unsure how best to do this?

If you want some fresh ideas and tested frameworks that can help you improve your company for the future, I have created this newsletter for you.

It is often the case that you cannot move beyond your current targets, because your methodology has not changed. What got you here most probably won’t get you there. Therefore, I encourage ambitious leaders to rethink their growth, so they can explore exciting new possibilities.

This isn’t about quick fixes. I want to guide you towards sustainable success, but to do this you have to get better before you can get bigger.

How to delight your stakeholders

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Fundamentally, businesses only exist to provide something.

Therefore, it is important not to become too introspective and solely focus on what your organisation needs. Without customers to buy, employees to work and partners to assist, you have nothing.

To enhance the relationships your company has, consider risk and reward. What to people risk by ignoring your offering and looking elsewhere? What reward will they receive if they do buy from, work for, or assist you?

Get into the mind of your stakeholders and work out what your organisation means to them.

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A limiting mindset – Blind to what you have

Too many businesses neglect their existing clients/customers in their chase for further trade. It may look good in the books that X number of people have been onboarded in the past month, but this does not take into account the likely investment in marketing that achieved this. Reaching new clients is broadly a positive thing, but to retain and increase the value of existing contacts it pays to show your appreciation.

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For clients: Offer discounts and loyalty schemes to keep them coming back.

For employees: Be sure to praise people specifically, who have gone above and beyond; have them in mind for promotion.

For partners: Give them a gift at a festive holiday or invite them to a work social, so they can get to know your team better.

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To stand out from the crowd introduce unexpected perks for the people you work with. Don’t participate in bland, transactional relationships with your long-term clients. Delight them by showing how important they are to you.

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A missing element – What’s in it for them?

When starting a new initiative at work, your first thought should always be ‘what’s in for them?’

It can be easy to get fixated on the money you are making, or the numbers your recording, but this is generally of no interest to the majority of your stakeholders. Why should your clients, suppliers, or even your employees care if you have increased your profits over the past year? This only becomes relevant to them when they begin to experience the associated positives.

One of the challenges of running a successful company is balancing the varied needs and wants of your stakeholder groups. Whilst its near impossible to give them entirely equal attention, it can never seem like you are neglecting a particular section. To prevent this from happening, establish early in the relationship what they want from you and check in with them regularly to ensure you are doing this.

Happy stakeholders are the foundations of any business; do everything to keep them that way.

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A different perspective – Milestones

An easy way to those important people that little bit extra is to acknowledge the milestones in your relationship. Like a couple might go out for dinner on their wedding anniversary, send your clients a special offer six months after they sign up to your website, or give your employee a voucher once they’ve hit a certain number of sales.

In the modern world, we’re obsessed with collecting data, so picking out a milestone can be simple; the way you mark them can even be automated. Don’t get too caught on up on what to recognise. As long as you’re being seen to make a special effort, it’s irrelevant to the person in question what you’ve picked them out for.

From a spending perspective, it makes more sense to remind your existing, and especially longstanding, stakeholders that you’re the best choice, rather than building campaigns to find new clients, or onboarding fresh employees or partners. Also, from a practical point of view, your lines of communication are already open with them, rather than starting conversations that may go nowhere, or negotiating the restrictions of GDPR.

Simply providing an adequate product or service is no longer enough if you want to sustain your stakeholder relationships. What surprise perks could you offer, so they go from being another cog in the machine to your biggest fan??

If you know anyone might benefit from the content of this article, please share it with them and encourage them to subscribe to the newsletter. My aim is to help as many people create the businesses they have always wanted.?

Hello, I’m Nick Cramp. I’ve been working as business owner and coach now for around three decades.

During this time, it often occurred to me that many leaders feel unfulfilled by their work, which seemed a pity given the amount of time and effort they have invested. I wanted to change this, so have created and collected a selection of the best strategies for business improvement.

My main mantra is that an organisation must get better before bigger. The reason for this is that without the optimal people, processes and systems, you have no springboard to reach that next level and cope.

In 2021, I published my book Better before Bigger – Rethinking Business Success, which alongside my coaching and courses, outlines a holistic approach to running a thriving company.

I want to guide ambitious leaders towards the best practices and results, so their reality can align with their ambitions.

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Book a FREE, no commitment Introductory Call with me if you are interested in discussing whether I may have the solutions to your challenges. ?

Check out my website if you would like to find out more about me and the services I offer.

Take the Next Level Scorecard for a more insightful perspective of your company, to inform future decision-making.

Follow this link to my book if you are interested in finding a practical guide to taking your business to the next level.

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