#329 Building Relationships in e-Commerce (Based on “7 habits of Highly effective people”) Part TWO - a podcast by Michael Veazey

THE EMOTIONAL BANK ACCOUNT

“We all know what a financial bank account is. We make deposits into it and build up a reserve from which we can make withdrawals when we need to.



An Emotional Bank Account is a metaphor that describes the amount of trust that’s been built up in a relationship. “





Six Major Deposits [in the emotional bank account] 

Overview



* Understanding the individual

* Attending to the little things

* Keeping Commitments

* Clarifying Expectations

* Showing Personal Integrity

* Apologising Sincerely when you make a withdrawal



6 Emotional Deposits in the emotional Bank Account in Detail

Deposits 1 Understanding the individual 

Customer Avatar research



* Talk to real people!

* Understand alternatives ie your competitors

* Ask them to use rivals products and test your prototypes or own PL samples



Understand your product supplier:



* Business model

* Daily life

* Drivers

* China etc. - Cultural differences



* Direct no

* QC etc.







Other Suppliers



* What does a photographer need to do a good job?

* Ditto Graphic designer (logo, packaging etc.)

* Ditto industrial designer if you’re going custom product route



Business Partners/Stakeholders of all kinds



* What are their aims in life? In business?

* Do they align with yours?

* Joint aim of business?



* Eg create business to sell in 3 years? 5 Years?

* Global brand? etc.







Deposit 2 Attending to the little things

Customer service



* Followup in a brief respectful way

* Include nice extras in package

* Dealing with problems promptly

* Not being bureaucratic



Product Supplier relations



* Cultural niceties

* Educated

* Presents/birthdays etc.



Business Partners of all kinds



* Presents etc

* Meetings



* Be on time for meetings

* don't cancel last minute





* Language in emails



Deposit 3 - Keeping Commitments

Customer



* Make sure promises of your marketing are fulfilled in your product’s performance



Product Supplier



* Pay them on time

* Don’t move goalposts eg adding in QC or features AFTER ordering.



Other Suppliers



* Pay as agreed

* Give info as agreed



Business Partners of all kinds



* Task/project management



* Honouring Agreements on who does what

* Doing things in agreed timescales







Deposit 4 - Clarifying Expectations

Customer



* Eg sizes for clothes;

* function for technological products



Product Supplier



* HUGE - detailed specification

* QC expectations

* Timing expectations

* Financial arrangements



Other Suppliers



* What they provide eg photos

* What they WON’T provide



Business Partners of all kinds



* Long term goals

* defining roles:



* Who will do what

* who WON’T do what





* Amount of time each partner/team member will contribute

* balance with rest of life



* Weekend/evening work

* Financial commitments rest of life





* Financial commitments within business



* Who contributes what

* Approx pool of money available



* Now

Further episodes of Amazing FBA Amazon and ECommerce Podcast, for Amazon Private Label Sellers, Shopify, Magento or Woocommerce business owners, and other e-commerce sellers and digital entrepreneurs.

Further podcasts by Michael Veazey

Website of Michael Veazey