Tuesday, April 6, 2010

Developing loyalty with your clients

When it comes to serving your colleagues within your organization, what are some ways in which you go beyond the transactional relationship? How do you develop loyalty among your clients? This was the subject of the recent Special Libraries Association Leadership Conference that was held this past January. The keynote speaker, James Kane, discussed the building and maintenance of loyal relationships (link to handout). He made an important distinction between the satisfied client and a loyal client. With the loyal client, there is a sense of trust, belonging, and purpose.

Attending his talk really made me rethink my relationships with my colleagues. Am I settling for satisfied clients or am I taking the extra step to develop loyalty? As a foundation librarian, how can you ensure that your clients keep on coming back to you...not because you're the only game in town, but because you have developed a relationship that goes beyond being merely transactional?

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