Q: How do we grow our business without losing our personal touch?

Jamie Stone, President
Gifts By Design (asi/205947)

A: No matter how busy you are, make time for your clients. Those relationships should always be top priority, so go out of your way to provide amazing customer service. For instance, we follow up after our client’s events to see how the products we provided were received. We also send thank-you notes after projects deliver. Furthermore, we’re proactive, sending targeted, creative merchandise ideas to clients on a regular basis. An in-person touch is also important. To that end, we host events that bring our clients together with top suppliers to see the latest and greatest products. Most fundamentally, we nurture client relationships, asking about their lives and listening. It all shows we truly care.

As your business grows and you hire new employees, it’s critical to instill this same appreciation for client relationships in them. The idea that needs to take hold is that being in sales is not just about the next sale, but about a long-term partnership that provides customers with the best products and services.

If you lose the personal touch with your customers, think about what makes them partner with you as opposed to your competition. That personal touch makes a world of difference and has kept clients loyal to us for years. Through their job and career changes, they have taken us with them and referred us to their friends and colleagues. That makes personal touch a huge priority in my book!

Kathy Cheng, Founder & President
Redwood Classics Apparel (asi/81627)

A: Clearly define what you stand for and what you value – and stick to it. Sometimes, the right path and the easy path aren’t the same, but your roots can keep you grounded. As you scale, it’s inevitable that you’ll be faced with tough choices, but these can turn into defining moments if shaped by honest, value-rooted conversations. These moments have led us to come out stronger and proud to really show who we are to the world.

Being a family business, our company is our reputation, our legacy. As such, everything we do, we do with the utmost respect and care. From day one, we’ve always valued our people and our products over profit. As we’ve grown, many things have changed, but this has remained the foundational value upon which all else is based.

Relatedly, it’s important to us to connect with our audience on a personal level. Having a business that’s completely made-in-Canada means our makers could be your neighbors, our supply chain could be based in your backyard – everything hits close to home. We want people to know this – that their community is our community, displayed on the global stage. To show this, we’ve introduced #FactoryFriday, a weekly social media campaign that gives our audience an inside look at our factory and the people behind it, putting a face to the fabric. Perhaps peeling back the curtain and personalizing your business in a similarly public way could resonate with customers.