Be ‘Nice To Know’ - Good For Business, But Even Better For Being a Friend

These are difficult times all round and the financial squeeze is really affecting everyone. It’s in these difficult times when people are under pressure to cut back on their spending that we see businesses going under. And there’s a real link between popular businesses and popular people, so don’t switch off because you think this doesn’t apply to you personally.

 We are normally spoilt for choice about where we spend our money – and for everything we want there can be hundreds of companies making or selling more or less the same product or service. When things are going well, most of these businesses attract enough customers to make a living, even if it’s a one-off contact because the customer didn’t really like the product or service or it wasn’t much good. As the economic problems get worse, customers are more careful how they choose to spend their precious money, so it tends to be the better quality products and services that survive. In the end, like a very cold winter that kills off all the bugs, a difficult economic situation forces out all the companies that aren’t providing the best quality of product or service. While they could get away with poor standards in the good times, there’s nowhere to hide in the bad times.

In a similar way, there are also millions of people out there who could be your friends. It’s only in the difficult times – when you are in trouble or maybe need a helping hand - that you find out who your true friends are – the ones that are there for you in the bad times too.

So why should people buy from you and why should people choose you as a friend? There are probably hundreds of people and companies that do what you do and there are millions of people to mix with and find friends. So what’s special about you? In many cases, and I’ve personally had to face the uncomfortable fact in my ‘day job’ as a Public Relations Specialist, there are hundreds of thousands of people who offer more or less the same service as I do. But they can all bring something different as they all have very different experience. And that’s the point - we are all unique. There is only one you – so what is it about you that will make people want to do business with you or to like you as a person and value you as a friend?

The most important thing is to be ‘Nice to Know’. This is as significant in business as it is in personal character. Of course it’s not enough to be nice to know if your products or services are not up to standard or you let people down as a friend. But then you wouldn’t be nice to know would you? Give yourself a ‘Nice to Know’ checkover– how well do you shape up and if you were a business, would you be facing bankruptcy? Unlike trying to save your business, it’s much easier to improve your personal ‘Nice to Know’ rating. Start treating people as you would like to be treated and show genuine concern for them. Think about those you consider to be true friends – what is it about them that you respect? Then follow their example - it’s that simple. And the good news is – just like for Ebenezer Scrooge in Dickens’ classic story A Christmas Carol – it’s never too late to become ‘Nice to Know’.