Not so long ago, one of the most effective ways of building a strong customer relationship was to make sure that you  had excellent records of your customer's preferences after you've worked with them. You know, that legal pad of notes you kept in a file folder. That way, you would remember everything about this customer in the future, impressing them with your memory and making sure that all of your services were fitted to their needs in the future. Like the name of their dog, spouse, place of birth or college they attended. Hopefully you made notes well enough to remember whether it was the dog or the spouse they brought back from college.

Are those days are gone? Does that stuff matter anymore with all this electronic gadgetry we live with? More than ever!

However, to some degree the sustainability of a high touch customer relationship is gone. The business world caught up to that standard long ago, and it's now no longer enough to personalize your services to your customer after beginning a relationship. Today, successful businesses need to be able to know exactly what a customer wants and likes before they even work together. Otherwise, you quickly fall behind the curve.

This means your customer already checked you out anonymously. 80% of their decision to do business with you is made up before they contact you. You should be doing the same. But how exactly can you do that? Here are some ideas:

• Every click-able link on your website could have an equivalent tag that correlates to an interest. This could have to do with your product or service capabilities, size and fit, weight, color, design, style, etc.

• Make sure you have the ability to document interactions with your online articles, eBooks, eZines, videos, blogs and brochures so you can predict how customers will interact in the future.

• Change your bidding or quoting process to appeal to the stereotypical personality of a given profession or customer type. You should have a good idea of who likes a more technical process and who is more likely to appreciate layman's terms.

• Analyze information given to you in your quotes and note any special requests or emphasis on certain features. This will tell you a lot about your potential customer.

• Research any ancillary services that could enhance your product or service that you don't already offer.

• Track the kinds of problems that your customers most commonly come to you with so that you are prepared to respond to them before they even arise.

The depth and strength of a relationship with a customer is still important in the business world, but today you need to lose your memory and instead focus on solving problems and fulfilling requests and expectations before they even arise. By profiling your average customers and tracking the way people interact with your online presence, you will be much more successful at this.

Feel free to contact us at Viral Solutions for more tips.