The importance of transparency in business in the online world

When dealing with a client recently, I had an epiphany of sorts. The same transparency we use in our social media world translates to the business world with amazing success. Like I have said before, in the mind of the person receiving your service, their issue is #1 on their agenda and it should be yours as well, and here’s the kicker, they need to know that is the case.

My most recent project involved creating a video for a family attempting to win a spot on a reality show. They wanted something that showed their talents as well as their love for each other and what they did together.

Since the video was due in a week, I needed to hustle and put together a flashy, reality-style video in a few days and because there was no time to really sit and go over each phase of the video with the family, I decided to take a different approach. Each day, after I closed up shop for the night, I uploaded the video, in whatever form it was in at the time, to YouTube, created a private link, and sent it to the family to review and critique.

At first I was reserved about sending a client an unfinished video thinking maybe they wouldn’t understand that it was meant for their input and not what the end result would look like.

But, to my surprise, it had the exact opposite effect. By me sharing each day my progress, they had the assurance that I was in fact working hard on their project and not just throwing their paperwork on a shelf somewhere to get to it whenever I felt like. More importantly it made them feel as if they were a part of the process and not just another one of my clients. It also forced me to step up my game and prove to them why I was the right choice for the job.

We live in a world where our personal lives are on display like a Wayne Newton billboard in Vegas. We tell people where we eat, what we do for fun, and everything else under the sun. So why not try it in your professional life as well? A little more honesty and understanding when dealing with your customers might be what gets you ahead of your competition.

Plus, those little extra touches will show future customers that you have their best interests at heart and you will do anything to make sure their needs are met.

What do you think? Should more businesses strive to connect with their customers more? Or are some just too big to try and reach out to clients on such a personal level. What benefit could your business enjoy by a more personal relationship with your customers?