Business - Relationship ????

Definition of I’m loyal to my vendor

An article by By Eilene Zimmerman in the Crain’s New York, caught my eye and piped my interest and made me put on my thinking cap (click the following link to read the full article)

http://www.crainsnewyork.com/article/20120408/SMALLBIZ/304089980

But here are the words that piped my interest.

"Mr. Moyal had a history of financing equipment purchases through People's Capital, according to court documents filed as part of his countersuit. He said that over a period of about five years, his banker, Jeffrey Morrison, had presented him with several proposals to purchase printing equipment. Mr. Moyal has three other finance leases with People's.

The arrangement worked so well that, by Mr. Moyal's account, he and Mr. Morrison became friends. “Jeffrey stayed at my house, we vacationed together; I thought we had a partnership, in a sense,” Mr. Moyal said. “Then suddenly, because of the economic environment, the bank decided the hell with me.”

While going around introducing the product I sell, a very common response I get is, we are loyal to our vendor, or we have been using our vendor for thirty years etc.

 The above article made me think what is a business relation all about, what kind of connection is this that people are willing to forgo listening to new opportunities because they are loyal to their vendor or supplier, what are people expecting one from another in this relationship

.

One thing I understand is that a business friendship or relationship is definitely on a different category and level than your long time school buddy, but how can we define its meaning and measure its depth.

Well for starters let’s analyze the words BUSINESS RELATIONSHIP. 

In the Dictionary.com The word Business = a person, partnership, or corporation engaged in commerce, manufacturing, or a service; profit-seeking enterprise or concern. 

 Would be fair understanding that a business can definitely be only be called when there is profit or benefit for both parties.

Relationship = an emotional or other connection between people:

To sum all of this up BUSINESS RELATIONSHIP is when both words come in to play that there is an emotional connection between people but one that is built on profit and benefit. So if these two words are divided then you have or a business or a relationship.

So now we are really getting to the bottom of this analyzation, but to me they look contradictory how can there be an emotional connection between people if the sole purpose of the relationship is one of benefit and profit.

Well as complex as the question seems to be, the answer I think is simple and in front of our eyes. We as human beings our deepest inner lining is one of dignity and honor, our interaction one with another are all on a intellectual level so all of us expect to be treated in a way that shows us that we are being appreciates for what we are, for what we believe, for what we do etc.

So let’s get down to business, when performing an act of business both parties involved expect a relationship to be added to the business deal. 

We will start with the most obvious; the vendor the supplier the seller expects a relationship to begin that can mean repeat purchases, referrals, loyalty. And at the same time the buyer, the customer, the client, expects a relationship to begin, that will mean all his needs and concerns to be addressed with utmost speed and efficiency and finally everyone likes to be told how great they are as a customer or as a vendor.

So I think we achieved some clarity on Business Relationship, but what I would love to hear back from all of you is, How far would you go, meaning how much is it worth to you to have a business relationship versus just a business deal?

Looking forward to hearing back from you

Committed to giving you the greatest buying experience

Sincerely

Pinny