Summary: Creating a business is one thing, but growing a business is quite another. Very few of us are content with ticking along. We all want to experience as much growth as we can and we want to achieve it as quickly as possible. We’ll often try lots of different things to make this happen, but is the key to rapid growth more fundamental than we many of us think? <br> Our guest on this episode of your favourite small business podcast is Jim Palmer, the Newsletter Guru. Jim’s experienced a lot of rapid growth across a number of different business ventures. The key to growth, according to Jim, is to focus on the fundamentals. And there is nothing more fundamental to running a business than the relationship you have with your customers.<br> People get caught up in doing what they think they should be doing and they lose focus of what they actually should be doing. We think we should be using social media to promote the business, getting the website into tiptop shape or designing the perfect marketing materials. These things are all important but they should come after you have focused on, build and nurtured your client relationships. Without solid, genuine relationships with your clientele, you won’t be able to grow as quickly as you would like. New businesses come along every day and it’s those that see serving their customers as an honour that survive and thrive Those who see their customers as just numbers on a balance sheet, do not.<br> If you can cultivate and look after a core customer base, then those customers will do a great deal of organic marketing on your behalf and bring in many new customers through word-of-mouth. People are much more likely to become your customer after listening to the recommendation of a trusted friend than after seeing an advert on social media.<br> Jim’s advice is to take it back to basics. Remember, your customers have the power to fire everyone in your business, so serve every customer well and you could make them customers for life. This is the foundation on which rapid growth is built.<br> Issue Challenged in this Small Business Podcast:<br> How can I kickstart my business’s growth?<br> About Jim:<br> Jim is a marketing expert, business coach and the man known worldwide as the Newsletter Guru. Jim also produces a number of business related podcasts and web TV shows that aim to help entrepreneurs build their businesses using his unique brand of smart marketing and growth strategies.<br> Jim has written several books on marketing, growth and client retention and he also speaks at conferences and networking events around the world.<br> Actionable Tips:<br> <br> * Serve first. It’s always about serving your clients. Your customer has the power to fire everyone in your company, simply by deciding to do business elsewhere. It’s an honour to have customers and there is a reciprocal nature to your relationship with them.<br> * Tell them what else. It’s your job to tell your customers what else you do, inform them and let them know how you can serve them.<br> * Raise your prices. Far too many people don’t charge an appropriate amount based on the value they are receiving from the customers’ perspective.<br> <br> <br> Top Quotes:<br> <br> * “Long-term, sustainable, profitable businesses are always built on powerful relationships.”<br> * “You can’t force trust, you’ve got to keep serving and developing your relationships.”<br> * “Authenticity means being who you are in an authentic way as it relates to business.”<br> <br> Jim’s Links:<br> <br> * Jim’s Site (<a href="http://www.getjimpalmer.com/">http://www.getjimpalmer.com/</a>)<br> * Exclusive Excellence Expected Content (<a href="http://getjimpalmer.com/excellence">http://getjimpalmer.com/excellence</a>)<br> <br> Key Timestamps:<br> <br> * [02:13] Challenged Issue<br> * [02:27] Jim’s Introduction<br> * [09:31] The Challenges of Rapid Growth<br>
