Whether real or fictional, the character of Santa Claus has a lot to teach us about establishing good relationships. In the spirit of the season, imagine Santa Claus as a business and children as his clients.

Within this line of thinking, you will see Santa does quite a few things a good business should do as well.

1. The Customer is the king for Santa. Santa is so committed to his “customers” that he’s made the reward of children who have been good a matter of his life. As Santa does, make sure that your services meet customers’ needs and your customers get exactly what they want at a time agreed.
2. Santa is a good listener. Children write letters to the North Pole, make wish lists, and whisper in Santa’s ear at the mall, all in complete faith that their desires will be heard and fulfilled. As a business, wouldn’t you want your clients to have such total confidence in you?
3. Santa finds resources, approaches and technology to meet the ever-growing demand. When the population grew from 5 million at the dawn of agriculture to over 7 billion nowadays, Santa still finds the way to meet the increased demand. When your business is ready to employ new technologies and approaches you can be the same efficient in client relationship management as Santa is. Find your faster way to navigate the growing number of chimneys.
4. Santa makes a list, and checks it twice. In other words, he understands the importance of being complete and thorough in his duties. By using customer relationship management software, you can easily pull data regarding your customers, review it, and tend to their needs in a timely fashion.
5. Santa never fails to deliver on time, year after year. As a business, you always want to be seen as that reliable to your customers. Your goal should be excellent customer service, with goods and services delivered consistently on time, every time. But remember, Santa does not do this alone. In addition to the elves on his production line, he has 8 reindeer to drive his sleigh and Rudolph to light the way. The success of your business depends on both the attitude you project and the excellent people you have surrounding you working towards the same goals.