Customer Relations
Customer relationships should be number one in any company. If you have happy customers, they will tell their friends and families about your business. This will help to increase your business, no matter what type of business you have. This goes for all businesses, both for profit and non-profit.
Customer service can be simple in most cases, but it also needs to be taught. Many programs teach how to provide excellent customer service. You can also learn to do this on your own.
There are ways to do this without hiring a consultant or company to teach a program in customer service. You can begin building customer relationships by treating your customers as if they were just normal people that want to be treated nicely. Subscribe to the Golden Rule and treat them the same way you want to be treated.
This article will help you to learn more about building customer relationships. It will help you to build those important relationships. You can also do more research to find the information that you are seeking.
Building Customer Relations
Communicate Regularly—You must communicate with your customers regularly. You can do this by calling them and offering them a deal on your products or services, emailing them, or using social media.
You could also do meet and greets with your company’s spokesperson or mascots. Another way that you could communicate is through personal meetings with customers. There are many ways to communicate on a regular basis.
Meet Them Where They Are—You need to meet your customers where they are and where they will be. This means that if they are on social media, be there on social media to communicate with them. If they live in emails, send them more emails. Meet them where they are so that they don’t have to come hunting for you.
Active Listening – Practice active listening which is listening with the object of hearing what your customers are saying and not just listening to respond. Let your customers know what they say is important to you. If they complain to you, listen to what they have to say and then offer a solution to their complaint.
When you practice active listening, your customers will know that you care about what they have to say. They will know they are important to you and you are actively working to please them. They will know that you care about them and want them to continue to frequent your business.
Show Them What You Know – While talking to them through social media or email, and actively listening to them is important, you also need to show that what they say matters to you. Show them that you heard them and act out on their suggestions or complaints. Don’t listen to them and then do nothing that shows that you heard what they said.
Reward Loyal Customers—Many loyalty programs exist because they work. Add a loyalty program to your business that rewards your loyal customers. If they use your app to buy products or services, give them points or money off when they buy a predetermined amount.
You could also offer early access to new products or services to those who belong to your loyalty program. This will get them to buy things that you are trying out to see if they will work. This will also allow them to give you feedback on these new products and services.
Build Your Community – You want people to become advocates for your business. You can make this happen by treating them appropriately and listening to what they have to say. They will want you to succeed and will do what they can, including telling their friends and family about you.
Get Feedback – You also want to get feedback from your customers so that you know how they are feeling. You can get feedback from many forms including customer surveys, online reviews, and dedicated feedback portals: https://blog.hubspot.com/service/strategies-to-obtain-customer-feedback. Once you get that feedback, act on it so that they know that it means something to you.
You can act on it in several ways including responding to it promptly, taking steps to handle any complaints you might have, and just acknowledging their input. By doing this, they know that they are important and what they have to say means something to you. They will also be more ready to provide you with additional feedback.
Have Speedy Response Times – It is important that you respond to things in a speedy manner so that they know that what they have to say will result in changes. If you respond quickly and have positive actions to the response, customers will be more likely to provide more feedback. This creates a chain of feedback and responses that can keep you doing a better job.
Make it Personal – They will appreciate the effort that you take to make things personal for them. Address them by name when possible and remember their preferences. You can also send personalized recommendations to them that fit their styles.
Put yourself into their shoes and treat them the way that you want to be treated by a business. Targeted emails that fit a group of customers will also work – it is not as personal, but it will work as your business continues to grow. Finding ways to personalize things for them will help you to grow.
Meet – and Then Exceed – Expectations – Meet your customer’s expectations so that you are doing the least of what you need to do. Once you have met those expectations, exceed them – go above and beyond what they want. Don’t leave them wanting more – provide it for them before they ask.
Conclusion
Providing excellent customer service is a way to increase your business success. If you can make them happy, they will continue to come back, and they will start to bring friends and family. Customer relationships are one of the most important things about your business.