Build Better Customer Relations
Ever wondered how to build better customer relationships, well here's 5 invaluable tips...
When it comes to building a successful and profitable business, making and maintaining good customer relationships is absolutely key. Forging excellent customer connections now will pay dividends in the future when your company receives recommendations and new business as a result of past positive interactions.
Consult our guide below to inspire you and your colleagues to strive for and benefit from developing good customer relations.
Good networking is crucial in business and developing and constantly creating new networks is a long term investment that requires hard work. Any contacts you have could be potential clients or lead you to new customers. Therefore your network could include anybody from existing colleagues right through to family friends and everyone in between. Adding value to relationships with your contacts will pay off and lead to business.
Following on from the need to network, it is crucial for any thriving business to realise that in order to reap maximum reward from your network, communication has to be a regular thing. Customers, potential or existing won’t remember you next time if you fail to follow up after initial contact. It is imperative to stand out from your competitors so that when for example a contact is in need of what your business sells they remember you and what you have to offer. This can be achieved by sending out frequent newsletters for example, or by having regular events which these contacts can attend.
E-mail marketing is an extremely cost effective way of maintaining contact with your customers. For just a few pence per customer you can send news letters or carefully targeted campaigns that will ensure you stay fresh in their minds. For even better results, also use social media to engage your customers. Using social media is an excellent way to encourage and achieve regular interactions with consumers. The key to the success of having a strong social media presence as a business is that customers feel that they are having a more personal and two way relationship with you, so do invest in this.
Studies in business show that the most profitable customers are repeat customers. It is essential that as a business you ensure you are doing enough to encourage repeat business. To facilitate this you should stay in touch and offer something in return for their time and custom. Consider creating a loyalty scheme or organise events for existing customers to attend where they are made to feel valued. Be aware that if you fail to keep in touch with past and existing clients a competitor will!
If a customer is happy with your business and you have given them a great customer experience they are highly likely to sing your praises and recommend you to new and potential customers. These new customers will have been effectively generated for free meaning that time and energy invested in developing positive relationships is time well spent.
Remember - it is easier to look after your existing clients than to win new ones!
