Photo by Andrew Neel on Unsplash
Communication is an important part of both our personal and professional lives but is especially vital in running a successful business. As a result, you should seek to build a strong relationship with your customers, as they are the people who will help you earn money, grow, and develop. In fact, building a relationship is the key to building just about everything else. One of the best ways in which you can foster a strong relationship with customers is through effective communication. Here’re some tips to guide you in the right direction!
Make the most of social media
Right now, we are spending more time online than ever before. In fact, the average American spends 6.3 hours online each day. This is due to the fact that as a society, we are dependent upon technology to allow us to function and communicate, particularly during this difficult and unprecedented time. Using social media means we can stay in touch with people who live in different countries and across different time zones.
As a result, the online presence held by your company or business has never been more important, especially when it comes to keeping in touch with your customer base or reaching out to new customers who may have not heard of your company before. With many shops and businesses remaining closed for the foreseeable future, you need to ensure that customers remain invested within your company and want to pop by the store in the future. You can also use your social media to effectively drive sales by promoting/advertising specific products and services to your followers, encouraging them to make a purchase.
Here are some things to remember when cultivating a strong social media presence.
- Be consistent. Try to post at least five times a week, but never more than once in a single day. You want to provide your followers with a steady stream of content, without overwhelming them as this means they are likely to unfollow.
- Ask questions, encouraging your followers to leave comments. Ensure you reply to comments promptly, building a rapport.
- Diversify your posts – you mustn’t post the same photograph again and again, as this will quickly become tiresome and will lose make people unfollow. Take photographs of products, share interesting facts about the company, share information about the staff, share relevant quotes- there are plenty of things you can do to keep things interesting.
- Make use of the tools on offer on each platform – opinion polls, question and answer tools – to allow customers to voice their opinion. This adds a personal touch to your online persona and will boost your engagement.
- Host competitions online, encouraging followers to like and share your content for a chance to win a prize. This will increase the number of people that view your profile, attracting new customers regardless of whether or not they win the contest.
- When designing graphics/uploading photographs, try to make them have a similar style or aesthetic. Use colors that compliment your brand’s logo, and use the same filter or preset on every photograph.
- Include links in your post that direct clients to your website. This will improve your website’s traffic and encourage sales.
Build a reputation for being friendly and approachable
You should not view your client simply as a way to make money. You should view them as an important asset to your company. With that in mind, you should strive to represent yourself and your staff as friendly and approachable, meaning that customers can come to you should they have any questions. This does not simply apply to the front of house staff or those who answer the phones, it needs to be in place throughout the whole company, including managers and CEOs. When you are viewed as friendly and approachable, the way in which you communicate with customers (and each other) will improve, as you will all operate with each other’s interest in mind. Furthermore, customers are more likely to make a purchase if they have a positive experience when communicating with you.
Be available as often as possible
Another way in which you can encourage a continuous stream of communication between yourself and your customers is through making yourselves readily available. By this, we do not mean simply talking to them 24/7, especially when you have other necessary tasks to complete as part of your job. However, you should provide them with multiple different ways of getting in touch, should they wish to speak to you. After all, some people prefer communicating online as opposed to over the phone, especially if they suffer from social anxiety or a related disorder. The more methods of communication you offer, the better! This can include:
- An address (letters, in person visits, etc.)
- A telephone number
- An email address
- An instant messaging service on your website
- Your social media handles.
Another important thing you remember is that customers may try to contact you at unconventional or inconvenient times. For example, if a customer lives in a different time zone or even a different country, they may try to call your phone outside of your normal working hours. If they do not receive a prompt response, you could lose a sale as a result of this, as they may not have time to call again. As a result, you may wish to consider investing in a 24/7 after hours answering service. Provided by companies such as Virtual HQ, a highly-trained, virtual receptionist can man your calls 24/7, dealing with customers no matter what time they call and answering any important questions. They can keep a note of any important information to allow you to call them again later, should you need to. This is a cost-effective service, which is sure to improve your overall relationship with customers.
As you can see, there are many varied ways of communicating with your customers. Whichever method you chose, ensure you remain consistent and friendly throughout – even if you are having a bad day yourself. The better you communicate with customers and clients, the stronger your business will become.
Share this Post