Your customers are the heart of your business. So it’s crucial to make sure you’re interacting with your audience regularly, effectively, and on a personal level.
But there are lots of methods for engaging your customer base, and it can be difficult to know where to apply focus, especially as your business evolves.
So whether you’re a fresh startup looking to make those first connections, or an established business struggling to move to the next step, here are some top tips to help make those all important customer relationships last.
Brand Personality
If you work in a crowded market place, it can be very difficult to distinguish yourself and stand out from the crowd. Very often, clear, well-communicated branding is what elevates businesses into the top spots.
Your brand should always reflect the goals, ethos and perspective of your business. It is the character with which your audience is connecting, so it needs to feel personal.
If you’re creating content for your website or blog, keep it simple. Be clear in what you are communicating about your business. Avoid jargon or confusing information. Include helpful images, and make sure your website is designed to fit the screen of any device.
Rather than delivering facts, bullet-points and results, focus on a storytelling approach. With any business, the questions you need to answer are; who are we? What problems do we solve for you? And how do we do that better than anyone else?
Get Feedback and Respond
There’s nothing more frustrating than encountering a problem with a service, trying to contact the business and finding it difficult to get in touch, or getting no response.
Whatever line of business you’re in, it’s crucial that you provide a platform for your customers (and staff) to interact with you, give positive reviews, and provide constructive feedback. Your audience knows better than anyone else want they need – and what they expect – from the specific service you provide.
Customers want to feel that they’re being heard, and any feedback they give is going to help you optimize your service. An effective way to do this is via surveys, like the staff surveys by PeoplePulse.
Once you have a clear view of how your staff and customers feel about the company, you can focus on how to improve the service you deliver, so that it really satisfies the needs of your target audience.
Social Media
If you’re not making use of the customer interaction opportunities that Twitter, Facebook and Instagram provide, then you’re missing out.
These are all live, interactive, malleable forums where you can promote your brand consistently, give specialised advice, and interact on a personal level.
So be original, and allow the company’s personality to shine through. Don’t make ymy posts all about business – connect with other topics, share useful information and videos, and keep conversations flowing.
Don’t forget to show your customers the appreciation they deserve, and keep them updated on how the business is growing as a result of their support. Giving your audience an inside look will help them feel included and invested.
And there we have it! Use these tips to help connect with your wonderful customers, and encourage them to invest in your business as it grows.
