To ensure long-term business and survival in the market, one of the key business moves is to establish long-term relationships with partners and customers. Expanding and searching for new markets or customers is almost always the main focus of every company, but special attention should be paid to retaining existing clients. The longer you can keep a customer or partner, the bigger the value that they provide during their potential lifetime relationship with your company.
Katherine Barchetti made an exquisite statement: “Make a customer, not a sale!”. Loyal customers come out of personalized interactions. So, how to create effective client management?
1. COMMUNICATION
You can communicate with your clients in several channels: face-to-face, e-mail, social media, advertisements… Also, there is a difference between communication with customers and partners. In any case, everything you do, you do for your clients. Therefore, tailor your communication to suit them. It is paramount to communicate with clients on time, in real-time, up-to-date, positively and, of course, with an individual approach.
Social networks today have incredible marketing power, so use them for public communication. Create a strategy that will best present your brand and, at the same time, follow your audience’s preferences. You can implement an individual approach in this process through comments and inboxes. Everyone likes to be noticed and recognized. Therefore, you must have such an approach when communicating directly on social networks.
When sending the newsletter, achieve a friendly tone, without complexity, through simple reading highlighting the best the brand can offer (best sellers, best prices, most read, most reviewed, sales, special offers…). Also, using e-mail, you can send special offers and greetings to clients on their birthdays.
When talking face-to-face, whether in the store or during a meeting, try to match your energy with your client`s energy by creating a positive atmosphere in which both parties will feel comfortable.
2. CUSTOMER SERVICE
When your customer needs help, their request needs to be responded to. That reaction must be fast. And finally, the problem must be solved.
No call for help should go unnoticed regardless of the topic of the problem. In these situations, an individual approach will benefit you because the client will lower their guard if they feel special and will remember the friendly approach, which will potentially make them a long-term client.
The reaction to calls, messages and comments must be quick because no one likes to wait, especially if it is a question of solving a problem. With a quick reaction, the client will feel prioritized, which starts the positive building of the relationship.
Problem-solving is individual and subjective not only for clients but also for brands. Try to solve the problem in a way that satisfies the client and does not harm you so that everyone comes out of the situation positively.
3. WEB OPTIMIZATION
Whether you have a brand web on an online webshop, make sure that your online presence is contemporary, interactive and interesting to attract visitors, make it easier for them to find their way around the site, keep them on the site as long as possible and make them come back.
Analyze the design and furnish it so that it is pleasing to the eye. It is also essential to adapt the content to mobile devices, not just PCs.
Organize a good online sales system to make it easier for clients to navigate the page from the first to the last click and to deliver the goods on time.
Do not forget to collect data. In this way, you will know exactly what web visitors are most interested in, where they stay the most, what they click on the most and what needs to be worked on.
4. COLLECT FEEDBACK
There are many ways in which you can get feedback from your clients. Adapt the system to the situation you are in to make it easier for yourself and your clients. Depending on the work you do, you can ask for feedback verbally, through surveys, reviews, by phone and the like. Clients will feel good knowing that their opinion is important to you and that you care about their needs.
What is important to note is to prepare for the fact that the feedback you receive will not always be praising. However, your approach to such comments must be optimistic. Accept such reactions as positive criticism and use them to grow and improve.
Establish a regular feedback loop to keep up with the needs of not only clients, but also the market in general. All trends are short-term and change quickly to improve the overall service. Therefore, constant analyzes are necessary.
5. GO THE EXTRA MILE
The ability to suggest something individualized such as products and services is the key to success. Show that your clients are not a source of money but a significant asset to your brand. Try to provide more than just what your job description offers. Ask them questions, start a conversation, share stories, give them some unrelated useful information, remember their birthday, notify them about special offers or sales before it starts, get involved in charity, sponsor a local event, mention them in your articles, post them on your social media, include a personal touch, be openminded, exceed your client’s expectations whenever possible. Think about what they would expect from you and then do an extra step if it seems appropriate.
Modified the interaction to accommodate the client so they would feel more comfortable.
However, do not present unrealistic expectations just to impress, rather try to present yourself as a person your clients would want to keep cooperating longterm.
6. NEWSLETTER
Use email to inform your customers about special offers, sales, new collections, new offers, business methods, services… Send occasional surveys. You can offer them services only available to them because they subscribed to your newsletter and so on.
Play around with the options. Even if you don’t have anything special to offer at the moment, create a newsletter from time to time to let customers know about the existence of your brand.
Keep the tone friendly but professional and don’t send emails too often so that you don’t become typical spam. When composing the newsletter, think from the perspective of the person who will receive the mail. So, what would that person want to see, while at the same time presenting yourself in the best way.
7. LOYALTY PROGRAMS
A great way to build customer loyalty is to remind your long-term customers that you value a relationship between them and your brand.
Some of the ways you can show appreciation are:
- special sales or discounts,
- include them in your cashback or point collecting program,
- you can also organize a game or price,
- any other way to reward their loyalty and commitment to your brand.
People like awards and recognition. Therefore, give them.
There are many loyalty programs. Research them and find the ones that suit you best and apply them to your business.
8. REWARD LOYALTY
If the client is loyal to you, thank them in some way, show them that you value loyalty and that the loyalty is noticed. There are several ways you can do this: through discounts, points, prizes, gifts, thank you emails, surprises, testers, prize games, early access, use them as influencers, special benefits…
You can create a system of ranks or tiers in which clients will be granted a special status that allows them to enjoy certain privileges or get access to additional features. After they reach a certain VIP status, you can use other methods, such as a newsletter to keep reminding them of their accomplishment.
9. FOLLOW UP
The end of the project is not the end. What continues to happen after a chapter ends is just as important as everything that happened before. In this way, you will show that you care and that you are ready to take the next step or that you are willing to continue the relationship for future opportunities. This is a great way to reinforce your value and set yourself up for upcoming business.
Your business relationships can also become friendships.
In conclusion, today it is no longer enough to be good, you have to be better, the best! In crowded marketplaces, you have to provide more than competition and more than quality to stand out, be remembered and be used as a good example.
What is essential for building a brand are users. Make sure they remember you after the interaction so they would come back. After they return, let them know they came back for a reason. If you succeed, they will come back again. Make them feel like an essential part of your brand, not just a source of income.
There are many methods you can use to build a loyal customer base. Research your audience and market, choose the best strategy, apply it to your business, track results and adapt to the situation.
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