Relationships in business lean towards a negative reputation because of the 50/50 chance of disloyalty. However, the relationships you gain with your customers can be one of the most valuable attributions to your success.
Why
When you read the word “relationships” you probably thought to yourself “does this mean I have to become a friend to my customers?”. The answer is no! Relationship simply means to connect, and to relate with people on a ground level. It’s the give and take of commitment and loyalty. Doesn’t this sound like the perfect business-consumer relationship?
You can achieve this! Not only do you want your customers to enjoy your product/services, but you want them to keeping coming back! This happens by understanding your clientele’s preferences, needs, and likes/dislikes. This is the foundation on which your customer basis will either grow or plummet.
How
There are many tools and strategies you can put into place in order to determine the type of customer-business owner relationship you have.
Track Your Customers
In order to find out how your clients are interacting with your website, emails and more, you’ll need to establish a device that can track their real-time behavior. The most suggested way to accomplish this is by investing in a customer relationship management tool (CRM). This tool can provide analytics that tell you what your customers’ activities are. It will track things like clicks, opens, engagement, and so on.
This is highly recommended in order to figure out how consumers interact with software that you have established. Is your site attracting your clients to purchase your most expensive service? Or even the second most expensive? Is your social media connecting people that fall within your target audience? Do your emails sit in someone’s inbox unopened? These are all of the questions you will find answer to when yu invest in CRM.
Face-Time
How is your face-time going your clients? Is your customer service kind and welcoming? Do you problem-solve fast and efficiently? Successful face-time is more than up-keeping a “customer if always right” attitude. It contains all of the major qualities that those questions prompt you to consider. If your answer to any one of those questions is no, you have work to do!
If it’s been a while since you’ve adjusted your face-time interactions with customers, it’s time to look into it! Meet with all of your business representatives and review their calls/meetings they’ve had with customers. Determine what improvements can be made and make those improvements! Poor face-time can lead to the loss of even your most consistent clients.
Don’t underestimate the power of relationship! If you want to see your business grow far and wide, this is the way to go. As long as your business can fill a need, you will continue to have a long lasting company. This can happen just by knowing your customer basis and filling their needs.