One uncomplicated principle of many businesses is that it is easier to keep a customer than to gain a new one. Focusing on building a stable and loyal customer base pays off very well in the long run. The concept of customer relationship management refers to a company’s processes towards its own partners and clients. What aspects of your relationship with your audience affect their commitment to your company? Let’s find out based on the latest trends!
Transparency and honesty
Let it be face-to-face, on the phone or written communication, the most important thing of course is being honest and straightforward with the people you do business with. It’s helpful to be clear and exact about prices, timelines and the provided service to manage the expectations of your current or future clients. With your communication you are creating an identity for your brand. The human aspect here is key and only few people can and are willing to invest in quality connections. The result of your transparency with customers is their loyalty. It builds instant credibility and helps create more trust. Even if being upfront and direct about certain aspects of business does not sound appealing at first glance, the majority of people appreciate it if you don’t sugarcoat things or dance around an issue. Trying to keep up with promises and meeting the customer’s expectations can be stressful if you are too vague or are exaggerating about your capacity and the value that you provide.
Pay attention to customer experience
One of the important things is to remove obstacles in the way of the customer and make the process of ordering your services as smooth as possible. The devil is in the details: the design of your product, packaging, promotional materials, website design, tone of communication etc. Even research found that 86% of customers are willing to pay more for a better experience. Very important aspects are easy usability, the responsiveness of customer support and the accuracy of the information that you provide. Make sure that all accessible information you provide is up to date. In order to enhance their experience, knowing your customers well is an absolute requirement and it’s necessary to create a clear vision for them.
Appropriate complaint management – use the feedback
As Joseph Conrad put it so well: “It’s only those who do nothing that make no mistakes”. When you are working on building a business it’s obvious that there will be errors and challenges on the road that might mean that some of your clients will end up being disappointed or dissatisfied. This is just part of the journey, but the key is how you react to it. Paying attention to how to communicate about problems and how you handle complaints will make a big difference in the relationship with your customers. What’s essential to a client? When customers call you, they don’t like to be kept waiting and of course they want their problem resolved as soon as possible. Studies show that more than 65% of customers have hung up their phones out of frustration of not getting to speak to a human agent, but 89% of consumers are more likely to make another purchase after a positive customer service experience.
It is crucial to listen well and to gauge a customer’s needs precisely. Avoid giving programmed responses, and focus on handling the problem as customized as possible. In the long term they will forget about what specific issue they had, but they will never forget how you made them feel. Nonetheless, gathering their honest feedback can provide a new perspective for your business. Getting positive reviews and recommendations are important, but receiving constructive criticism and incorporating changes in your systems will help you become better and more successful in the future.
