Attracting customers isn’t exactly easy, but establishing lasting connections with them is even more challenging than getting them to come knocking on your brand’s door in the first place. Still, once you manage to lure clients to make the first contact, there are quite a few things which you can do forge deep and meaningful relationships with them and keep them loyal and happy in the years to come. Wondering how to pull this off? Here are the top tips which will help you establish lasting bonds with your customers and secure steady and rising cash inflow for good.
1. A Wide Smile Accounts for Half of Your Fortune
Let’s face it: odds are you like positive people, in and outside business arena and your clients are no different. A positive attitude, wide smile, friendliness and firm handshake are universally appealing in the corporate world and can help you make an excellent first impression on new customers and maintain excellent rapport with existing ones. Even when dealing with demanding or difficult clients, don’t let your goodwill and openness fail you. A client lost due to a one-time misunderstanding will be a dent in your lasting business success and it will possibly even chip your brand’s reputation on the market.
2. Thank You, Please, and You’re Welcome Mantra
When it comes to in-person communication with your clients, “Thank you”, “Please”, and “You’re welcome” are the magic words that open all doors, so you’ll want to make them your brand’s mantra. For anniversaries and special occasions, you can even enrich your kindness arsenal with unique corporate gift boxes which you’ll deliver to existing clients as a token of appreciation. Everybody loves presents, even if they’re symbolic and inexpensive, so this clever investment can reinforce the relationship with your existing customers and make sure they don’t bounce off to your competitors any time soon.
3. Keep Your Customers Up to Date at All Times
Just like any aspect of life, the world of business is prone to changes and it’s the most flexible brands which manage to adapt to current market trends that can hope to both survive and keep thriving in the face of challenges. In case you need to make adjustments as regards your brand’s services and prices at some point, make sure you update your clients about these on time. Lasting business relations are built on trust and timely updates about changes or additions to contract terms and conditions, and they will help your brand achieve the status of a highly trustworthy player in the industry.
4. Honest Client Feedback is a Shortcut to Success
Even if you’re 100% certain that your business is running smoothly, you’ll still need to ask your customers for feedback now and again. By asking for feedback concerning service or product quality and customers’ impressions, not only will you get a better insight into the aspects in which improvements or tweaks can be made, but you will also make your clients feel good about their own value in your brand’s eyes. By conducting a poll or sending your clients a questionnaire and kindly asking them to rate your business, you’ll scoop two gains by a single blow and further deepen your relationship.
5. Time is Money – For both you and Your Clients
In the hectic world we live in, time truly is money – and your customers are well-aware of this. As a rule, people don’t like brands constantly tugging at their sleeve by means of telemarketing campaigns or piling their inbox with newsletters, nor do they want to hassle with too much information with little or no relevance for their wellbeing. For this reason, it’s recommendable for you to make your business communication effective, short, and friendly as it will show your customers that they are important to you but that you respect their time and priorities in life just as much as your own business goals.
6. Provide Prompt Support for Pressing Problems
Most big brands know that round-the-clock support is one of the vital points which can make or break enduring relationships with customers. Small and mid-sized brands, however, sometimes overlook the importance of prompt response to customer queries and thus lose both customers and credit in the eyes of potential clients. A good word about your brand’s responsiveness to client’s demands goes a long way, but a bad one goes further – and faster no less. To keep clients happy and make sure they stay loyal to your brand, you should strive to remain available to them even outside office hours as it will show you’re a true professional.
7. Keep Your Social Media Feed Sweet and Catchy
These days, your target customers are plastered to their phones and they will most likely find you through social media. Nevertheless, it takes more than a catchy sponsored ad on Facebook or Instagram for your brand to get hold of new clients which will keep coming back to your doorstep to show you their money. To truly keep your clients engaged, you’ll need to update your social media feed regularly and make the posts professional, but with a slight dose of humor. There is no better way to steal a place in the hearts of your target demographic than to show them your brand offers both value and fun.
Once you manage to catch the eye of your target audience, you’ll be able to close the first sale relatively easily. Still, brands that have been around your industry’s block for a while know full well just how essential it is to forge a lasting and meaningful connection with the customers right away. Honesty, integrity, timely updates, openness, respect, and flexibility combined with a genuine smile and occasional tokens of appreciation for your clients’ trust in your brand are a shortcut to customer loyalty, steady stream of referrals, and superior reputation on the overcrowded market. Follow the tips listed above and you will hack long-lasting profits, business growth, and a safe future for your brand. You’re welcome.
