MAKE YOUR CUSTOMERS FALL IN LOVE WITH YOUR BUSINESS

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The world of entrepreneurship is a very competitive world, with so many different businesses offering the same or different product to the buyers of such product. There are tonnes of option out there for customer to choose from when buying a product or getting a service and hence as a business owner it has never been more imperative for you to ensure you keep your existing customers & new ones than it is right now. The world of business has changed and customer satisfaction is the order of the day today, with the advent of social networks your customers can make or break you by sharing their experience with you on the readily available social media platforms. That’s why it’s even more important than ever to create an excellent experience for your customers to help develop your company’s relationship with them into love.

Walt Disney said it best, “Do what you do so well that they will want to see it again and bring their friends.”

Creating a firm relationship between you and your customers can escalate your business to the next level by encouraging positive word of mouth advertisement that is priceless. Most companies or business have their customer service unit that is charged with ensuring a high satisfaction level for new and existing customers to help in the continued running of the business. These data speak for themselves...

·         Only 37% of brands received good or excellent customer experience index scores in 2012. Whereas, 64% of brands got a rating of “OK,” “poor,” or “very poor” from their customers. Source: Forrester Research

·         As many as 89% of consumers began doing business with a competitor following a poor customer experience. Source: RightNow

·         Up to 60% of consumers will pay more for a better customer experience. Source: Desk

With all these in mind it should be quite clear that finding a way to keep existing customers and getting new ones is not just something important but a fundamental to your continued existence. We at Investodia will do all we can to see we help you take your business to the next level. Here are a few point to help you in keeping and finding existing and new customers respectively...

1. Collect And Store Personal Info

The first and the foremost thing that you should use your CRM for is to collect, store and keep track of the personal details of your customers. In other words, your CRM should be used for not only storing the sales history and the contact details of any customer; it should also be used to save the personal information of your customers as well. Such personal information of customer mainly includes his/her birthday, interests and social accounts. Doing this will give you a deeper understanding of your customer as an individual, and this understanding will surely help you in the long run as far as creating a solid impression of your organization and pitching the right message via the right communication channel.

2. Analyze Customer Buying Patterns

Last but not the least, and perhaps the most important segment wherein you should put your CRM to good use in order to improve the business relationship with your customers, is the segment of analyzing the buying or shopping patterns of your customer. You can do this by integrating your CRM with other data tracking tools and thereby get a full-blown picture of your customers’ shopping history, shopping pattern, and even shopping likes and dislikes. You should then use all this data on your customers in preparing your sales pitch and also your marketing strategies. This will help you gain the maximum benefit out of each of your customers, and thereby, considerably increase your business profits.

3. Openly discuss solutions

Businesses that have highly knowledgeable customer support teams should be well-versed in the solutions to every potential problem and be able to speak to those possibilities quickly. One important way businesses can manage customer service expectations is by openly discussing possible solutions to a problem with the client. By listing off possible resolutions, support teams empower their clients to understand the complexity of a particular problem and engage directly with its solution. Additionally, by painting a clear picture of possible results, service teams ensure customers don't have unrealistic expectations of how simple or difficult the resolution will be. 

4. Be transparent and honest

Transparency is absolutely crucial to managing B2B customer service expectations effectively and will affect clients' ability to trust a company. Businesses can ensure clients remain confident in their providers and have a positive experience by remaining honest in every possible situation. This means if a customer service representative doesn't have the right answer to a problem, he or she should be open about consulting with other members of the team. Regardless of the situation, support teams should avoid keeping secrets at all costs.

5.Don’t Come on Too Strong – Respect Your Customers

A third of consumers say they experience rude customer service at least once a month, and 58% of them tell their friends. This is exactly how word of mouth can work against your company’s reputation for the long term. It’s very important to be respectful of a customer’s mood when trying to resolve an issue they have with your company.

Keeping your patience is key to giving your customer the time to air out their issue. And, in turn, it creates the opportunity for you to help resolve the issue and make them comfortable. The more comfortable the customer is the more likely they’ll share valuable feedback that can help prevent similar issues from occurring again in the future.

6. Follow up regularly

Finally, support teams can manage customer service expectations by following up after each stage of the resolution process. As Customer Experience Insight pointed out, most customers are not bothered by companies touching base with them. On the contrary, clients expect businesses to follow up with them to round out their customer experience. After a customer service agent communicates the potential solutions to a problem and offers realistic timelines, he or she should follow up with the client through email to reiterate what was decided. Additionally, customer support teams should always check in with clients as the resolution progresses, and once a ticket has been closed.

7Always Listen – Hear What Your Customers are Saying

At a time when it’s easy to have a two-way dialogue with your customers, it’s important to truly listen. When listening to your customers, take into account what changes your organization should make from this feedback, and then follow through. Your customers are the lifeblood of your organization, and not dealing with the reasonable requests could cause backlash.

Use the following methods to gather feedback from your customers:

·         Surveys

·         Focus Groups

·         Observation

·         Point of Sale

·         Customer Service

·         Social Media

·         Communities and Groups

·         Email and Web Forms

8. Send Out Regular Updates

You should also utilize your CRM to strengthen your already existing bond with your customers. You can do this by utilizing the personal information and details of your customers stored in your CRM database, and thereby sending out regular and timely updates about your business and organization to them. You can also use your CRM software to send out sweet nothings such as “thank-you” too. This will make them feel more valued, involved and part of your business family, which in turn will make them prefer you and your organization over others the next time they want to do business.

9. Recognize Responsibility – The Customer is Always Right

No matter the circumstance, the customer is always right. This is a rule to guide your business through its growth, from customer service to user experience to product development. To help set this in motion, create a customer service policy to show your customers they are always right. Organize this policy into three parts:

1.      Highlight phrases for your company to use that’ll make your customers happy. Again, consistency and a personal touch go a long way.

2.      Never let your customers forget your business by following up effectively. Keep it personal by following up on special occasions and consistently writing handwritten follow-up notes.

3.      Define how to deal with unsatisfied customers with action steps to ensure there is a thorough process for all employees to follow to resolve a customer issue, ideally turning unhappy customers into your strongest advocates.

10. Always Say “Thank You” – Kindness and Gratitude will Take You Far

Last, but certainly not least, always say “Thank you.” As many as 3 out of 4 customers say they have spent more with a company because of a history of positive experiences. Kindness and gratitude for a customer’s business is an undeniable way to further enchant them for the long term.

Craft every thank you sent out from your company to be specific to the customer, relevancy is key. Be as appreciative as possible to your customers for taking the time to go through the process of resolving their issue. Finally, follow up with a good old fashioned “Thank you.”

So here you go, these 10 point should help you retain your existing customers and at the same time attract new ones to you via word of mouth advertisement from your existing customers. We at Investodia can only do our best in terms of feeding you the right post to help you advance your business to the next level. To fully achieve success in your journey as an entrepreneur, you have to ensure the proper application of all what our correspondence feed you with. We wish you nothing but success.

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THANK YOU.