WANT CUSTOMER LOYALTY? ADDRESS THESE 5 AREAS & CONVERT YOUR CUSTOMERS INTO BRAND EVANGELISTS!
In today’s marketplace, with so many competitors in any given industry, it’s challenging to obtain loyal customers and keep them enthusiastic about your products and services. The ability to maintain a high level customer satisfaction and retention is something most companies strive to do on a regular basis. There are a few ways you can make the process flow a little simpler and more effectively. Below I’ve listed 5 ways you can ensure your clients remain loyal and consistently choose your brand over the competition.
- Offer Customer Help Lines or Help Desk.
Your customers want access to support. They have questions and they want answers. Having a FAQ page on your website is not enough for certain industries. For example: if you have a product based business, or technical services or digital based company, you need to offer on-going customer support.
The business climate we live in has made it a basic offering to provide a hotline or helpline to answer customer inquiries for 24 hours or for extended evening hours at a minimum. Many small businesses today offer on-line support via a chat representative or an answering service to take emergency calls or provide trouble shooting to customers. Offering a help lines or the ability for your clients to reach someone in your company to answer questions, will provide a level of service that most small businesses do not have.
- Provide surveys to get customer opinions.
One of the best ways to find out what your clients think of your business is to simply ask them. Providing surveys whether they are filled out anonymous or require a name and contact information, gives the customer a platform to provide feedback. Many times your target audience is eager to give suggestions and input because it makes them feel more like a stakeholder in the business.
- Take Complaints Seriously
It’s unfortunate, but complaints do happen. In the case of complaints, it’s important to take them seriously. Do not discount or devalue your client complaints. Be sure to listen objectively and patiently to anyone who complains. Always express appreciation for the client giving honest feedback. The fact is, when your customers offer tough comments, the information is helpful to make improvements. After an unfavorable buying experience, customers are more likely to buy from you again if you handled their complaint satisfactorily. Handling complaints in the right manner can turn into a great opportunity to earn a repeat customer.
4. Be Accessible
There is nothing like being available and accessible to your customers especially during your stated business hours. If you have an answering service during lunch hours, that’s fine. However, if your answering service is taking calls throughout the entire business day, you will undoubtedly lose business. People want to talk to staff, not just a hired operator or answering service.
Of course there are times when your business is closed and your clients must respect that. However, if your clients can not reach you during business hours because there is never a live person to take a phone call, or your answering service is on call 24 hours a day, your customers may get frustrated and call someone else, like your competition. When you are accessible to your customer base, it assures them that you are professional, available and open for business.
- Exceed Expectations
It goes without saying that when you go above and beyond in business, it increases your value and popularity with your customers. People like to feel important when they are spending money on anything of value. That said, making the buying experience superior and incredible is going to ensure you increase customer loyalty and engagement.
The bottom line is simply if you provide customers with SATISFACTION, your business will grow in POPULARITY because people have a deep APPRECIATION for great customer service. And, your small business is more likely to have customer RETENTION and experience higher ENGAGEMENT.
If you utilize the above best practices, you will definitely ensure that your clients remain loyal and engage with your brand more often.
Now I’d like to hear from you. What have you done to keep your customers coming back again and again? Leave your comments below.
This article was written by Lori A. Manns. Want to use this article for your website or blog? No problem, here’s what you must include:
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Lori A. Manns is an award-winning, marketing expert, sales coach and business strategist who works with small business owners to help them elevate their brand, get more clients and grow revenue. Lori A. Manns is CEO of Quality Media Consultant Group and founder of the Trailblazer Business Mastermind™ where advancing entrepreneurs go to learn business growth strategies the soulful way to experience trailblazing success. Lori is also the creator of Sponsorship Sales Secrets System;™ that shows you how to get more sponsors and sales for your business, guaranteed. To purchase consulting services on marketing, advertising or sales and, learn how to increase your revenue and grow your business; please visit the contact us page on www.qualitymediaconsultants.com.