The most important aspect of growing your business is to have happy customers and keep them happy. Satisfied customers are the holy grail for any company. When your customer interacts with you and leaves happy, not only are they more likely to be repeat customers, but also recommend your business to their friends.
But for many business owners, it’s difficult to figure out how to best satisfy their customers. There are certain factors you should follow to achieve an environment to please your customers and ensure steady growth for your business.
1. Identifying and targeting the right customers
The first rule in any business is to identify and target customers that are right for your specific line of business. Don’t waste any of your marketing budget or staff hours, by targeting customers that won’t have any interest in what you offer, because no one can afford such losses. To make sure you have a healthy growing business, you should implement strategic planning and be creative, no matter how big your business is.
2. Define your customer base
Maybe you are into computer repairs or car repairs, hence, your clients will be people who own a computer or a car. However, your company might be suitable for everyone such as with a car leasing company. Everyone needs a car some time in their life, thus, you will have a wide range of customers to concentrate on.
You want to spend your money wisely in recruiting customers that will come back and also refer your business to their family and friends. It’s important to stay in contact with these customers through e-mails, postcards, and personalized letters. This is to keep them happy and ensure that your business will always be on their mind.
The use of newsletters and blogs can be of great assistance. In these, you should include information on relevant news and changes in your industry. For example: with computers, you can include articles about the latest technology and new systems available from your company.
With cars, you can include useful links on your website such as announcements of new car models or different repair manuals. For car leasing companies, feature some helpful information explaining how car leasing works. Basically, the more helpful information you provide, the more customers you will attract.
3. Customer support
Interaction and support provided to your customer are not based on the opportunity to do a sale. This should be done with the aim to keep your customers coming back.
Firstly, when any customer makes contact with you because they need support, it’s important to solve the problem in order to have a happy customer. This will build-up their belief system and trust in you and your business. Consequently, you can end up with a valuable customer to grow your company.
To achieve your goal through support and change your client to a buying client, you should concentrate on the following:
Your customer always has to be happy and trust you. Avoid selling any solution to a customer that is angry, because it will only make matters worse, it can also reflect badly on you. They should only have positive and happy feelings about the company and you to proceed with any interaction and make a successful sale.
Your customer must have a need for your service or the product you offer. Once their problem is solved and they are grateful, you can start to interact with them about the value of your product, and the service you can deliver. Supporting your customers properly will make the difference to a loyal and trustful client, and grow your business to new heights.
4. Ask your customer for feedback and make use of it
By showing a customer how much you care, you will be able to ask for some feedback. Listen closely to what he/she is saying, responding to any suggestions and thoughts they have, and then adapt to it accordingly.
For example: Asking customers regularly about what they think or feel. It will show how satisfied they were with their recent service or sales experience offered by you or your employees. Plus, you will learn about their general impression of the business.
This feedback can be done through different points of contact such as paper sales receipts, after an online sale, your website, online surveys, social media or with communication via e-mails. Keeping your customers close and informed will be excellent for the bottom line and heart of the business.
Listening carefully to feedback from your customers that’s been acquired with surveys through Yelp, Twitter, or from any other source, can give you an indication of what your service meant to them. Publish the results of surveys and answer your customer’s questions through an e-mail or newsletter. This dialogue to the customers will create a community sense around the business.
It’s important to promptly respond to any customer that contacts you or the business, whether it may be a compliment or a complaint. Make sure they understand that you care and listen to what they have to say. Problems need to be fixed immediately to ensure your client stays happy and returns or refers business to you in the future.
You need to adapt the business to any feedback through your customers and meet their needs in a better way. Make sure to communicate these changes back to the clients, so they can see you pay attention to what they asked for.
5. Go wide and high
Most of the time customer relationships are too narrow and shallow. Once the customer signs the contract and leaves your business happy, the relationship outside your day-to-day dealings with your customer stops. Yet, it shouldn’t, you ought to send them regular updates on changes and maybe even some educational information via a newsletter.
If not, your client will leave the business and with no contact or relationship afterward, you will lose an advocate and the chance of him/her referring any new business to your company. You need to follow up and make sure they stay happy and they won’t forget you or your business.
