Building a strong relationship with your customers is the best way to cultivate a successful business. In today’s interconnected society, the world’s perspective of your business is molded by consumers. How your customers interact with your brand can make or break your business.
People rely heavily on the feedback of others when deciding whether they want to patronize a new business or not. Which is precisely why all businesses should be consumer focused in every aspect of their business. By making the effort to delight your customers and create a memorable experience, you are positioning your business for long term growth potential.
Here are 20 ways (plus one bonus tip at the end!) you can help make customers fall in love with your business.
1. Help Customers Learn Something New
Smart entrepreneurs know that offering educational material about their product or related topics is a great method for building relationships with customers. By becoming a trusted source of information you increase the value of your business, and become an asset for consumers.
For example, let’s say you own a wine distillery and want to build better rapport with customers. You could offer regular events where you bring in an expert who’s able to educate consumers about the differences between wines, and how to make the best selection based on their preferences. In doing so, you not only offer wine, but information they can carry with them for a lifetime.
Even if you run an online business you can use blog posts, webinars, whitepapers and free content to help people educate themselves while engaging with your business. When you add genuine value to your customers lives, you gain and maintain relationships with your customers.
2. Offer Ongoing Support and Specials
One of the number one reasons customers abandon a company is because of dissatisfaction with support and customer service. In fact, in one survey 65% of consumers have stated they began doing business with a competitor following a poor customer experience. Consumer expectations for service are higher than ever, and if your business does not meet these expectations they will not hesitate to find a competitor who will.
Businesses should also utilize the power of specials and create engaging promotions centered around discounts giveaways, sweepstakes, and contest. People love to feel like they are getting a good deal and they will remember who made them feel this way.
There is no reason to drop the ball on customer service, especially if they are chatting with you live or over the phone. It is in your business’ best interest to go above and beyond your customers expectations for support and specials.
3. Wow One Customer
Walt Disney once said “Do what you do so well that they will want to see it again and bring their friends.” Forget giving customers the same cookie cutter service, and offer one or several customers an unforgettable experience. Give a customer service experience so delightfully over the top that your customer will have a great story to tell. If done correctly that customer will want to tell family, friends, and social media acquaintances who will be retelling the story for days and weeks to come.
4. Be an Industry Leader
You should always be in the forefront of news, trends, and events within your industry. If customers see that you are a guiding presence in the market they will be inclined to stick with your brand. Being able to effectively lead and be an authority in your industry will build your customer’s confidence in your business. Especially if your industry recognized you as one of the best.
5. Refer Customers
B2B businesses should always make an effort to send business to their customers. They will be thankful for the business and gravitate toward your company even more. Look for opportunities to refer them to other clients or link them into your network.
6. Be Transparent
In the age of information, transparency is a must. Being transparent is one of the best ways to build trust with your clients. When you are transparent with your customers they are willing to be transparent with you, and will be more willing to participate in surveys and promotions.
There are many ways that a business can become more transparent with their customers. Offering order tracking, in depth information about product sourcing, and being open to feedback are a few methods that boost transparency. You do not want your customers to get the feeling that you are hiding something from them.
Being more open with information and engaging directly with customers will naturally make business transactions more conversational and facilitate a better shopping experience.
7. Reply to Emails Swiftly
For a customer, there is nothing worse than reaching out to a business only to be ignored. Unfortunately, this is the experience that many customers have when sending emails to businesses. Replying to emails swiftly shows the customer that they are a priority and that your business cares about their dilemma.
When customers know that you will respond quickly to their issues they are much more likely to stick with your business even if you make a mistake. Customers respect companies who can own their mistakes and care enough to communicate how they will fix them in a timely manner.
8. Unique/Special Thank You
Up to 86% of consumers are willing to pay more for a better customer experience, and closing the transaction with a simple thank you makes a difference. With customers, it’s all about how you make them feel, and the last thing you want is for them to feel unappreciated. So, remember to give a personalized thank you to show that you appreciate them on an individual level.
9. Write A Note
Adding a personal touch is a small way of showing gratitude to your customers that can really make your business stand out. In today’s highly digital world, receiving a handwritten note is such an old school sentiment that it becomes a novelty. Your note should be specific and personal. The extra time and effort you put in will make your customer’s day and maximize the impact of your promotion.
10. Spend Quality Time Together
Sometimes all you need to delight your customer is a little quality time. When influential people at a company meet with customers it attaches a face to the brand and the business instantly becomes more relatable. Go out of your way to meet people on the front lines and discover how your product impacts their daily lives. This could be a great opportunity for your business to learn about customer pain points and can help you improve your product or service.
11. Give a Great Read
Aggregate all the books that have been influential to you and your business, and give them out as gifts to your customers. This offering gives customers insight into the culture of your company and provides a relatable subject matter for future conversations. This is an especially effective technique if your customers are other businesses.
12. Start a Loyalty Program
Reward your most loyal customers by inviting them into an exclusive rewards program. Customers love to receive the VIP treatment, which is why companies who offer rewards programs are so popular. Simply offer annual discounts or exclusives deals before they hit the public and customers will love doing business with you.
13. Reward Social Media-Savvy Customers
Your companies exclusive circles should also extend to social media. You can reward customers who interact with your brand on social media with exclusive promotions, discounts, and prizes for advocating your business. This can be achieved through various social initiatives you set forth. All initiatives should be fun for participants, but also be focused on spreading brand awareness. You can create a system for earning and using social media loyalty points or some other means to track an offer social rewards. Don’t be afraid to get creative.
14. Customer Meet and Greets
If you notice there is a geographical area where there are a high number of customers who are loyal to your product, you may want to plan a customer meet and greet event. By sponsoring a customer focused event you not only show customers that you notice them, but you also create a chance to give them exposure to your brand’s upcoming new releases and promotions. If the event is successful, it can become something that you host annually and can advertise to customers in nearby locations so they have an opportunity to have fun with your company.
15. Spotlight Customers
Shout out customers on Twitter to show them how much they mean to you. Your goals should be to make it personal and to leave them smiling. Customers love when companies interact with them via social media. If you do this well enough customers will look forward to your post and will give a boost to the effectiveness of your social promotions. You can also feature customers on your website. This gives your customers value and gives them a sense of pride in doing business with you.
16. Send a Treat
The fastest way to a customer’s heart is through their stomach. You should consider sending out treats to customers as a way to show appreciation and gratitude for their patronage. Cookies are always a good option because they are liked by many and easy to share, but you should always be thinking about your audience and cater your treat accordingly.
17. Give a Charitable Gift
Reach out to valued customers and let them know you would like to contribute to their favorite charity in their honor. This approach creates a camaraderie with the customer on issues they care about. Feel free to get creative with this method. There are plenty of ways you can give charitably, and getting your customers involved reinforces your company’s values and builds confidence in your brand’s position as a community leader.
18. Offer a Surprise Upgrade
Who doesn’t like a good surprise? Especially when that price is an upgrade. A great way to thank your customers is with a free, impromptu upgrade. You can do random selections or make a list of your best customers and send them a spontaneous upgrade. It is something they will love and most likely brag about to their friends.
19. Send Cards on Unique Holidays
A personal touch is always appreciated especially on unique holidays. Sending cards on estranged holidays like Groundhogs Day or half-birthdays lessens the chance your card will be overlooked in a mass of other cards. This approach also makes your business stick out to those who are not accustomed to receiving cards on such holidays.
Other ideas: Customer anniversary cards are a great way to stand out from the crowd. You can also create personal business holidays that only loyal customers and employees would know, like customer appreciation week.
20. Show You Value Feedback
Reach out to customers to tell them how their feedback is appreciated and that changes will be made based on their suggestion. This is the best way to show them that you are listening. Make your customers feel like there is an open line of communication at all times. Be attentive to all feedback whether it’s positive or negative.
Make Customer Delight a Standard Feature with Zoey
Zoey’s customers report high levels of satisfaction, not just because we make their jobs easier, but also make supporting their customers easier, both with strong self-service tools and the ability to manage customer service scenarios with ease. Talk to our team about how you can delight your customers by deploying Zoey as your B2B Ecommerce solution:
Dominique Robinson is a Marketing Specialist at SkuVault, a warehouse management systems software company. Dominique’s passion for helping people discover better ways to improve their business manifest in his coverage of management operations. His ability to relay the most up to date coverage of news and trends in the industry has helped provide readers with a targeted platform to meet their needs.
