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Your business won’t survive without happy, satisfied customers. How do you turn a one-time transaction into a customer for life? Here are five ways you can create a deeper connection with your customers.
Make Them Feel Special
Customers don’t want to be just a number. They want to feel like they are important. You can create a feeling of caring by remembering details about their lives that they discuss with you. For example, a dentist can remember the details that a client talks about when his or her mouth is free of dental tools while hanging out in the chair. By making notes in the patient’s file, the dentist can remember to bring it up again during the next visit. This makes the patient feel like a valuable client.
Even for businesses whose relationships aren’t this friendly, just remembering the customer’s name creates a feeling of familiarity and comfort.
Don’t Leave Them Hanging
People value their time almost as much as they value their money. Customers don’t like to wait. They equate how much you value their time as how much you value them. Being quick to respond to your clients’ needs can turn hectic, but it’s imperative to creating a positive experience for your client. It’s what turns one sale into repeat business.
Utilize Customer Reward Programs
Many companies have taken the initiative to reward their customers’ loyalty with programs designed to compensate them for their patronage. Thank them for their allegiance to your business, even if it is just in a small way, such as a coffee gift card. It goes a long way and says to your customer “we appreciate you.”
Demonstrate that you care about people and things that are outside your sphere of business by showing support for a local or national cause. This creates a positive vibe that customers can get behind. You become more than just a business — you become part of a community.
Make It Personal
People detest being handled by machines and recordings. In the age of electronic communications, consumers are frustrated with not being able to interact with a real live person. Being available to meet with your customers face-to-face or even sending out personal communications such as thank you cards or personal emails can show clients that you not only care about their business, you care about them.
Go Above and Beyond
So many businesses are competing for customers that people feel like they can pretty much go anywhere and get the same goods and services. Showing your clients that their business is of the utmost importance to you will make a connection that inspires loyalty and repeat business. Customers are going to go where they feel respected and appreciated. Sometimes this even outweighs the cost of the goods and services they are buying.
A happy customer is a loyal customer and with the prominence of social media, a customer who is a vocal advocate of your company. Forging a deeper connection to your clients not only will bring them back every time but will also have them telling everyone they know why they should use your business.
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