Constantly battling to get new customers is an uphill struggle that does not guarantee a payoff. Convincing new people to become loyal customers is hard, and it isn’t the core of your business. Your business is fuelled by loyal customers, the people who keep coming back because they like you, your brand, and your product. You want your customers to personally vouch for you to their friends, their family, and their co-workers. Nothing is better than someone vouching for you, which is why you need to use these 5 methods to make your customers feel more valued:
- Communicate with Your Customers
With social media, customers have multiple means of communicating with you. This communication can come in the form of either comments, direct messages, or posts. Responding to these posts in a genuine manner is a great way to make your customers feel more valued, however, it is crucial to respond to complaints. Not only will you resolve one customer’s problem, but you will also demonstrate to others that you not only are available for them, you also care. Be sure to sound genuine!
- Offer Ongoing Support
This is more than resolving customer complaints, this is the constant upsell. Offer ongoing specials, sales, giveaways, contests and other means to charm your customers on an ongoing basis. This is to satisfy your customers in the long term and give them incentives to continue their relationship with you.
- Alert Them to Changes
People like to be in the know. When you change your terms of service or any other major change to your brand, inform your customers. Be upfront and honest and be welcoming of feedback. You need to either face the flaws in your plans and change accordingly, or you need to be able to defend your decisions. Either way, letting customers know what is happening and allowing them to input their opinion is great for making your customers feel valued.
- Personalize their Experiences
Using marketing automation is a great way to tailor each customer’s experience. You cannot manually do this, and that’s okay. Automation works wonders for everything from tailored email campaigns, to social media ad campaigns, to tailoring a user’s experience when they visit your store. Cut out what your customer is not interested in and increase your chances of repeat business.
- Be Open to Feedback
People love to give their opinion. Typically, they are more likely to tell you about their negative experiences over their positive ones. Accept the negative feedback as areas you can improve, and otherwise make the review system a simple click. For instance, after someone makes a purchase, ask them how their experience was using faces – smile, neutral, sad.
Your customer is the most important part of your company. They are the reason you exist. Your very purpose is to provide a service or product for them, so it only stands to reason that you should cater the rest of your efforts in making sure they are happy. A happy customer will tell 4 to 6 people about their experience, and if they have a poor experience, they are more than 50% likely to tell others about, too. Focus on making your customers feel valued, and you will have a loyal customer base.
