With many businesses going online and consumer transactions going virtual, establishing meaningful relationships with your customers can be challenging. Strong customer relationships are essential for your business. It can establish a loyal following as well as attract new customers. However, working on your relationship with your customers can be challenging with the current economic and business climate.
Investing in your customers shows that you care. It builds your name and brand. Despite the pandemic, having worthwhile relationships is essential for the success of your business. It can help increase your profitability and your chances for success.
Communicate to your customers.
With everyone online, it is now so much easier to communicate and reach out to existing and prospective customers. Steer clear of general templates that sound cold and impersonal. Personalization is still the key to show your customers that you see them as more than just a source of income.
With many people staying at home for safety reasons, a little personal touch in your communications can build trust and rapport. Profiling your customers according to age, status, gender, and occupation can help. Knowing the customer’s special dates, such as their birthday and even their anniversaries are a great idea to put you in their minds. A short yet sweet birthday e-mail, with a special voucher that they can use on their birthday, can go a long way.
Give gifts that matter
Promotional items are good. However, they sometimes end up adding to your customer’s clutter. Whether you are giving a valued client a holiday gift or an appreciation gift, choose items that will stay with them. For example, if your client is a veteran soldier, you can gift him custom military coins to honor his legacy. If your client is a teacher, online teaching tools such as a headset will be appreciated.
Should you choose to give common gifts for an occasion, study the persona of your customers. If your business offers car repair and services, you can give your loyal customers free carwash or waxing service. If you are in the meal planning and food delivery service, you can gift your members a bottle of wine or a basket of fruits to go with their orders.
Assure them in this time of uncertainty
With many people getting wary over the Corona Virus, people will want to know that they are safe when they transact with you. Assure your customers that you are adhering to CDC guidelines and health protocols. Keep them informed of the actions that you are taking to ensure their safety. Let them know that you are with them in this period of crisis. If you have promos that can help lighten up their loads, let them know. It can be offering discounts to health workers or offering light payment options to your customers.
If your company is operating on shorter hours, let your customers how they can reach you. Inform them of your operating hours, as well as the safety protocols that you have in place. Let them know how they can safely transact with you across different channels.
Create alternative communication channels
Aside from your contact center, create additional communication channels that will make reaching out to you easier for your customers. If you haven’t done it yet, establish your social media presence. With millions of people on social media platforms, you can take advantage of it to promote your business.
Aside from increasing product awareness, you can also use social media for customer service. Through your social media accounts, you can address frequently asked questions and the top customer concerns raised through your contact centers. You can post tutorial and guidance videos on how your customers can use your products. Infographics on safety and maintenance tips can also help your customers and lighten the load on your contact center.
You can use social tools and applications to provide customer support, including messaging apps, chatbots, and live chats. Make sure to respond to your customer’s concerns and complaints. Being unresponsive can drive existing customers away.
Amp up your offerings
Challenges are opportunities for a revolution. Rising needs brought by the current health crisis that need to be addressed present new business opportunities for you to fill. Expand your service offerings by solving the new problems that your customers are facing due to the pandemic. If you own a restaurant, but your customers can’t dine in your establishment, bring your foods to their homes. You can add healthy dishes to your existing menu to help your customers work on their health and resistance amidst the health crisis.
Now more than ever, it is important to maintain good customer relationships. While face to face transactions are limited, make use of technology to nurture these important connections.