In today’s hypercompetitive small business landscape, attracting new customers, and retaining them can be a challenge. You can meet this challenge by building a user-centric business strategy. In this article, we will offer 4 tips to winning over your customers.
Focus on Word-of-Mouth Marketing
Positive word of mouth buzz is priceless for any startup and small business wanting to attract new customers. Customers trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations. That is what makes word-of-mouth marketing effective. You must provide exceptional buyer journeys to boost customer satisfaction. To increase brand advocacy, you first need to voice your brand’s values. For example, thrift stores focus on their mission of helping those in need. You can also build a loyalty or referral program. Knowing that they will be rewarded for loyalty, your customers will continue purchasing from you and spread the word about your business.
Build Relationships Before They Are Even Customers
The first move is getting to know your customers by collecting customer data. Based on date collected, create comprehensive buyer personas for each customer segment. You are laying the groundwork for your future marketing and sales campaigns. Next, you should also qualify leads. Those prospects are interested in your company and serious about buying from you. Finally, work on building the customer experience. Create a customer journey map to understand how your target audience behaves at different stages of the buyer journey. Follow the Pareto Principle that teaches that 20% of your customers are responsible for 80% of your sales. Identify that 20% and nurture them through personalized offers, meaningful content, and loyalty programs.
Learn to Manage Customer Expectations
Negative experiences with your brand cause frustration and discourage customers from purchasing. You should listen to your customers carefully.
Find out what your customers expect from you. Conduct polls and online surveys and monitor social networks. Keep your finger on the customer pulse. Your sales and customer service teams should ask open-ended questions that require more than plain yes/no answers. For example, they can ask customers about their overall goals, the results they expect, etc.
Do not overpromise. When committing to a customer, always under-promise and over-deliver. For example, if you believe you can finish and deliver a product in three days, promise they will have it in six. That way, even if an unexpected problem occurs, you will have enough time to resolve it without compromising customer experiences.
Communicate transparently. Sometimes, things go wrong no matter how hard you try to meet customer expectations. Negative user experiences and frustration are normal. Remember that your customers do not know what is happening behind the scenes. That is why you should communicate with them transparently. If your delivery is late, contact a customer and explain the problem. Be proactive in. addressing any complaints, questions, and negative feedback.
Have a Flexible Support System
In today’s hypercompetitive business ecosystem, customers choose companies that provide exceptional customer service. They expect you to be available 24/7, irrespective of their location or communication channel. For starters, remember that modern customers are tech-savvy. They use multiple channels and devices to communicate with brands. That is why you should provide them with seamless customer support. Here are a few principles of CRM that may serve as your starting point:
Invest in a reliable CRM tool that will centralize customer communications. By integrating your customer support tools, such as VoIP, live chat, email, or social networks, you can communicate with customers via a single platform. That helps you boost customer satisfaction and provide faster feedback. CRM systems also unify customer data. CRM captures customer data across multiple channels and creates unique profiles for each consumer. It allows you to track customers’ touchpoints with your brand over time. That helps your sales and customer support team provide faster and more personalized feedback.
Automate customer support. While live customer service is still the nerve center of your business, you should not neglect the power of automation. AI chatbots can improve customer experiences by providing real-time feedback 24/7. Most importantly, they use natural language processing, which helps them communicate just like humans. Many customers are not aware that they are talking to a bot. That provides seamless and more natural user experiences. You can use bots for personalized product recommendations, automated in-app orders, customer self-service, etc.
Conclusion
Exceptional customer experiences help you stand out in the overcrowded market and build a recognizable brand. Most importantly, the practices mentioned above will boost your revenue and facilitate faster business growth. Aside from helping attract new customers, these tactics will also help you build and retain relationships for the long-run.
Eve Anderson is a marketing specialist turned blogger who is interested in sports and exciting travel destinations. She loves to share content that informs people.