Tips for Building Customer Relationships in 2014

With the start of 2014 quickly approaching, now is the time to reevaluate your customer relationships. What may have worked for you in the past may no longer do the trick. It's important to take time to reflect on how well you and your business are serving your customers. Building customer relationships goes beyond providing good customer service. There's more involved to building relationships than simply being friendly. You need to work on improving customer satisfaction as a whole; thus, increasing brand loyalty and profit potential in the process.

Customer Satisfaction

Customer service involves much more than simply providing a quality service at affordable rates. Not only must your customers be satisfied with the services you provide, but they also need to feel valued as well. They don't want to feel like you're only working with them for their money. Unfortunately, this is a major issue with businesses in current times. Evaluate just how well you're providing good customer service in all aspects, not just remaining friendly and professional. Are your customers really getting the answers to their questions? Are your customers feeling valued? Are you providing them with the services and help they need? Are your customers first in mind, or is your profit your main driving point

Reputation Management

Reputation management is often overlooked. You can't please everyone no matter how great of services you provide, but what are you doing about the customers who aren't happy? What are you doing about those bad reviews? Many business owners feel if they turn the other cheek or simply ignore bad reviews or customer complaints they will go away. This isn't the case. You need to address bad reviews and unhappy customers as it shows they are valued. Plus, it will help you build customer relationships as other customers will see you aren't just sweeping customer concerns under the rug.

 

Valuing Your Customers

The most important factor to improving customer satisfaction is making your customers feel valued. By actually showing that you value your customers it will be the thing that pushes you ahead of your competition. Your customers will turn to you versus your competitions because you've made them feel welcome and important. It's essential your customers feel as though their voices are heard. With 2014 right around the corner, evaluate how well you're showing your customers that they are valued and that you appreciate their business. Special discounts and incentives are a great was to accomplish this, as well as regularly interacting with your customers on a personal, yet professional level.

 

Reaching Your Customers

To build customer relationships, you need to make sure you're properly reaching your customers. Utilize the most appropriate marketing platforms to ensure you're reaching your customers in the most relevant fashion. If you use social media, remember, social networking outlets are diverse--each used by different demographics. If you aren't having any luck reaching your customers on Twitter, research which outlet your customers are using and then implement a marketing strategy. If they aren't on Twitter, maybe they are on Pinterest.

 

Fulfilling Customer Needs

Improving customer satisfaction and relationships also involves fulfilling your customers' needs. Are you providing them with the services they need? If not, broaden the services you offer. Can they reach you easily through a real person, not an automated system? If not, implement a system that's easier for them to contact you, which includes mobile marketing strategies. Maybe your website isn't meeting their needs. If so, then it's time for a redesign to make it more customer friendlily.

Simple things really go along way when it comes to improving customer satisfaction and building customer relationships. By achieving good customer service in all aspects, you'll increase brand loyalty; thus, increasing sales.

How do you ensure you provide good customer service to build relationships?