Building and Maintaining Lasting Customer Relationships

With the constant evolution in the way businesses are using technology to create customer convenience and improve profitability, it is essential not to lose sight on the importance of strengthening client relationships based on customer care and empathy. Earning customer loyalty requires developing a sound relationship between a business and its clients. Focus on making the customer journey a fulfilling one right from the start and make sure you offer a consistent and personalized experience across all touch points, connecting with your customers, offering them help and taking feedback from them about their experience with you.

Offer Tailored Service Experience

A large percentage of companies are offering self-service and moving towards automation of processes. Wherever this is used to improve efficiency and make procedures simpler, faster and easier for the customer, it will receive applause and favour. However, at many stages of the customer journey, clients might require help or assistance from a representative or want to talk to a person and discuss their requirements in detail. A customer might want a suggestion or advice before making a buying decision. In such scenarios, going out of the way to offer help and customized solutions based on client preferences will help strengthen relationships.

Product recommendation and personalization based on customer interests will help in retaining and building brand loyalty. Make sure to create a lasting connection between your business and customers. All interactions with customers must be meaningful in order to make the overall experience memorable for them.

Do More than the Expectation

“Going out of the way for customers” should not only be in terms of number of coupons and discounts a business offers. It is important to learn the significance of providing assistance and support at every level to refine the experience. While customers always appreciate being rewarded through loyalty cards and giveaways, other ways of relationship building such as sensitivity to their issues and needs, active listening, staying in touch and showing empathy are just as important. These essential elements will help create sound relationships and should be present in every customer service representative. Go out of your way to help customers and always work towards exceeding their expectations in every way. Give customers the assurance that every concern they have will be addressed and solved with expertise. Focus on creating an unforgettable journey for your clients in order to gain loyalty.

Conduct Surveys to Measure Customer Satisfaction

Collect data on what your clients think of you, where they rate you for being proactive, helpful and perceptive by designing questionnaires and surveys for the sole reason of making improvements in your products and services. Ask them about what changes and improvements they would like to see. This will act as client feedback which is important for strengthening your bond with them. Have a mix of questions in your surveys that are both open-ended and close-ended. Conduct surveys that reveal the level of client satisfaction and frequently ask them to rate their experience. Understand the areas where you are lacking and work on improving them. Staying in touch with your customers is important for sustaining your relationship with them.

Have a Team with High Emotional Intelligence

It is the age of emotional Intelligence, and people are educating themselves to understand and build relationships based on it. This calls for the need to have team members who have high emotional intelligence and who make it their job to build better bonds with customers. It is essential to understand the need of every customer and respond according to his/her preference. Being sensitive to what the customer is saying and responding with sincerity by offering a likeable solution will make customers want to keep coming back to do business. Understanding the emotions of the client by focusing on their body language, tone of their voice and being able to read between the lines will enable staff to deliver better. An example of this would be sensing that the client is unwilling to share more details with you about the bad service experience they have had, and reacting in an appropriate way, building confidence by offering them a seat and a cup of coffee, listening to them and asking them questions. Someone with high emotional intelligence is perceptive, knows what to say, offers the right solutions and can show empathy which goes a long way in strengthening relationships with customers. When hiring for your business, make sure you have people who know how to deal with different kinds of customers as it will help create more loyalty.