Customer relations is a cycle, like most things in life. It starts by attracting customers and striking a chord with people who need the product or service. As the relationship gradually builds up, it shifts to the next phase that involves retaining customers. Upon earning the customers’ trust, all that’s left to do is regain their patronage and turn them into repeat customers.
The up-and-down movement in the cycle is inevitable—customers won’t constantly stick to a product or service. Factors such as dissatisfaction or inefficient communication can lead to the decline of the established relationship with the client. A business that lacks a decisive response to such a decline might lose its best customers permanently.
Thus, consistent communication with customers is essential in prolonging the cycle. Businesses have to commit to upholding a healthy relationship with clients by ensuring mutual understanding between the two parties. The problem is that many companies tend to gloss over this issue, only to realize its importance too late in the process.
Fortunately, there are ways to achieve a favorable communicative environment. Keep in mind that the following tips won’t essentially prevent your business from losing customers, considering that there are several other factors, but they can mitigate the adverse effects by improving customer retention.
1. Invest In Technology
As a business grows, its processes will need constant upgrades to maintain efficiency. Handling a growing number of customers will be difficult without platforms that can manage an equal number of transactions. Today, businesses can benefit from companies that develop efficient business communication tools and software such as cloud PBX.
By incorporating state-of-the-art programs and apps, a business’s processes will become more streamlined. While the investment won’t come cheap, companies must also consider the long-term benefits, especially in this competitive environment.
2. Provide Accurate Information
Providing accurate and helpful information to the customers can also increase their level of satisfaction. Demand for information across all industries is at an all-time high, since customers want to make the right decisions by knowing what they’re getting into.
Being able to answer as many inquiries as possible is a big plus for businesses in terms of effective customer communication. Food delivery apps and services are good examples. They’re able to provide information about a restaurant’s business hours, menu, promos, and reviews. They also show restaurants within the user’s range, reducing the need for customers to call the restaurant via phone just to ask for information.
3. Take A Proactive Approach
In a proactive approach to communication, businesses are supposed to start the dialogue first. Instead of waiting for customers to call, the company reaches out and asks them for concerns and inquiries. Having information about the customer beforehand has several benefits for your business, some of these include:
- Increased customer satisfaction
- Increased overall revenue
- Reduction in repeat calls
- Improved first-contact resolution
- Reduction in overhead costs
4. Set Realistic Goals
It’s easy to lose customers when a brand fails to live up to its promise. It often occurs when it tries to market itself as the only brand everyone needs. Moreover, some businesses often try to make serious concessions to fulfill their slogan, such as offering new products and services at the cost of existing ones. In most situations, the latest products and services offered are beyond the company’s expertise or capability.
Having a set of clear goals will portray your company as a reliable and genuine one. Don’t hide your business’s limitations by setting unrealistic goals, and don’t forget to offer your customers solutions within your business’s means.
5. Treat Customers Fairly
Treat customers the same way you would treat a friend or family member. Start by expressing genuine care for the customer’s concerns, instead of reading from a prepared script. Words as simple as ‘please’ or ‘thank you’ can already establish rapport.
It’s also crucial to reword statements in a positive tone. If a product is currently unavailable, it’s better to tell the customer that they can get the product next month when it’s available. This way, you’re offering solutions instead of refusing their order outright.
Conclusion
Managing customer communication need not be complicated—it all boils down to prioritizing the customer’s needs above all else. As your business goes through the customer cycle, seize every opportunity you can in improving customer satisfaction. You don’t have to do much in maintaining a healthy relationship with your customers, since all you need to do is communicate effectively by following these five tips.
