Potential customers, past customers and loyal customers all have one thing in common – the need for conversation from your business. Neglecting to reach out to customers on a regular basis is the key to losing their business. There are many factors that go into keeping customer conversations alive, and each one is important. You can’t provide strong customer service without customer communication, so let’s dive right in:

• Initiate the conversation. Unlike dating, there is no guess work in who should initiate the conversation between customers and businesses. Sure, it is always nice when a customer reaches out to you to set up an appointment. However, this is not always going to be the case when a customer needs your business, so make it easy for them to choose you every time by initiating a conversation. Reminding a customer about their positive experiences with your business is as simple as sending a follow-up message to let them know it is almost time to book another service with you. Reaching a new or potential customer should be all about showing them how convenient and reliable your business is to work with. Over 90% of consumers will choose a business based on how convenient it is to work with them. It doesn’t get much more convenient than a business reaching out to remind you of a service needed in your home, yard or vehicle, so fill in that gap by being willing to reach out before they do. 

• Provide valuable information. Nobody wants to receive an email or text message from a business that has no point. Instead, focus on providing valuable information with each and every conversation in order to keep that line of communication alive and well. Track your customer’s previous transaction data and know what services they utilize from your business. Maybe someone reached out to you with a question and then never responded once you provided them with the answer. It doesn’t hurt to follow up with them to see if they have any other questions, or if they are ready to schedule a service. If you haven’t had much experience with texting customers and knowing what to say, remember that everyone starts somewhere! Here are some helpful tips to getting started texting customers. 

• Make it easy for customers to follow up. Perhaps the most important thing to do when communicating with a customer is giving them a quick and easy way to reach you. There is no such thing as too much convenience for today’s consumer, so keeping it as simple as possible can only work in your favor. Provide customers with a QR code if you are communicating through email. That way they can scan it right from the screen to open a text conversation with you on their phone. If you visited with a customer in person, be sure to leave them physical collateral that can be used to quickly contact you with future needs. A smart QR code here will lead them to a conversation with you where they can get all their questions answered and book their next appointment. People want to text with businesses they are working with, so providing this level of convenience is necessary today. After all, 98% of text messages are opened and read, so there really is no better way to keep customer conversations alive. 

For more insights on marketing strategy that actually works for small business, connect with Jay Bean, Founder of FreshLime and Small Business Marketing Expert on LinkedIn and Twitter. If any of these tips have helped you or if you have anything to add, please comment below. We’d love to hear from you!