Engagement Techniques that will Turn Customers into Lifelong Business
If you are a small business owner, customer engagement is vital to grow your company. Clear, consistent communication is a great way to draw clients back over and over again. It helps create a sense of trust and reliability and your efforts will show that you truly care.
The following techniques are some ways in which you can turn customers into lifelong business:
Use Customer’s First Names – Sounds simple, right? Although this is a minor action, it makes a huge difference in the long run. Saying someone’s name, when in person or on the phone, or even as an opener in an e-mail can create a sense that you know the customer personally and they’re truly valued. Imagine how good it feels when you arrive somewhere and someone acknowledges your presence? It makes you feel great and appreciated! Make it a priority to remember customer’s names and use them regularly. As a result, you’ll be setting a great foundation for a respectable, trusting relationship.
Make it Easy for People to Email You – Allowing customers to contact you in a convenient way helps create a sense of reliability. Having open communication creates transparency and trust. Make sure as a company, your contact information is visible and easy to find everywhere. Business cards, flyers, websites, online search engines and review sites, etc. Make it known that you are there and you’re willing and wanting to serve your customers in every way possible. Along with being reachable, it’s important that you reply quickly. Not getting back quickly enough can cause your customer and potential business to go elsewhere – especially if they are doing business with you for the first time or have only been in once.
Conduct Personal Surveys – What better way to find out how you and your company are doing, than by conducting surveys? This gives you raw feedback on your performance and it shows where you can improve. Benefits of surveys are that they’re easy to develop, there are many different types, it’s easy to administer, they’re low cost, and they make it possible to collect data from a large group of audiences. When individuals are offered to do a survey, it makes them feel as though their opinion really matters and that their business is appreciated. Try SurveyMonkey if you are doing it through e-mail marketing and if not, a simple in-house anonymous survey does the trick.
Have a PDF Welcome Packet – No matter what your business is, having a welcome packet that you can either send online, in the mail, or hand out in person is accommodating to prospective customers and it appears proficient. This packet will help individuals understand exactly what it is that your business offers and what you can do for them. It also allows you to answer any questions they may have and include other vital information. Doing this simple task will help keep potential customers informed and it helps cultivate the greater chance of lifelong business.
For more insights on marketing strategy that actually works for small business, subscribe to the FreshLime Newsletter here. Connect with Jay Bean, Founder of FreshLime and Small Business Marketing Expert on LinkedIn and Twitter. And last of all, 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!