To build a good relationship with your customers, you need to understand them first. What do they like? What are their needs? How can you help them?
After that, you need to make sure that your product or service is good enough. If it doesn't fulfill the customers’ needs, there's no way to build a relationship with them, because they will never come back.
I know it's not easy to always make your customers happy, but if you can do at least 80%, then consider yourself doing a great job!
While the term “customer experience” is often used to describe how customers interact with a brand, those interactions are just a part of the customer experience.
We’ll start by looking at how to build a good relationship with your customers — something that is critical for long-term success. From there, we’ll explore how to make sure every interaction is enjoyable and effective for you, your team, and your customers.
When you build a good relationship with customers, your business will benefit from the following:
Happy customers make for loyal customers.
Loyal customers are more likely to recommend your products or services to their friends and family.
Word-of-mouth is one of the best forms of marketing.
Customer testimonials are great conversation starters and help establish credibility.
The better the relationship, the more lenient they may be when you make a mistake. (Note: The first point is KEY in helping you avoid mistakes!)
Customers who have a great experience with you are often willing to pay more for your products or services.
In every relationship, there is a give and take. If you spend time with someone and keep taking from them, the relationship will not last long. Think of it this way. If your friend were to ask you to watch their kids all afternoon, would that be OK? Probably. But if they asked you again the next day, the next week, and the next month, it would become difficult to balance your schedule.
The same goes for a good relationship with your clients.
There are certain things you can do to build a great relationship with your clients that will improve your business in the long run:
You might think that building a good relationship with your customers is a waste of time. After all, they’ve already bought from you, so why do you need to continue spending time and money keeping in touch with them?
The truth is that there are many reasons why this is important. Here are just a few:
1. They will buy more. If you can turn one-time customers into repeat buyers, your business will grow quickly, even if you don’t find any new customers.
2. They will tell their friends, families, and colleagues – which means you will get more new customers with less effort (and at no extra cost).
3. They will spread the word on social media – which again means more new customers with little extra effort on your part.
4. They will give you valuable feedback about how to improve your products and services so that you can make them even better for all of your customers in the future.
5. As long as they have a good reason to come back (e.g., because they trust you or because they know that if anything goes wrong then you’ll fix it) then they won’t look for another supplier who offers the same products or services at a lower price
Be respectful of their time. You value their time as much as they do; don't ever be late or waste it.
Treat them like family or friends. Even though this isn't something that is required when discussing business, it can still make a huge difference. When you are polite, respectful, and show compassion for others, you can expect that in return from them as well.
Respond quickly to their communications. Being responsive shows them that you care about the work that needs to get done and want to help them succeed. This is especially important if they need something done in a short amount of time — respond immediately and inform them if you are going to deliver it on time or not.
Most of us have been on the receiving end of bad customer service and it can be enough to make you think that it's just how businesses are. However, there is a lot of research to suggest that this is only not the case, but that a good customer experience can be one of the best ways to build a lasting and positive relationship with your customers. Having to deal with the same customer over and over again can be extremely tiresome. To avoid this, you need to build a good relationship with your customers. Here are some of the reasons why:
Be able to get rid of angry customers with ease
If your customers are angry or upset about something, it is much easier for you to deal with them if they like you. If they don’t like you, they will probably just argue with you or not talk to you at all. Build a good relationship and they will cut you some slack, even if it is just because they don’t want to embarrass themselves in front of others.
Get repeat business
If your customers like you, they will be more likely to come back and see you or buy from you again. This is true in any situation where personal relationships are important.
Get better tips
Tips are usually given by people who have been provided with excellent service. They like being appreciated and showing that appreciation by tipping is one way of doing so.
Understand Your Customers: To deliver the right kind of customer experience you need to understand your customers. That means having insight into what they value, why and when they have contact with you, and what their issues are. This allows your business to deliver personalized and relevant interactions across each channel.
Reduce Customer Effort: It's often said that the easiest way to lose a customer is by making it difficult for them to do business with you. Whilst there are many things you can do to reduce customer effort, one of the most effective things is to simply listen. By listening carefully to what your customers say on social media or through surveys and feedback forms, you can identify common issues or pain points in your customer journey. This allows you to quickly put in place solutions that reduce friction and effort for your customers.
The relationship between you and your customers is like a marriage. It starts with a meeting, then the courting begins, and then it’s time to get down to business.
Your business, that is.
Like any good marriage, the relationship with your customer must be cultivated over time. But sometimes we forget that fact as we go about our daily work. How can we nurture our relationships with customers?
You’ve probably heard the adage that it’s harder to win a new customer than to keep an existing one.
It’s true: It takes five times as much effort to win a new client as it takes to retain an existing one, and most businesses report that 80 percent of their revenue comes from just 20 percent of their customers.
How to build a good relationship with your customers
Ask open-ended questions.
Be honest, authentic, and transparent.
Be kind and respectful.
Be on time.
Be responsive (both in-person and online).
Be prepared.
Be generous.
Be a good listener (and ask for feedback).
Having a good relationship with your customers is crucial for the success of any business, especially small businesses.
Once you begin to build a relationship with your customers, they are more likely to become loyal and true brand advocates. A positive customer experience leads to customer retention and an increase in sales.
We all know that it is far less costly to retain existing customers than to acquire new ones. But building lasting relationships with customers requires more than just great products and customer service.
The most effective way to build strong, long-lasting relationships with your customers is to create and maintain a community for them.
A good community will allow you to:
Maintain a two-way dialogue with your customers
Provide a higher level of customer support
Gain valuable market insights from your users
Collect feedback from your target audience
Increase the value of your product or service
7 other ways you can build relationships with your customers:
1. Respond promptly to all customer queries.
2. Personalize communication as much as possible.
3. Be authentic and transparent.
4. Address customer complaints effectively and efficiently.
5. Ask for feedback from your customers – but don’t just ask! Do something about it!
6. Reward loyal customers for their loyalty. You can reward your customers by giving them a discount on the Price of goods or by sending them something's like winter crafts as a gift
7. Follow up with after-sales communications, So we can also learn from other companies who do it well?
Other steps to build a good relationship with your customers are, to be honest, and tell the truth. If you always tell your clients the truth and be sincere, they will trust you.
The second step is to be always polite and friendly with your customers. People love good manners, so if you are like that, they will like you as a person.
The third step is to smile in a difficult situation. If the customer is very angry, and it's not your mistake, just apologize, try to calm him down, and explain what happened.
If it's your mistake, then don't argue with the customer. Just admit your fault and try to fix everything that you can.
And the last step is to listen to your client's needs and wishes, even if they seem unreasonable to you. The customer always wants what he wants, so if you don't want to lose it, try to satisfy his or her needs the best way you can.
Imagine you’re a customer for a company you trust. You already love their products and services and you’ve felt great every time you’ve interacted with them online or in person. Then, one day, you go to their website to ask a question about something but it's taking forever to get an answer. After waiting for three days, you leave the site and look elsewhere to get the product or service you needed.
Relationships matter. Whether you’re working with partners, colleagues, or customers, it can make all the difference when you have a positive relationship. People who build solid relationships are more likely to be met with the level of commitment they’ve been hoping for. This can be especially important in business when there are so many stakeholders and people working together to achieve a common goal.
There are several ways to build good relationships with customers.
Personalize your communications:
Greet customers by name and by their tribes, culture, and beliefs
Use the customer's name in conversations.
Send a thank you card with a handwritten note.
Be available:
Answer your phone within two rings and don't let it go to voice mail for more than a day.
Respond to e-mail within 24 hours.
Respond to snail mail within 24 hours.
Make sure that it is easy for customers to reach you when they need you.
Be honest and open:
If there is a problem with an order, let the customer know immediately rather than waiting until the last minute or until the customer calls.
If you can't complete an order on time, let the customer know; offer an alternative or a discount if necessary to appease the customer.