6 Killer Tips for Building Strong Customer Relationships

As a small business owner, solopreneur or freelancer, competitors abound as many businesses and individuals offer the same services or products you are offering. Providing value added services or products is not enough to stand out and get people connected to you. It takes a powerful personal and business brand to provide the proof of your character and competence.  When this is evident, people will even lend their credibility to you so their circle of influence will refer others to using your services. You need to show sincere care and value towards others for them to sincerely care and value you.

Caring for and having a sincere interest in your current customer base gives you an edge over the competitors within your niche. This just makes good business sense. These customers trusted you or your company enough to already do business with you.

How to Show Customers You Care

Personalize Your Relationship with Them

There’s an adage that says — people will quit businesses before they quit friendships. The truth of this adage is even more evident in the small business world; customers feel close to those who address them personally and actively work to nurture a relationship with them. Connect and communicate with your customers using their names and know their preferences and what matters to them.

Keep Them Satisfied with What You’ve Got to Offer

Factually, this is the first way to show you really care to your clients as offering them good and satisfying products or services shows you really care about giving them the best products available. Keeping people not only satisfied but wowed by the services and products you provide is the first challenge that must be mastered before people will connect you with their circle of influence.

Listen and Respond to Them

Business owners must learn to listen to what their customers have got to say — the good, the bad, and the ugly. Whether through comments, polls or suggestions, listen and respond to your customers.

Do Not Hesitate to Appreciate Them

It is part of human psychology to feel valued whenever you are appreciated. Therefore, you must never hesitate to appreciate your customers and connections. Personalized introductory or ‘Thank you’ notes can go a long way in making your customers feel loved and appreciated.

Help Your Customers

If you truly care about someone, helping that individual whenever you have the power to do so will never be something hard for you. From useful tips to foolproof advice, there are many simple ways you can employ to provide help to your customers and make them feel they are important to you.

Give Them Rewards

Giving tangible rewards to customers has always proven to be one of the most effective ways to make them connected to you. It will also make them delight in referring others to you. Gifts, promos, discounts and coupons are some of the things you can use to reward your customers.

Let your customers know you care, and that will provide volumes in strengthening your relationship with them and getting connected or referred to others.

Source: https://smallbiztrends.com
Image credit: Shutterstock



ABOUT WNFP
Westchester Networking for Professionals (WNFP) is a business networking association dedicated to helping small businesses and entrepreneurs develop, expand and grow. We offer affordable opportunities to help create a positive impact and advancement in your business interests and personal quality of life to take you to the next level.
Stay Connected with WNFP!

How Criticism Can Save Your Small Business

Mistakes are critical to business growth. We learn the most when we’re faced with trickier problems and customer complaints that force us to get creative. Whether you’re a booming tech leader like Facebook or a local mom-and-pop, your team should always have an ear to the ground, accepting and encouraging feedback from happy and unhappy customers alike.

Below, we share just how customer criticism can transform and save your business.

You hear your customers’ wants first-hand

Maybe you talk to your customers all the time or, as is often the case, just when they’re dissatisfied. While these “negative” conversations can be daunting, they’re far more valuable for than the pleasant ones. Unhappy customers put growth opportunity on a serving platter. They tell you about their issue and often hint (or state outright) the outcome they would have preferred, whether it’s a product improvement, a service offering, better communication or all of the above.

The more you hear this kind of feedback, the clearer your business’ holes become and the closer you are to plugging them. Just remember that many customers never complain. In fact, 96% of them don’t. The majority simply leave. So you have to ask for feedback and work toward building better customers who want to give it, otherwise you won’t hear the good, the bad and the ugly until it’s too late.

You see your business in a new light

You go to work every day and stare at a computer screen, run around helping customers or checking off an endless and ever-growing to-do list. You start to form a routine. After some time, it’s easy to grow so close to the work that you put distance between yourself and your customers. You must make mental edits to your approach, especially if you want to grow business with customer service.

Criticism forces you to take a hard look at outdated and ineffective practices that may be causing trouble in your customer relationships. It gives you a chance to revamp the go-to techniques you use on a daily basis. Maybe your business hours are problematic for customers with full-time jobs, or you’re not offering a service in high demand. Your customers’ feedback can help point out the obvious but overlooked problems that need to be rectified.

Just listening boosts customer retention

Criticism isn’t always fun to hear, but it just might help you save a customer from leaving. When someone raises a complaint, start by empathizing. Let them know that you understand where they’re coming from and you’ll take the initiative to help. Wait for them to finish, then try repeating back what they just said so they know you’re listening.That word is key: listen. Remind yourself that you need to listen, not just hear. Take notes if you want to, and attempt to come up with a solution right then and there or give them a clear, reasonable time that you’ll get back to them. If you offer a solution upfront, your customer is less likely to cut ties. And even if you can’t solve the problem right away, once your customer voices their issue they’ll be more invested in that future solution.

Feedback can ignite action

Criticism can give you that little push you need to make a change. When your employees are constantly hearing similar feedback, that’s when you know it’s time to take action. Meet with your team and determine where the majority of complaints or problems arise and come up with a strategy to fix the issue. Making these feedback sessions a top priority adds credibility in the eyes of your customers and your employees.

That employee bit is key. If you run a business with customer-facing employees, they need to be following your lead and soliciting feedback regularly. Instill an attitude of proactive customer service company-wide and you’ll see a much bigger impact. Your team will begin paying more attention to customers’ needs as well as what’s best for the company.

Conclusion


If companies like Apple and Microsoft disregarded their customers’ feedback, they never would have made it to the top echelons of tech. Their products and services have adapted to changing consumer preferences and needs thanks to constant analysis and action. Though their consumer studies budget probably dwarfs a mid-sized company’s annual revenue, smaller operations can take small measures to start listening that open up a realm of possibilities for growth. Don’t forget that you are where you are because of your loyal customers, so take their criticism as a thank you to your business.

Source: http://www.entrepeneur.com
Photo Credit: BizApp


ABOUT WNFP
Westchester Networking for Professionals (WNFP) is a business networking association dedicated to helping small businesses and entrepreneurs develop, expand and grow. We offer affordable opportunities to help create a positive impact and advancement in your business interests and personal quality of life to take you to the next level.
Stay Connected with WNFP!

What's branding? Why do I need it? How do I do it?

Today I will be covering a very important topic that is way too often overlooked or misunderstood by local and small businesses, social entrepreneurs and creatives. That is the idea of BRANDING. It's a confusing world out there, and so many people are going out on their own to build a life worth living, which means they are jumping on the entrepreneurial bandwagon... and then, they hear buzz words like branding, marketing, social media marketing, etc. and get overwhelmed. Well, I'm here to help you sort some things out. Firstly...

What's branding?!

In it's simplest form, branding is to a business as identity (i.e. core values, purpose, philosophy, history, beliefs, goals, and image) is to an individual. A brand is basically anything you convey about your business that helps your business or persona stand out from the sea of other providers offering the same service or product. Branding goes deeper than just graphic design and visuals. Brand is about the core messaging and the WHY behind the WHAT. It also becomes what for and how your company is known.

The True Power of a Strong Brand: Being Known

To get an understanding of "branding" it helps to look at some of the bigger companies that are doing it right. By "doing it right" I mean, companies that have clear messaging about the reason for what they do, the type of people they want and the image that comes to mind when thinking about them. A great example of this concept is Apple. With all the different campaigns Apple has done throughout it's life, not only does everyone know that it exists, BUT they also know that Apple believes in simplicity, functional and beautiful design, creativity, and thinking differently. We know that Apple is for the creative type.It's not even about the specific products they sell - it's about the emotional connection. When someone even mentions Apple or an Apple product, certain images and ideas come to mind about the context and the person. THAT is the power of branding. People knowing who and why, before what. And look how it's served them in the technology market! They are at the top in multiple product areas - computers, tablets, and mobile phones!

I'm not Apple and I don't have millions of dollars to spend on that.

I get it. And that's totally cool. You don't have to spend zillions to have a strong brand message. But, having a strong brand message will set you apart. So, let's come back down to the local market for a bit. Every company should have a unique brand. Why? Because it will set you apart from all the other businesses in the area that offer similar services. For example, a local cafe in Beacon, NY just underwent some major branding shifts that have helped immensely. The Pandorica, formerly the Cup and Saucer Tea Room, went from an everyday, simple, old-fashioned looking British lunch and tea spot, to a themed cafe based on the show Doctor Who. It completely transformed the business, taking it from mostly empty to lines out the door! That's the power of having something unique. Before, it was just another cafe on Main Street, now it's a niche, trendy spot.

How to Figure Out Your Own Brand

I'm not British. I don't have a cool accent and I don't watch television. How can I find my brand identity? No problem!! You don't have to jump on a trend train to create a brand message. ...But, you do have to get real close and comfy with yourself and your company. First, just start by doing some reflection on why you got into the business you're doing in the first place. Next, consider your own background and interests. Then, consider the type of people you want to help and how your services/products solve a core problem for them. Finally, put this all together and determine your unique message(s) and philosophy. For example, if you are a mom and you are trying to build a business selling Arbonne products, start by asking yourself why. The answer might be that you want to build a side business so you can eventually quit your job as a teacher and spend more time with your family. Great, then think about core elements of your identity and beliefs. And think about how that fits into your desire to sell Arbonne products and build a team of sales people. Perhaps the Arbonne products reduced the stretch marks from having your babies and you are passionate about helping other mom's with the same issue. You believe in the power of organic and botanical products, etc. and want to connect with other moms that feel the same way. Figuring out your core beliefs and philosophies helps determine the type of people you want to work with, which helps you get more specific and ultimately makes it easier to accomplish your mission of building a business because it makes it easier to understand where to find these people and how to connect with them.

Now that I've figured out what I want to say, how do I get the message out there?

Once you've done the deep work and figured out what you want to say, it's time to get the message out there. There are many ways to convey the ideas you want to share, and this is where the marketing part comes in. This is where websites, advertising, social media, and other types of promotion start to be a part of the equation - only after you have an idea what to say. When you have your brand ideals figured out, then you can begin to create marketing materials that convey these ideas through writing, photography, graphic design, colors, illustrations and all other tools of communication. This is where and when you start to develop your visual brand and identity.

To Learn More

To learn more about this topic or find out how I can help you, visit my website: http://www.ccphotoandmedia.com