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4 Ways to Improve Your Customer Relationship Management
By: Dixie Somers
In every industry, no matter what you are selling, or what service you provide, there is some level of customer service or “customer-company interaction.” If your company is losing customers, or getting bad reviews, you may need to change your tactics. Customer relationship management isn’t just something that happens on its own—you have to make a plan and implement changes in order to see results.
Get Your Employees on Board
Customers deserve a high standard of service, but it’s up to the company to decide how to achieve this goal. If you can impress upon your employees the importance of all of their interactions with customers, you will share the same vision. This vision should be to give every person the best experience possible at your store or with your product. This will prevent customers from developing negative impressions and choosing the competition over your company. Your company values and competency should shine in every interaction with customers. When this happens, customers are more likely to do business with your company.
Go the Extra Mile (or Two)
No matter what industry you are in, it is worth it to go the extra mile in order to actively draw consumers to your store, product, and brand. Holding promotions, contests, and events is a great way for your customers to develop an emotional tie to your brand. The more you interact with your customers, the more you invite them to get to know you and what you are all about. Building a strong “fan base” of loyal customers will be a great asset to you when those customers spread the word about how great your company is. Don’t be the company that does just the bare minimum, if you put a little extra work into doing something different or exciting, your customers will notice—and they will appreciate it.
Know Your Customers
It is difficult to build a strong relationship with anyone if you don’t know them. We’re not talking about personally shaking the hand of every customer you ever have—we’re talking about research. The more thorough research you conduct on your customer will help you to get a better idea of what they are like and what they need from you. It is not enough to just collect this data, however, you need to be able to properly interpret it. Many companies use Domo BI dashboards, which allow them to organize the data they have collect it, thus allowing them to turn the data in to a plan of action. If you are constantly studying your customers, and can find out what they like, what they hate, and most importantly, what they want—you’ll have a much better chance of building a relationship with them.
Integrate Social Media into Your Customer Relationship Management Strategy
What better way to build a relationship with someone than becoming their “friend” online. In today’s world, social media is most likely where your customers are forming their opinions. If you are a company that has high visibility on social media, it will allow you to actually interact with your customers. Tweeting out to other local businesses, or organizations can earn you serious points with your local customers. Supporting local causes will definitely “humanize” you and boost your image. Companies that Tweet their customers are seen as companies who care about more than just making money. Also, being active on social media really opens up your promotions, events, and marketing campaigns. Having a place where your customers can “visit” you provides a great basis for building a relationship.
If your company is struggling to connect with customers, now is the time to turn your strategies on their head—get creative and really be active about reaching out to groups and individuals. Invite them to get to know your brand, and you will find that it pays to have loyal customers. The more inviting you are, the easier it will be to build those relationships. This could be the beginning of a beautiful friendship.
Published: December 3, 2013
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