Building a strong relationship with your customers is vital to commercial success in the long term.
Although the exact nature of your relationship will vary, depending on whether you operate a small, medium or large company, the aim should be the same – to make every customer feel valued.
There are many ways you can do this at every stage of the purchasing process. Your sales team should be knowledgeable and friendly enough to answer any questions a prospect might have about your products. This will set the right tone for the rest of your relationship with that person.
If they choose to buy your products, then you should keep them up to date with delivery times (if relevant) and be transparent about the production process.
Once the customer has received the product or service, you should then be on hand to support them with any issues they might have.
However, developing a truly close customer relationship requires you to go above and beyond the call of duty.
Here are some great ideas you can use to build a stronger relationship with your customers. This allows businesses to evaluate and continuously evolve their customer engagement strategies to grow their brand.
Setup competitions or fundraising events
A simple way to create a better relationship with your customers is to host a competition or a fundraising event in which your customers can participate in.
Whether you are sponsoring a raffle for a local charity or allowing customers to sponsor your next project through a brick fundraiser, these community-led activities can lower the barriers between business and client.
This is especially useful if you are a large organization, because usually, you will find it tricky to make every customer feel truly valued and listened to. This is simple math, given that you have such a large pool of customers.
By taking the time to interact with your target market directly and giving them the chance to have their name called out at a raffle or enshrined in brick forever, you will improve your chances of developing close customer relationships.
Develop your own digital token
An emerging technology that is revolutionizing the business/customer relationship is the digital token, which gives customers the power to influence commercial decisions and have a stronger voice.
Digital tokens are digital assets or resources you can own, which are redeemable in a particular community (but they can also be traded for other tokens if necessary). The best way to think about them is as if they are a gift voucher, but instead of discounted clothes, you could potentially unlock limited edition products, vote on business decisions, and become a shareholder in the company.
The fact that customers must buy the tokens makes them invested in your brand. It is in their interest to build a closer relationship and to help work to make the customer community stronger. In this sense, close client relationships will breed further relationships in the future.
Digital tokens are usually run on a blockchain network, such as Ethereum. While few companies have digital tokens, they are already making a huge impact in previously closed-off industries like sports franchises, Hollywood filmmaking, and fashion.
Ask for regular customer feedback
A simple way to improve the relationships you have with your customers is to regularly ask for feedback.
By asking your customers for their opinions on your products and service, they will feel listened to, and you will be able to improve your business for future customers. This will help your buyers feel listened to rather than another cog in the machine.
If customers begin asking for services provided by a close business contact, consider pooling your resources and using an ecosystem business management system to support your new relationship.
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