What you can do to show your customers you truly value them
Your business is thriving, and you have lots of customers. Great job! While you should always be seeking growth, make sure you don’t forget about your existing customers — they are what will keep you going in the long run. In fact, a recent study showed that 65% of a company’s business comes solely from existing customers. What’s more, it can cost between 4 and 10 times more to acquire a new customer than it does to keep an existing one.
Learn how to listen to your customers and watch your retention rate soar! By showing you care for your current customers, they will feel valued by your company and are more likely to be loyal to you, both now and in the future. They are also more likely to recommend you to others.
Be easy to reach
First things first, make getting in touch as easy and stress-free as possible. If you have a customer service phone line for people to call, make sure it’s easy to navigate so they can find the information they need quickly and without confusion. If your customers report that it was hard to reach the right place, or hard to get through to you in general, take this feedback on board and do something about it.
Make sure your customer service is top-notch with well-trained staff that are ready to help, and ensure that your system has a good call quality and professional recorded menu options. Have to put a customer on hold? Show you value their time by explaining the reason for the wait, providing an estimated answer time, and having good quality hold music. A great way to check your phone system is up to scratch to call in yourself — is it easy to find what you need? How is the call quality and level of service? If there are any areas for improvement, you can act on them right away.
Acknowledge feedback
If a customer wants a quick response they are likely to turn to social media. Smaller companies might not have a dedicated customer service phone line, and webforms and emails do not usually provide an immediate response. Social media can also be perceived to be quicker than phone support, especially for larger companies. Some customers may turn to social media if they have failed to receive a response via more traditional communication channels.
Make sure you keep your social media platforms regularly updated, and reply to messages and comments in a timely manner. Even if they are giving you negative feedback, your customers will appreciate the fact that they received a swift response from you. Some people can be less than polite, but make sure you always respond professionally. Even if you cannot resolve the issue, your customer will appreciate the fact that you responded politely. Listening to your customers and acknowledging their issue will make them feel valued — you can put a negative experience right by simply responding in the right way.
Make a difference
If you are seen to be taking lengths to improve society, you will create a company that people are happy to do business with, and that people will be happy to recommend to others. Are there any causes that your customers often ask you about? Think about making changes to encourage environmental friendliness in your business — even small changes add up, and you can showcase your efforts to your customers. Also think if you can get involved locally, especially if you are a small business with a lot of local customers. Your city is supporting you, so why not support them back? You could also consider donating a certain portion of your profits to charity or research and development in an important field. One word of warning — it’s best to steer clear of any causes that may alienate some customers.
A problem heard and solved
Is there anything you can do to simplify the lives of your customers, or ease their pain points? To learn what new features would be most valuable, think about sending out an email survey with a small incentive for feedback. Keep your ears open to online feedback too — companies like Tesla are finding tweets from customers invaluable in helping them continually improve their product. Maybe a mobile app would help, so people can use your service from anywhere? Developing a new feature or product because you listened to your customers is a great way to show you care.
If you are looking to listen better, Voxtell can help. We provide customized business phone solutions to help you stay connected to your customers better than ever. What’s more, our contact center system means you can give your customers a great support experience. Make your customers feel like a valued part of your business — contact us today to get started on your perfect communication solution.
