Strong relationships with customers are essential for the success of any business. Successful leaders try to engage with their customers for the long-term, going beyond one-time engagements to create lasting relationships.
Successful customer relationships don’t just improve lifetime sales with individuals — they can also help build an actual sense of community around your brand and its offerings. By implementing some practical tips, you can build more successful customer relationships that make a lasting difference for your organization.
1. Provide Personalized Communication
Personalization is one of the most important tools in any business’s arsenal for connecting with customers. In fact, a report from Insider Intelligence reveals that 53% of customers expect a personalized experience every time they contact a brand, regardless of medium.
Successful personalization goes deeper than inserting the customer’s first name in an email. Customer data is a powerful resource for improving personalization. For example, e-commerce brands often use data captured while a customer is browsing their website to highlight relevant products or to drive email content or retargeting ads. Others send tailored messages on birthdays or membership anniversaries to help foster a stronger sense of connection with the brand.
Regardless of the specifics, the goal is to recognize the individuality of each customer. Treating them like a person, rather than just another number, is the first step toward successful customer relationships.
2. Use Technology to Improve Customer Support
B2B brands often have more complex customer support needs, making quality customer service an essential part of successful customer relationships. When customers have a question or encounter a problem, they need prompt and reliable support.
As such, brands should always evaluate ways they can improve their customer support — such as by using screen recordings, video libraries or screen sharing to streamline the support process.
For example, in a case study published by Zight, the event-planning platform Social Tables used personalized videos and screen recordings to replace the process of creating and sending customer support files back and forth via email. This helped improve customer satisfaction by preventing miscommunications and reducing how much time was needed to close support tickets by seven minutes. Small, positive, customer-facing experiences like this add up — technology can help.
3. Reward Your Loyal Customers
From grocery stores to airlines, brands in practically every niche have loyalty programs — and for good reason. According to research by Queue It, the most successful loyalty programs boost annual revenue from program members by as much as 25%, and 83% of customers report that a brand’s loyalty program influences their decision to buy from that company again.
Perhaps even more importantly, 68% of loyalty program members say that the brand sponsoring the program has a better understanding of their preferences.
The right type of loyalty program can differ by industry — some companies offer points or cash rewards, while others allow customers to unlock rewards tiers with exclusive offers based on their spending. Meaningful loyalty program benefits will drive customer spending and retention.
4. Find Ways to Create Additional Value
The value you provide your customers can go beyond the products or services that they buy from you directly. Creating additional value in ways that are still rooted in your company’s unique value proposition can strengthen customer relationships and help you become their go-to resource whenever they have a need.
This is a major reason why so many brands and individuals have sought to position themselves as subject matter experts through blogs, YouTube channels and other platforms. Providing useful information (like how to troubleshoot a specific issue, or addressing frequently asked questions) shows that you care about your customers and their needs.
While such activities don’t directly drive revenue, they help your brand remain top of mind and build trust among your customers. This makes them far more likely to seek you out when they need your paid services.
5. Make Customer Feedback a Priority
Customers want to feel heard. Requesting and acting on their feedback can be a powerful tool for building trust and loyalty. While many brands start with a baseline of requesting reviews or responding to comments on social media or their own website, it’s estimated that only five to 10% of customers actually leave online reviews. Brands that want to get a broader spectrum of feedback must be proactive in collecting that data.
To that end, many brands with successful customer relationships will send out targeted surveys — such as asking customers who bought a particular product what their experience was like. Some may even do a deeper dive with the help of focus groups.
Whenever you collect feedback from customers, be sure to thank them for their insight. Let them know when you have implemented their suggestions. And if they have a complaint, be sure to resolve it as swiftly as possible. Doing this will ensure that your customers feel heard and valued.
Laying the Foundation for Success
Regardless of the specific nature of your products or services, placing the focus on your customers’ needs will always be essential to building successful relationships.
When you take the time to consider their pain points and specific needs in relation to your offerings, you can identify ways to increase the value you provide. As you focus on strengthening customer relationships, you will be better positioned to make a lasting impression in your niche.