The customer is now officially king and has more power than ever. That’s why we’re seeing a gradual shift towards better customer service and relationships. As a matter of fact, many believe that customer service is the last frontier when it comes to market differentiation. A company that has great relationships with its client base builds positive brand awareness and engagement. Those are usually also better able to respond to their clients’ needs and work on constant improvement. Improving relationships is something all businesses can do; it all starts with a true will to work on improving your customers’ experience and putting the right systems in place. Here are a few ways businesses can improve customer relationships.
Offer Great Deals and Keep Track of Them
Everyone loves a good deal, and most understand how powerful they can be from a seller’s standpoint. However, they can also lead to losses in certain cases, especially when the process is not monitored properly. This is where rebate management comes in. Rebate management solutions like e-bate, for instance, will allow you to keep track of your deals, and have a clear workflow for instituting them; awarding them and automating them. But more importantly, they allow you to gather real data on transactions made through these rebates. You can then determine which rebates were able to secure you a good ROI, see which type of rebates worked the best, and which ones are actually a cost. This will then allow you to focus on campaigns that work and launch them at specific times to get an instant and predictable boost in sales.
Instil Trust and Practice Transparency
You should have nothing to hide as an organisation, and you should try to be as transparent as you can with your employees, clients and shareholders. Brands who are consistent in their transparency are rewarded with more trust. The more they know about what you do, how you do it and your actual expertise, the more your clients will be willing to trust you for solutions.
Don’t Put it All on Sales
If you want to build a more trusting relationship with your audience, you also have to change your sales and marketing department’s approach. Too many still believe that the job of their sales people is to constantly pitch or upsell products. Instead, they should focus more on aftersales care and trying to getting to know their clients. This way, your product launches will feel more like announcements then pitches and your trusting clientele will be more willing to look into them in detail and make a sound and informed buying decision. You should also teach your sales team to deliver tailor-made content based on a lead’s position in the sales funnel. Providing the right content at the right moment could be all that it takes to clear doubts and hesitation by genuinely informing your client instead of pushing them. Building a strong relationship with your customers is more important than ever, especially if you’re in a crowded space. Make sure that you follow these few tips, and always work on improving your customer experience and service if you want results.
