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When a customer says your business “goes the extra mile,” it means a lot. This is especially true if you’re a business owner dedicated to building important relationships. But what does it take to nurture them? To go beyond just providing good customer service?
Going the extra mile is all about taking the time to treat your customers authentically, with genuine concern and consideration at every step. This commitment sets the groundwork for not only relationships, but customer loyalty and customer lifetime value.
This dedication keeps them not only returning for your products or services – but wanting to return. And for your business, these customer connections can sustain your mission, support your sales, and even ease the stressful ups and downs of running a business. So, let’s look at what makes a good customer relationship and dive into how you can form successful ones at your company.
What makes a good customer relationship?
The simplest way to describe the qualities that define a good customer relationship may be to identify the qualities that don’t. Your approach to building customer relationships should differ from your customer service efforts. What separates the two is timing and tone.
As HubSpot points out, customer service has a more immediate function. It often occurs when a customer experiences an issue using your products or services. Your company is essentially responding to the customer's action, such as calling about charges on a recent bill or invoice. The point of customer service is to solve an immediate need.
On the other hand, customer relationships are a much longer and often more positive experience. Your focus is on customers’ future interactions with your company. The goal is to engage with customers in a way that fosters their success using your products and services. They know your company understands their needs, so they continue coming back to your brand.
Why are good customer relationships important?
Repeat customers can be some of your most potent brand champions.
Let’s not bury the lede here. Positive customer relations directly influence your business’s bottom line. More specifically, they increase sales. Because you continue to check in with your customers and look after their needs, you’re their first stop when looking for your products and services.
According to Invesp, the likelihood of selling to an existing customer can reach as high as 70 percent, while the probability of selling to a new client could dip as low as five percent. Those current customers are also 50 percent more likely to try your new products. The load of selling your products and services is lighter if your customers already have a positive relationship with you.
There are reputational dividends to be paid as well. If they continue to have great experiences interacting with your company, customers will share those encounters either online or in-person. Maybe your company is even the first one they recommend.
None of those bottom-line benefits happen without establishing a foundation of trust with your customers—building relationships in business matters. So, you must know how to do it.
How to develop stronger customer relationships
Keep in touch
Like any close relationship, authentic communication is the secret to staying together. Your connection with your customers is no different. They want to hear from you, but when you chime in, the conversation needs to be about more than just the latest deals your company is pushing.
Some of the best ways to speak on a deeper level are to leverage tools such as email marketing and social media platforms. For example, send newsletters that deliver insights for your services or tips on using your products. Social media also allows you to proactively provide updates on upcoming or ongoing issues related to your services.
Keep responding
How readily would you trust someone you feel isn’t really listening to what you have to say? You can’t expect customers to care about your company if they don’t feel you’re concerned about their experiences using your products and services.
That’s why responding to reviews and complaints (even the negative ones) should be an essential part of your business’s approach to customer relationships. Show appreciation following a great review and exhibit sincerity when provided criticisms. Those follow-ups add to the attachment customers have with your brand.
A recent BrightLocal survey stated, "89 percent of consumers are 'highly' or 'fairly' likely to use a business that responds to all of its online reviews.” Don’t lose business by failing to acknowledge what your customers are saying.
Keep your word
This one’s a biggie. It may seem like a no-brainer to honor your promises to customers, but it’s not always that easy. Mistakes happen, and reputations and relationships take a hit when they do.
It’s essential to do the best thing you can in those situations: Make things right. If your customers’ expectations are at risk of not being met, then let them know immediately about your plan to fulfill your end of the transaction. Identifying and then correcting an issue may even bring you and your customer closer together.
Keep thanking
Don’t take your customer relationships for granted. Your business relies on those connections to succeed. Take the time to let your most loyal customers know how grateful you are for their devotion.
Those expressions of appreciation can arrive in several forms. Depending on the size of your team, literal thank you notes serve as lovely, personalized touchpoints. Providing free items or installing customer loyalty programs are effective ways to show thanks as well.
Keep collecting feedback
A lot of what was shared earlier regarding responsiveness applies here, too. Customers want to know you care about their experiences with your company. What’s different about collecting and acting on customer feedback, though, is that it can proactively alert you of their expectations.
How you gather that feedback – and how often it’s collected – depends on what works best for your business (online surveys seem to be the go-to route for many companies). The important thing is that you activate the feedback you receive. Use it to improve processes, interactions, and outcomes that ultimately grow your customer relationships.
For more information
For more information to help your small business, check out the BBB business news feed and the BizHQ.
BBB Great West + Pacific contributed this article.