If you’re new to the idea of relationship marketing, it may feel like there are too many options which can lead to overwhelm or paralysis.
Also, many business owners believe there’s not enough time to build better customer relationships to make their customers feel more valued. But that’s simply not the case.
In fact, relationship-based marketing is an easily repeated process with simple steps you can take over and over again.
Here are 8 steps to help you build better customer relationships in your business.
Free Guide: How To Build Customer Loyalty and Retention
How To Build Better Customer Relationships
Building a longstanding relationship with your customers is easy with the following steps.
From beginning to end, each step will help you build a solid relationship and continued sales.
Step 1. Attract
As with any relationship, there has to be an attraction.
A customer needs to feel a spark and desire to want to do business. Create an attractive reason for a customer to engage. This includes creating a niche and knowing your target customer so your marketing materials, goods, and services attract your ideal audience.
Step 2. Engage
Once you’ve attracted your ideal customer, engagement is key.
Think about how you would want to be treated and model your sales techniques to reflect that standard. What would make your customer feel valued before and during the sale? In what ways can you create a buying experience that feels personalized and rewarding for your customer?
Step 3. Deliver
The time of sale is an important part of your relationship with your customer.
How they feel during the sale will determine if they return or invest deeper in your business. What can you do to make this experience more than your customer expected? What can you add or provide to overdeliver on the promises you made leading up to the sale?
Step 4. Follow Up
Follow up after the sale is often one of the most valued experiences your customer has with your business. Looking to verify their satisfaction or offer any assistance or added value helps them see you are invested in a long-term relationship.
Step 5. Offer Continued Value
Whether it’s via email, promotions, or other marketing resources, continue to offer added value to the customer in between sales.
Social media is a great way to engage customers in between sales and boost the relationship. Engage customers without asking for anything in return. Simply keep the lines of communication open.
Step 6. Ask questions
Asking for feedback is an easy way to build trust with your customers. Since they likely have an important perspective on your goods and services as well as the customer experience, they will value offering input to make their experience better or to develop products that they are looking for.
Step 7. Give insider info
Allowing your customers an all-access or insider’s view of your business helps them feel part of the ‘in crowd’ and special. Offering sneak peeks or early access to goods and services builds their loyalty and boosts interest in your business.
Step 8. Reward
Offering rewards or incentives to repeat customers helps them feel valued and excited to continue doing business. From loyalty cards to discounts on their customer anniversary, there are unlimited ways to reward customer loyalty.
Free Guide: How Companies Boost Customer Satisfaction
Good customer service is different from company to company, but the key characteristics of good customer service include a rapid response time to service requests, responding to all customer feedback (positive or negative), self-service help documents, and a frictionless process for getting in touch with support.
For more actionable steps to build better customer relationships and increase customer retention, download this free guide from Calendly and HubSpot, How Best In Class Companies Build Customer Loyalty.