Marketing 101 - Your Interaction with Customers

How Effective Is Your Interaction With Customers?

Important points that many businesses fail to consider when they are sending out information to customers, whether that information is through social media, emails, text or even through the mail is:

Will customers be interested in this?

How much spare time do recipients have to focus on my interactions with them?

Are they being overrun with messaging from other companies that is very similar to mine?

Ask yourself why your customers need your products and/or services. My guess is that there are other companies offering the same products or services that you have. What is it about your business that sets you apart from other businesses?

Here are some ideas of how to get your customers more engaged with your emails, social media posts, etc.

1. Know your customers:If you are keeping up-to-date records of your customers likes and dislikes (including how they want to be contacted and tailor these interactions to their needs, wants and desires. Ask yourself why your customers need or want your products and/or services. My guess is that there are other companies offering the same products or services that you have. What is it about your business that sets you apart from other businesses?

Your customers have different reasons for buying from you. It may be the quality of your products or the price. You may be the most convenient store for them to visit. Not only do you need to know what they buy, you also need to know when they buy and why they choose to buy from you.

2. Segmentation: You will need to segment your customer records by the interests of your customers, what they buy and what resonates with them. You will also have to put some time into getting this information from your customers. Though the time you spend will pay dividends. This is especially true of your best customers. Start with the top ten customers. Once you have got all the information for these customers move on to the next ten until you have at least 100 (depending on the size of the customer list).

Regularly request information from customers so you can update their customer records. Lives can change quickly and the fact that you are interested in what is happening in your customers’ lives will keep them connected.

3. Consider Your Own Experience: Think about the stores and services that your frequent or use and ask yourself the following questions:

a. What is it about this company that I like?

b. How am I treated when I do business with them?

c. Is the staff engaging and interested in me?

d. Does the company try to connect with me?

i. In person

ii. Over the phone

iii. Through email or social media

e. Are the products or services explained well?

4. Perseverance: It may take time, though once your customers realize that you only send them information that will make a difference to them and their lives, they are more likely to read it and respond.

5. Response: Quickly respond to all comments and questions that come to you through social media posts, emails or by phone. Whether the responses are positive or negative it’s important that you show your customers that they are important to you. In the case of social media respond to all positive and negative comments online, though you may wish to take additional response to negative comments offline if the problem is not one that can be ironed out easily. Once the problem is successfully handled, ask the customer to go back on social media to say that everything was taken care of.

6. Know Your Competition:Select similar businesses to yours and sign up for their mailing/social media or email list. You need to know what they are sending to their customers so you can differentiate your business from theirs. If you can make the time to pay them a visit to see how they run the retail end of the business.

7. Hire Great Staff: Don’t underestimate the importance of exceptional customer service. Outstanding customer service should be the goal of everyone in the business, whether they regularly interact with customers or not. You never know when a customer is going to get lost and wander into a part of the business that is usually reserved for staff. If they do, the staff there should have been trained on how to help the customers find their way

By making your customers as important to you and your business and you are to them, your business will grow and become more successful.

A tip of the glass from me to you