Building and maintaining good client relationships is central to any successful business. It’s essential that clients feel and know you care about them. You can only do this by engaging and establishing a relationship with them.
A lot of businesses neglect relationships with existing clients because they’re focused on marketing to new customers. The problem is, an existing customer is more valuable than a new one. If you want your business to succeed, you need to find long-term customers that are loyal to you.
The best way to retain customer loyalty is to focus on building a strong relationship with them from the beginning. If you think that your customer relationships need some work, here some simple changes you can make!
Keep Track of Your Customers Communications
Knowing the company’s history with a client is important when trying to build good relationships. Communications run smoothly if you know why the customer is calling and what action to take before they call.
It also tells you when a customer was last contacted so you can avoid neglecting clients for long periods. Keeping a detailed record of the conversations you have can help you remember their birthdays, special events, and give you a better idea of what they need and want.
A paper record is inefficient and likely to be incomplete. Digital call logs are more reliable and can be more efficient. You can easily search for a client’s details and other information.
Customer relationship management software is very useful here. It can track all communications and store information about the client. When combined with marketing software, it will help you to better serve your clients.
Respect The Client’s Time
Time management is important in business. Protect your time and also your client’s time. Don’t be late, and be responsive to their needs. If you waste their time, they are not likely to deal with you again. That’s why it’s important to respect their time when you communicate with them.
When setting up a meeting or call, for example, give them a specific time and stick to it. Don’t just tell them to drop into the office at anytime because you may not be available. Keep unnecessary talk to a minimum and focus on meeting your client’s needs, not just what you think they need.
Be Proactive and Put in Extra Effort
If a customer feels that they’re doing all of the work then the relationship will suffer. Meetings are a good example of this. Clients will get frustrated if they always have to come to you to discuss business. Be proactive and check-in with them. Try to anticipate their needs. They will appreciate it!
You need to plan business trips and go to them as often as they come to you. When organizing meetings and calls, always try to work around their schedule. This shows the client that they are a priority and you’re willing to be flexible for them. The difference between being ordinary and extraordinary is the extra!
Under Promise and Over Deliver
Disappointing a client is the easiest way to ruin your relationship with them. This tends to happen when you promise things that you can’t deliver. Under promising is a better strategy because the client will be much more satisfied when you deliver more than they expected.
However, don’t sell yourself short and downplay the services that you can offer. Set realistic expectations and don’t promise anything that you aren’t sure you can deliver. This will avoid situations where you let the client down and hurt your brand, and worse off your client relationships.
Set Mutual Goals
A business relationship doesn’t work if you have completely different goals. If you have mutual goals, your relationship will be more beneficial for both parties. You should aim to outline these goals at the beginning of your relationship.
Ask what services they require from you and let them know what you require to make the relationship beneficial for both parties. This helps to avoid wasting time on client relationships that aren’t going anywhere.
Try to compromise with clients where you can but don’t waste time on difficult relationships. You want to focus you energy on positive relationships.
Be Transparent
Trust is an integral part of a good relationship with your clients. Delivering on your promises is the easiest way to build trust as well as being transparent. Clients can tell if you aren’t genuine. If you want to build trust, you need to be honest. Clients are more forgiving than you think if you are upfront with them.
Building strong customer relationships is vital to business success. These are all simple ways that you can use to strengthen your relationships and increase sales.