You have to build a strong customer relationship in order to increase your customer base and boost sales. The end-goal of every business is monetization, but customer loyalty is priceless. This is accomplished through an in-depth analysis of the customer’s needs, demands, and buying experiences. Loyal customers are your brand’s biggest advocates and will likely share your business with friends, family, and anyone else they regularly talk to.
Customers will voluntarily share information about your brand and help boost your sales.
So, it is worth investing time, resources, technology, and energy in loyalty schemes because loyal customers are the greatest asset of any business.
Why Is Improving Customer Relationships Important?
It is not an easy task to find new customers. Every time a new customer comes along, you have to retell your story and build a connection from scratch. On the other hand, loyal customers are already familiar with your offer and want to continue doing business with you.
According to the latest research, loyal customers are more willing to pay higher rates than new ones. If you keep your loyal customers’ satisfaction level high and build a strong relationship with them, they will continue to purchase from you and boost the overall success of your business.
If you want to start a business that includes online shipping, manufacturing, or any other e-commerce business, you should seriously focus on how you can entice new shoppers and keep them coming back for more.
Practice the following ways to enhance customer loyalty, improve customer relationships quickly, and enjoy continuous sales:
1. Improve Your Customer Experience
Customers always remember how they are treated by a brand. A recent survey has revealed that 86% of customers pay special attention to the customer experience and are willing to pay more if they are treated well.
But that’s not all.
Customers also share their experiences with their friends, family members, and their broader social circle. This means that these customers can create or destroy business opportunities for you based on how well you treat them. Be quick and responsive and always go the extra mile to help your customers.
These tips may seem basic and repetitive, but they are extremely important for building rock-solid customer loyalty.
2. Address Customers Individually by Sending Personalized Emails
Everyone notices personalized emails that address them specifically. If someone has bought something from your business, you likely have their email address. You should focus on creating a personalized message, as it is the most common approach to successful behavioral email marketing campaign.
As part of your business strategy, you need to pay special attention to your regular customers. Interact through emails, calls, and personalized messages to make them feel important. You can seem more personable by sending them birthday greetings, unique coupons, or reminding them of the day they made their first purchase with you.
3. Prove Yourself Credible and Trustworthy
Without credibility and mutual trust, no one will want to share their personal information on your site. You can gain trust and credibility in various ways, such as adding a secure helpdesk that streamlines all the support processes, bringing transparency to a whole another level!
4. Deliver the Product as Described
The importance of delivering a product as shown in the images and described in the product characteristics fields is undeniable. If the product looks different than expected, your brand will seem unreliable. You can avoid this by taking these steps:
- Take photos that are close to reality.
- Add value to your product but never overemphasize.
- Clearly explain the specifications of the product, including the weight, size, color, etc.
If you are only delivering products, do not directly upload the given product’s description. Instead, make them unique by rewriting the features in your own words.
5. Provide Clear Store Policies
You should expect that something will eventually go wrong with an order. When this happens, you may experience a customer conflict if you do not have a clear refund policy, return policy, shipping information, and criteria.
You should always let your customers know up front whether or not you offer full refunds.
6. Create Customer Loyalty Programs
Customer loyalty programs are enticements that offer unique rewards, discount offers, and coupons to your loyal customers who share your brand on social media, or subscribe to your newsletter.
In this program, you value your customers and motivate them by giving special importance to your most frequent customers.
7. Seek Out Customer Feedback
Asking for reviews and gathering feedback has two major benefits:
- First, you learn whether or not your customers are satisfied and they may express positive experiences on your platform.
- Secondly, existing customer reviews serve as the beacon of light for new customers.
When you value the feedback of your customers, you will be able to make improvements in your overall business strategy.
8. Consider Different Payment Plans
Though ApplePay and PayPal are among the different payment options, you can observe a 400% increase in overall sales and customer loyalty by following these two strategies:
- Introduce various payment gateways, so that customers from any country feel free to make a purchase (PayPal and ApplePay are not available in many countries like Pakistan, Sri Lanka, etc.).
- Provide manageable monthly payment plans for bulk purchases, in this way your customers will not feel financial burden when buying for events like upcoming weddings, etc.
10. Include a Complimentary Gift
Unexpected gifts are a lovely surprise for customers. If the product quality is also up-to-the-mark, it becomes a great reason for them to become loyal to you.
You can surprise your customers by adding affordable and exciting gifts. It can be a hand-written thank you note, a sticker, or anything else that seems appealing to you.
11. Maintain Social Presence
Your social presence adds to your authenticity and gives customers a powerful reason to be loyal. A great public setting and 24/7 presence on social media channels are crucial if you want to become a reliable business in the public’s eyes.
12. Build Personalized Communication
You should treat your customers like people and not like transactions. You can show your concern to your customers by adding a personal touch to your communication and providing personalized solutions to their problems. This is only possible when timely feedback is provided to the customers and you constantly create reliable solutions for all of their problems.
This is where the role of helpdesk communication comes into the picture.
Customer support software like Helpy makes it possible for businesses to interact with customers instantly. Artificial intelligence further strengthens this relationship between customers and businesses by providing instant answers. According to a support research, personalized services have the potential to retain 99% of customers. Put yourself in your client's shoes and care about them by instantly responding to them. You will soon understand the importance of great customer service.
If all of your efforts of building relationships with your customers are seemingly in vain, you should start treating your customers like actual people and not robots. In fact, they are not walking checkbooks. They are real people who want transparent communication and practical solutions to their problems without delays. As we know "love begets love,” you will soon realize the power of honesty, trust, excellent communication, and courtesy.
13. Build a Strong Future by Investing in Customer Loyalty
In today’s world of rampant competition, you can see how important it is to invest your time, effort, and resources to gain customer loyalty. We have discussed simple and effective techniques that you can easily follow without burdening your finances.
Following these tips is crucial to keeping customers happy and converting them into returning and loyal patrons. If you are honest, ready to practice the above tips, and focused on building a strong relationship with your customer, you will enjoy customer loyalty and ultimately a significant boost in your sales.
In the end, it is important to mention that your immediate response to customer questions plays a vital role in building the relationship. You can do so by taking advantage of customer support software, such as Helpy's AI-engeneered chatbot Carin. She can correctly answer up to 90% of customer queries within seconds at any time and anywhere! Remember that accurate and timely communication is a major factor in improving relationships with your customers quickly.