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4 Tips to Build a Great Relationship with your Business Clients
Consumers are the most critical people for businesses.
15:57 26 October 2022
There would be no business without their demand for specific products or services, and the business would not grow if they were not there to transact or make a purchase. They are the reason establishments work so hard to innovate and grow.
No matter the business, it is necessary that one builds a positive bond with their customers or clients. Here are some tips to help your business build a great relationship with your customers or clients.
Build Good Communication With The Client
One cannot build a good relationship with another without proper communication. A business-client relationship should entail understanding what the client wants, mainly the product and service they need and how they want it done. This, of course, ensures smooth transactions and customer satisfaction.
Try to meet what the client asks for within your abilities as much as possible. For example, you work in food service, and the customer orders a meal but asks for an ingredient removed because of an allergy, and you comply. Another would be that you work at a bridal shop and reschedule an appointment with a client due to a time conflict.
What matters is that you catch everything your customers or clients ask so you can work on it and avoid last-minute miscommunication. Then, always be available to speak to them if they need to tell you something.
But what if you aren’t around or you’re too busy?
If you or anybody else cannot be available now, you can have an application, bot, or software built for clients to message the business. Whether to inquire or to confirm appointment text messaging and chatting can be used to communicate. You can then check there and see the messages they have left.
Express Genuine Care Towards Clients
There’s nothing more reassuring for clients than knowing that you care about them. It’s nice to walk into a store or establishment with the staff already helping you with what you need. Transacting with the customer or client politely and accommodatingly makes them feel appreciated.
For example, it can be as simple as greeting them with “Good morning!” followed by a “How are you?” You can also approach them if they are unsure what to buy and help them decide. Always ensure that your clients feel as comfortable as you can.
Inquire and Respond to Feedback
This is pretty much a basic etiquette, but always ask your clients for feedback, especially the new ones. 62% of companies don’t respond to customer service emails, which frustrates clients. 1 in 26 frustrated clients will complain, but the rest quietly leave. Asking for feedback is necessary as it helps you know more about your clients and your business.
You can ask for feedback in many ways, depending on your establishment. For example, you can personally ask customers for feedback if you are in businesses like restaurants or lodging. If your business is a shop of products or offers specific services, you can await feedback from review sites like Yelp. Alternatively, you can directly ask through your social media accounts.
Once you’ve had your fair share of reviews, read them! It would also be better if you responded to these reviews you could. Always thank all reviews, regardless of whether it is positive or negative.
For positive reviews, try and add personal touches in your response, mainly when they discuss the specific things they like about your business. For negative reviews, write an apology, and, depending on the situation that caused the negative feedback, suggest they write to you to resolve whatever concern.
When you receive negative feedback, try not to be upset about it. Instead, it would be best to look at the bright side of these reviews. There will be those kinds of feedback where dissatisfied clients will often leave suggestions or solutions to help deal with the issues they had with the business. See it as a way to improve the business and increase customer satisfaction.
Acknowledge and Reward Your Loyal Clients
You need to remember that when you want to build a good relationship with anyone, you’d want it to last for a long time, and you get to appreciate it when it does. As a business owner, there is no question that you should value your customers. However, having loyal customers makes for a significant milestone.
Acknowledging clients who have been transacting with you for a while now is vital. There are many ways to do it. For example, you can personally acknowledge them or give them simple rewards like great discounts or bonuses they can have.
Besides longtime customers and clients you already have, you can always reel in customers to be your regulars. You can make simple gimmicks and offers to make them want to come whenever they need. Examples would be implementing a store card, coupons, gift cards, or occasional discounts, like a birthday promo or a Christmas sale.
In Conclusion
To make sure you can develop a bond with you and your client, you need to know them, particularly their needs and wants, and how you can get those for them. Then, treat them with respect, help them when needed, and, most importantly, acknowledge their patronage of your business.