With so much competition in any given business, you need to differentiate yourself to stay on top. Businesses have to develop long-term relationships with customers in order to have any lasting success. And to do this, a connection is needed. The customer needs to feel cared about and receive quality service from your brand. Let’s look at some tips to keep you connected to your customers and in-tune with their wants and needs.
1. Birthday Messages
You expect to receive birthday wishes from close friends and family, but what about from a business? It shows a good degree of care that any business would be willing to wish each of its customers a happy birthday. Customers understand this and appreciate when businesses treat them with personal attention. You could even send them special coupons they can use on their next purchase. These type of actions establish a rapport with customers that they’ll remember next time they need your service.
2. Holiday Postcards
Your customers enjoy having time off on holidays. So send them a message wishing them well during their time of cheer. This shows them that you are interested in keeping up with them even in their free time when they aren’t necessarily using your service or product. Choose any holiday you wish and send postcards, coupons, emails, or any type of note your prefer. It’s the thought that counts for this one.
3. Write Thank You Notes
Notice the word “write” was used. Don’t type up standard template thank you notes to your customers. If you can manage it, write handwritten thank you notes. This has become uncommon practice in today’s fast-paced world of automation and standard practices. Receiving a handwritten note in a package is personal to a customer. It’s something they’ll look twice at rather than just a printed receipt for their product.
4. Ask For Customer Input
Give customers choices in certain aspects of your next product or service. If you keep up with what customers want by asking them questions and getting opinions, they will feel appreciated. This shows them that your business values customer input over corporate number crunching. Letting customers help in product decisions sends the message that they are the ones in control. Customers like to feel like they have a voice in services; it gives them the sense that they truly hold a place in your business.
Don’t forget to add a personal touch to your business by following these tips. It’s more important than ever in this digital age to stay connected to the human aspect of customer service. Treat your customers with personalized attention and your brand will stand out from the rest.