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How to Improve Your Customer Communication

When customers do business with your company, do they know who you are as the business owner? Make sure your customers know the face behind the product or service, and it will pay back the effort tenfold in repeat business, customer loyalty, good reputation, and good will. Keep reading to learn how to improve customer communication!

Communicating Better as the Boss

One of the biggest reasons that small businesses fail is the persistent absence of the business owner. You only need to look at a few episodes of business makeover TV shows like Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares and Tabatha Takes Over to witness what can go wrong if a business is left to run itself. Without an actively engaged owner, employees lose motivation and structure, which can quickly lead to sloppy service, a poor product and customer churn. Yes, your business needs to be able to function without your constant presence, but it’s important to strike a balance – find ways to make sure your customers know you and connect with the face behind the business. Businesses really thrive when the energy of the owner is there.

Methods of Communicating with Your Customers

With advances in mobile technology and social media, no one in business today can say it’s hard to connect with customers. But even more important than communicating your business value and benefits is truly listening to customers. Use active listening with specific goals and follow through. When you listen to customers, you get to know what they want and need, and you let them know that you are engaged in doing business with them.

Choose any of these ways to listen to what your customers have to say and they’ll get to know you better in the process:

  • Social Media
  • Surveys
  • Focus Groups
  • Observation
  • Friendly Conversation
  • Engaging Customer Service
  • Communities and Groups
  • Email and Web Forms
  • Provide Support and Specials

Enhancing Customer Experience

Don’t let customer dissatisfaction be your business downfall. Make customer service the cornerstone of your business and provide consistently excellent service to your customers. Let them know you’re responsive, available, and enthusiastic about gaining and keeping their business and building a relationship with them. Prepare special offers, discounts, and extras to pamper the people who do business with you rather than going down the street or across town. Let them know how much you appreciate that they choose to come through your doors rather than going to your competitor.

Make the Effort to Build Trust

When your customers know you, they will trust you and feel an emotional connection to you. Let them know your name, recognize your face, and understand your motivations. They will be more loyal to your business, spend more money with you, and refer other customers to do business with you. If it takes 12 positive service experiences to make up for one negative customer experience, work very hard to eliminate negative customer experiences and build trust with customers.

Let your customers know when it comes to the positives and negatives in your products and services that will affect them. Be mindful of customer input about things like hours of operation, facility appearance, and experience with your business, and keep good communications, so your customers know and understand how you do business.

Always Say “Thank You”

Say “Thank you” often and sincerely. Never underestimate the power of good manners and common decency. Use kindness and gratitude for your customers’ patronage as a way to repay them for choosing your business. Personalize thank you calls, notes, and business transactions and empower your employees to do the same. Let them know you like them, appreciate them, want them to get to know you, and want them to come back.