No matter what your business does, it will not be able to function without customers. Though this sink or swim situation is frightening, learning to create valuable content and meeting the unique wants or needs of customers is easy!
As in any inbound methodology, the phrase “attract, convert, close, delight” is heard each time a marketer wants to create an experience to serve its potential, current and future customers. Put in a different way, inbound marketing is a customer-focused way of helping people solve their problems in the ways they want them to be solved. By keeping this goal in mind, your business can provide and accumulate positive customer experiences. In turn, the happy customers will be more likely to stick around and tell others about the great brand experience you provide.
Ready to make your customers love you? Follow these five approaches to bring your business to the next level:
1. Solve your customer’s problems—don’t leave them hanging!
As a customer, experiencing a problem is not pleasing nor does it build trust with the company. Offering a solution to a customer’s problem is probably the most important step your business needs to take to satisfy your customers and bring you one step closer to saying ‘Hey you can trust us.’ By taking a look to see the types of problems your product or service is creating, you can realize the types of improvements you need to make. Providing solutions to your customers that most aligns with their goals goes a long way.
How exactly do I do this? Start by creating content to help people understand how to succeed while using your product or service. Composing an e-mail after their purchase, providing user guides or a quick how-to video can be a quick solution to any customer dissatisfaction. If the solution needs to be more personalized, keep that line of communication between you and your customer open.
2. Speaking of open communication—be accessible!
Do you customers prefer to email? Talk on the phone? Maybe just stick to social channels? Today, customers are using various forms of communication to speak with businesses and you must be ready for it. Each time customers want to ask you a question or learn more about your latest blog article, they expect a response.
How exactly do I do this? Offer your customers several ways to reach out to you. This can be as easy as adding your phone number to your website, mentioning your Facebook in an email signature or providing your Twitter username in a blog post. Though these simple measures will prove to be successful, make sure to offer human contact as well. These can include a personalized answer to a Tweet, a quick comment on Facebook, or an instant messaging tool on your website.
3. Recognize your customers and feature their success with your company.
Social media is your best tool to spread your customer’s happiness. What is better than having a company personally reach out to you after you have mentioned their product or service in a Tweet? Showing your appreciation to your customers and recognizing their success and interest in your company will show them that you really care. Whether your product or service helped them succeed in their own business or allowed them to become one step closer to reaching a personal goal, recognizing a positive customer experience is what will continue to build the trust.
How exactly do I do this? Did your customer mention you in a positive Tweet? Respond to those mentions and retweet ones that reference their success. If your customers have something great to say about your business, feature them in testimonials and publish them to your website and social media. Customer success stories are a great way to contribute to the positive brand image and appearing on a company website can make the customer feel respected.
4. Use emails to check in on customers throughout their buying process.
Providing guidance and valuable content to buyers in an email can assure them that your business is there for them at any time. The small reminder of your company presence can comfort customers and incline them to want to hear more from you. Empowering potential and existing customers with educational tips in emails can help build a positive experience for them.
How exactly do I do this? There are several tricks used in emails to provide value to a customer. Using what you learned in the approach above with recognizing your customers, send emails that offer a customer review. This is an easy way for customers to learn about what others are saying about your service and to have a relatable piece of advice. Another way to use emails is to attach a piece of content or call-to-action that will interest a customer and get a conversation going.
5. Be human.
No one likes to talk to a robot while being frustrated trying to solve a major issue. Be the source of knowledge your customers want to interact with and learn from each time. Make sure that each interaction with a customer is warm, welcoming, and done wholehearted. This can be different for each company but the main take away is to provide a real, personalized, human interaction for your user.
How exactly do I do this? Make sure that each person in your organization is interacting with customers on a personal level. Ensure that each individual is delighting your customers and contributing to their great experience as best as they can. Additionally, provide real, personalized responses in any phase of a customer’s experience. Make your customers know that there is a real person behind that screen.
Conclusion
There are plenty of ways to delight your customers and to keep them happy. Making sure that customers are well taken care of with meaningful solutions, open communication, recognition, helpful emails and enthusiasm are some of the best practices to ensure a smile on each customer’s face. Great companies should focus on creating an enjoyable experience from each presentable interaction.
