This post offers 3 core customer relationship management tips to increase sales. What you need to ask yourself is: What experience does my company want to give potential customers? In reality we have only one opportunity to create a first impression.
Relationship Building
Business is all about people. And yes, people are about relationships. So it is imperative to develop skills in how to interact and manage your customer relationships. In his book Mastery, Robert Greene states that relationship knowledge and skills is one of 6 core areas we need to master in life if we want to be successful. So therefore, how can you improve your customer relationships?
- Get to know your customers as people: You need to “connect” with your customers person to person not just be polite and courteous. This means you need to engage them and ask them questions. You need to show you are interested in them.
- Find out exactly what they want: Ask them what is important to them. Some customers want all the facts of products or services where others are more interested in what they can expect to receive. Some customers want to see if they can really trust you and your company while others are always keen to try out the latest products.
- Take time to truly understand your customer. The customer will feel you really are interested in their needs and requirements as opposed to just trying to sell a product or service. By understanding them better you will be able to see what additional products or services you could offer them in future.
“WOW” Experience
Great customer service is no longer a differentiating factor these days. It is so that most customers take it for granted that good service is a given. So what are they really looking for? They want an amazing and memorable “experience”. An experience that is so great that they will share it with their friends. Therefore if you want to improve customer relationships consider the following tips:
- You need to show that you really understand their expectations and requirements E.g. Is it a certain kind of service or is it very specific features in a product they require?
- You need to think what you can offer a customer that will differentiate you from other companies. Do something that is beyond what is expected: share your knowledge and expertise with a customer, make life easier for them in some way, etc. You need to find some way to delight the client. Put yourself in their shoes: what solutions would really add value to their life?
Managing Information
Managing information is a crucial part of practicing professional customer relationships. Customers are frustrated these days. Many feel that they have become a number to companies. They have to deal with an impersonal call center. This has a negative impact on customer relationships.
Here is a great opportunity for smaller companies to add value in a way that the larger companies are unable to do. So let us get practical. What does Management of Information really mean? Management of information is about ensuring that your customers get the right information, at the right time.
- Deliver on promises e.g. Deadlines agreed with the customer. There are always situations over which we have little control. Do not avoid sharing “bad” news with the customer. Call them and tell them there are problems. Contrary to what we think, customers are mostly very understanding, if we keep them in the loop. The real problems arrive when we fail to communicate with the customer. If you have made a mistake, tell the customer. You would be surprised to know that this gesture increases the trust the customer has in you. Unless of course, they have had repeated bad experiences with your company!
- Follow-up: What happens often, is that a customer fails to get feedback. Their experience is that their request has gone into this “black hole” or “cyberspace”. The customer is left in the dark.
When a customer submits a query, acknowledge receipt of their query within 24hrs. Indicate what action you intend taking and by when. Let them know when you will supply the answer. Yes, you need to commit to action and a deadline. In this way the client knows that you are doing something about their request. You then need to stick to your commitment. If the process is taking longer than anticipated, get back to the client and communicate this to them.
In essence, you need to think: “What can I do to make my interaction with customers a memorable experience for them?” If you would like to develop your customer relationship management skills further, business coaching would be of benefit to you.