Your customer’s relationship with your business is a core part of your brand. This relationship determines whether customers will walk through your doors, buy a product and most importantly, return in the future. Like any relationship in your life, customer relationship and branding will require effort on your part. To maintain a successful customer relationship, one must follow the Eight Commandments.
1.Have a clear contract with your client.
It is critical to have a clear understanding with your client about what your role is. You and your client should know exactly what you are providing and determine if it would satisfy their demand. Having a clear contract improves your relationship automatically because the better the client understands your role, the better they will feel about your relationship.
2. Create an easy access to your products and services
Provide alternate means of serving and supporting clients over long periods. Let the client know you are dependable and reliable as well as available all the time. Availability allows clients to relate personally with your firm and helps you know their unique demands over time.
3. Know how to interact with your client
Some people are difficult to deal with; others are friendlier. All customer interactions should be streamlined in a way that the customer comes out feeling like a winner. Business relationships are developed over time through positive interactions. All relationships are better when the individuals take time to know one another. Learn the clients interests and expectations.
4. Have Willpower
We sometimes get ourselves into contracts beyond our capabilities or interests. Take time to understand both the client’s reason for asking as well as your ability to deliver. Do not automatically say yes just because “the customer is always right”. After weighing the opportunity the client offers you, accept jobs that are in within your capability but will require you to work a little harder than usual. The more work you do on your client’s behalf, the more valuable you become.
5. Avoid Discrimination
Discrimination is one attitude most firms overlook, yet it is an optimal way of losing clients. An example is a teller at the bank who chose to serve a particular client before me because of the huge tip she knew she would receive. Relating well with all and sundry would be a better means to win clients who can make better recommendations to help build up your business.
6. Be your own boss
You need to be in the public eye in a variety of ways. Offer brand-consistent information that creates curiosity and encourages your target customer base to develop a relationship with you. Invite the customer to do business with you through marketing by including traditional marketing as well as well as non-traditional marketing methods such as social networking which targets the global market. Make sure you like your own product and/or service if you want it to be patronised.
7. Learn new skills and trends
As our business environment is subject to change, one must be open to new approaches. Learn new trends that will improve your services, brand and products to stay on top as well as win other customers over. There are always nuances that will make a difference. Take the time to inquire about them and integrate them into your solution.
8. Maintain your brand
A change in an identified and more satisfactory product or service can cause frustration and alienation. Customers will be more likely to behave as though they have a relationship with you if they feel they know your business well. There is an immense amount of give and take between branding and customer relationships. The way you deal with these relationships is a huge part of your overall brand, but your brand must be inviting enough that a customer is open to a relationship in the first place. Be sure that your brand is one that invites the customer to be friends with you. Always make sure customers are aware of impending products or services.
