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Your customers should matter a great deal to you when you’re a business owner. They are what help you keep your doors open and allow you the opportunity to continue doing what you love and following your dreams.
The reality is that many companies don’t recognise the importance of having loyal customers. However, when you do and you go the extra mile to show you care, then you’re giving yourself a better chance of being around for the long term. Learn eight ways to impress your customers so you can not only survive but thrive in the business world.
1. Thank Them
One way to impress your customers is to go out of your way to thank them and to do so time and time again. Show appreciation for them doing business with you each chance you get. Go above and beyond by sending out birthday, holiday, and thank you cards throughout the year. Make them extra special and have them stand out from the rest by using printed foil stickers on the seal. They’re eye-catching and will make certain your envelope and cards are an extra-special offering for your customers to enjoy.
2. Respond Quickly
You must not only make sure you respond to your customer’s inquiries regularly but that you do so quickly. The quicker you can get a handle on a situation and fix a problem, the more likely the person is to return and shop with your business again in the future. You should never let important matters or issues linger on for too long without addressing them. Impress your customers by being proactive and reaching out and offering up solutions to their problems without having to be contacted several times in a row. They’ll notice your fast response time and likely want to choose to do business with you going forward.
3. Offer Perks & Discounts
Impress your customers by offering perks and discounts for loyal customers. People love to save money and enjoy a good deal. It’ll make them happy and ensure that they continue to shop with you. Your customers may even talk about what you’re doing to their friends and family who then might also have an interest in checking out your business further. It’ll show that you’re truly grateful for those customers who have stuck by you over the years through the ups and downs. It can be anything from an official loyalty program to offering rewards and other forms of recognition.
4. Show You Care
Be a business that continuously shows that you care about your customers if you want to impress them. Take an interest in understanding their needs in detail and on a personal level. Prove you care by viewing each person as an individual instead of a sale or way to make money. Treat each customer you come into contact with like a human being and engage in conversation with them to show that you’re listening and you care about helping them find what they need.
5. Ensure Quality
Another way to impress your customers is to ensure that you’re delivering on your promise during each interaction and transaction. Confirm that when someone chooses to work with you and make a purchase from you that they’re getting the best quality. Put processes and measures in place that allow you to double-check and confirm your products and services are of the highest quality and people won’t be disappointed when shopping with your company. If you do spot problem areas along the way then address and fix them right away.
6. Get to Know Them
You can also impress your customers by getting to know them on a deeper and more personal level. Ask the right types of questions and know who your customers are by name. This is especially important if someone, in particular, is spending a lot of money with you and has been very loyal. Dive in and truly understand your customers and their individual needs and preferences. Keep notes and track orders so you understand in greater detail who is buying what and what products are the most popular among your customers. It’s where your listening skills and ability to pay attention to the details come into play. Get to know your products and services better so that you can offer up solutions and advice when a customer calls and isn’t quite sure what they’re looking for.
7. Follow-Up
While it’s nice when someone signs up for your services or makes a purchase from you, the hard work shouldn’t stop there. You should be focusing on building strong relationships with your customers over the years. A good customer connection doesn’t end at the point of sale. Instead, it’s just beginning and you can work on strengthening it from here on out. There should be some sort of follow-up involved on your part. Maybe it’s that you pick up the phone and have a conversation about their level of satisfaction or you send them an email with a coupon for money off their next purchase. Be thoughtful in your approach and willing to go the extra mile to ensure your customers feel special and are happy with your level of service.
8. Be Helpful & Perform Top-Notch Work
It’s also important that you do and continue to do great work overtime. Impress your customers by being attentive to their needs and helpful. Figure out what it is you do best and then continue to work on improving even further in this area. Outshine your competition by being personable, friendly, and ready to lend a hand to your customers. There’s no substitute for a business reaching out and being truly genuine and authentic and letting your customers know you’re there for them. Make sure that what you’re selling is not only suitable but excellent and that it gets people talking for all the right reasons. It’ll be a win-win when you not only have excellent customer service but when your performance is top-notch and you can offer superior products or services to your customers.
