One of the most important objectives for business owners is to make their customers happy. If you’re on a mission to improve client retention rates, you’re looking to expand your client base and welcome new customers, or you’re hoping to boost your ratings, this guide will help you attract rave reviews.
Looking after existing customers
Many businesses focus on attracting new customers when they should be paying more attention to loyal clients. It’s crucial to look after existing customers not only to encourage them to stay with you but also to take advantage of referrals and recommendations.
If you have happy customers, there’s every chance that they will share their experiences with friends, colleagues, and family members, and they may even leave a glowing review on a site that is accessible to hundreds, thousands, or even millions of consumers. Keep in touch with your customers and reward loyalty. You can do this by setting up a rewards scheme or by offering clients the chance to benefit from exclusive early access to sales, new products, or special offers.
You could also offer incentives for repeat purchases and referrals. If a customer recommends you to a friend, for example, you could offer both shoppers a saving on their next order.
Offering value for money
Price is a consideration for many shoppers, but it’s not always the lowest price that catches the eye. Value for money is more important. We all want to feel like we’re getting a fantastic deal, and this is why it’s so beneficial for businesses to add value and to highlight and upsell the advantages of shopping with them.
If you charge the same price as a rival store, for example, but you also offer free delivery or a 10% saving on a second item, this represents better value for money. Ask customers for feedback and ideas about services and features they would like to see you offer and think of innovative ways you can provide a more comprehensive or attractive package.
With the holiday season fast approaching, for example, you could explore adding a gift-wrapping service or offer personalized gift cards to accompany products. These extra touches can make all the difference when customers are choosing between different businesses.
Learning from feedback and aiming for continual improvement
Businesses often ask customers for feedback. It’s common to find cards to fill in on tables in restaurants, to be greeted with a quick, online survey when you land on a webpage, or to open an email to find a questionnaire about a product you’ve recently purchased. Collecting feedback can be incredibly useful for business owners, but it’s crucial to ensure that you take the feedback on board.
Listen to your customers, consider their suggestions and ideas, and take both the positive and negative comments on board. Look for ways you can improve the service you offer and respond to any issues that arise. If you run a restaurant, for example, and people are complaining that the service is slow or that staff seems disinterested or they don’t know much about the menu, addressing these problems will help you improve your review score moving forward.
In this case, positive steps may include providing staff training, introducing new customer service guidelines and policies, and reviewing staffing levels.
Understanding the importance of customer service
Did you know that over 80% of consumers in the US have left a business as a direct result of a negative experience? Customers are looking for fabulous products and value for money, but customer service is also critical. Make time for your customers, listen to what they have to say, go out of your way to make them feel valued, and address any issues they raise as quickly as possible.
If you lose a customer, you don’t just miss out on a single sale. There is scope to lose a huge number of clients due to the popularity of reviews and the reach of social media. Negative reviews can put people off and stories and tales have the potential to go viral in seconds.
Providing excellent customer support
Most of us are familiar with waiting on the phone for what seems like hours listening to the same song on repeat or being stuck in a virtual queue because the demand for services is higher than usual. As a customer, it’s incredibly frustrating to call a helpline or open a messaging box to find that it takes an age to get a response or access information.
If you have a problem with an order, you have questions about products or services, or you need advice about making a payment or checking a reservation, you want to be able to resolve the issue and get on with your day as quickly as possible. For businesses, it’s critical to be able to offer excellent support services.
If customers can’t find answers to questions on your website, or they’re having trouble placing an order, you might lose the sale. To reduce waiting times and maximize the chances of providing a seamless, stress-free experience, it’s a great idea to add a live chat.
With live chat, customers can get in touch with you at the click of a button and you can provide responses instantly. To learn more about adding live chat support, click here. Studies suggest that live chat is becoming more popular with consumers every year and many now prefer to use this channel of communication rather than making a call or sending an email.
Interaction and engagement
Advances in technology have opened up communication channels between customers and businesses and made it easier than ever for companies to stay in touch with their clients. Customer engagement is a key part of improving client retention rates and it also plays an integral role in marketing, promoting the business and raising brand awareness.
If you have exciting news to share, you’re preparing to launch a sale or you’ve expanded your services or opened a new branch or office, share this information with your customers and keep in touch. Remind them of what you have to offer and let them get to know the brand.
Social media is a brilliant platform for businesses to interact and engage with followers and showcase the human side and the ethos of the brand. You can share posts to try and sell specific items or services, but you should also aim to capitalize on the social benefits of networks and platforms. Respond to comments, take the time to read suggestions, analyze reactions, and develop relationships.
Delivering on promises
When you ask for a quote or you place an order, you put your trust in a company to deliver on their promise. There may be times when it’s impossible to follow through due to unforeseen circumstances, but it’s vital to aim to fulfill promises. If you let customers down, they may consider choosing a competitor and they could also share their experiences with others.
If there is a good reason for an order being delayed, an appointment being canceled, or a meeting being postponed, be open and honest with the client, offer an explanation, and try to resolve the issue. This may mean rearranging a delivery, finding a different date for a reservation, appointment, or meeting or offering a refund.
If you find yourself struggling to meet expectations, or you’re receiving negative feedback for the same reasons, it’s important to address these problems promptly. If people are waiting too long to be seated in a restaurant or customers are not getting deliveries on time, it’s worth evaluating delivery services and staffing levels. You could alter turnaround times to lower the risk of delays or add more members of staff at peak periods.
Personal touches
Every customer wants to feel like a VIP. Adding personal touches can have a positive impact on consumer relations, increase sales, and improve your chances of keeping hold of existing customers and receiving positive reviews. Personalized emails have a higher open rate than standard messages, and exclusive offers, which are targeted at specific buyers, are likely to generate better quality leads.
As well as sending personalized emails, you can also treat your customers to a special discount or deal to celebrate their birthday and personalize their shopping experience. If you have a clothing brand, for example, you can list recommended products based on the buyer’s previous purchases and offer sizing tips.
If you run a beauty business, you can make suggestions linked to skin tone and style preferences by asking customers questions about looks they love and their favorite products. Images, video clips, infographics, and interactive quizzes are excellent additions to product pages and social media feeds, as they make the shopping experience more fun for buyers and they enable you to get to know your customers better.
Every business owner wants their customers to be content. It’s not always easy to please everyone, but there are ways to improve your chances of achieving 5-star ratings, boost retention rates, and bring in new clients. Hopefully, these tips will help you attract rave reviews.
