Do your customers feel the love?
It’s February which officially means it’s the month of love. Valentine’s Day is just around the corner and the shops are filled with all things red, pink and heart-shaped. But even if you don’t have someone special in your life, you can still get loved up…with your customers!
No, we don’t mean it like THAT; we just mean showing your clients some appreciation. After all, most of us would be nothing if not for our customers, yet we very rarely let them know how much they mean to us.
Here are a few tips on spreading the love this month…and throughout the year for that matter!
Treat your customers as you would wish to be treated.
We’ve all been on the receiving end of poor service and so we know how badly this can impact on the view we form not only of the perpetrating individual, but also the business as a whole. It may be an age-old mantra but it remains very true – treat your customers as you would want to be treated by your suppliers. Be polite, be timely, be honest and be respectful. If you employ staff, make sure this approach is also ingrained on them so it can be carried across in their dealings with customers.
It’s the little things that count.
Showing your customers some appreciation doesn’t necessarily have to come in the form of grand gestures or lavish gifts. Sometimes it’s the little things that make all the difference; remembering something they like and buying it them as a gift or taking the time to send them some information you know they will find useful. Even taking note of your client’s children’s names and asking after them when you speak, or making an effort to send clients a card on their birthday are little touches that can really impress. If you have a larger business where possible, customers should each be assigned an individual as their ‘relationship manager’. This helps to develop a personal relationship, allowing the little details to be remembered and utilised.
Under promise and over deliver.
A simple way to develop excellent two-way relationships between yourself and your customers is to do more than they expect. This doesn’t necessarily have to mean going overboard on every occasion they use your services; you’re running a business after all! Delivering beyond expectations could just mean ensuring they receive something before you have promised it. This doesn’t have to involve changing the way your run your business but instead changing the way you frame client expectations to make a subtle but tangible difference.
Don’t forget that if you give out love, you will often get in back in return. With customers, this could come by way of their continued loyalty, a referral or perhaps them taking up more services from you. So go forth, spread the love and create raving fans for your business.
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