As a business owner, you have probably already come to terms with the fact that the market occasionally hits a slump. There is nothing you can do about this, and no amount of marketing will boost business. At times like this, companies are very lucky to continue breaking even. One of the ways that you can make sure that your business makes it through these difficult times is by having a loyal group of customers you can rely on. There are a few different ways we suggest you ensure this is the case.
Show Them You Care
Don’t make the mistake of thinking that customers don’t care about whether a business wants what is best for them, they do. Customers were thrilled when Netflix said they would not put third party ads ahead or after shows. Their customers have come to expect a certain service from Netflix, and that means no advertisements. It’s one of the reasons many people prefer it to watching shows on TV. But there are lots of different ways that you can show customers you care.
On occasion, you might know that shops give personal discounts through email. Zavvi often offers this is you haven’t bought something from them in a while. It’s a great way of encouraging more interest to their website and bringing loyal customers back.
You might also want to say thank you once in awhile and show you appreciate their continued business. You can do this with clients or customers by sending out greeting cards. eC02 Greetings offer the personalisation of e-cards that you can send out to customers for the holidays. By doing this, you’re also showing consumers you care about the environment.
Listen To Them
Don’t forget that age old motto, the customer is always right. It always rings true, and you need to show them you think this by making sure you listen to what they have to say. Every so often you should check in with your customer base and see if there are any improvements they want made to your business service. You can do this by email but don’t send them out too regularly or it might be misconstrued as spam. We also don’t recommend posting these surveys through customer doors; that could be seen as junk mail. Instead, set it up online using a survey builder.
Or, better yet, you could talk to your customers on social networks. If you interact with your customers through social sites, you’ll show them you care and get their feedback at the same time.
Making Things Easy
Customers will appreciate anything you do to make their business transactions with you easier. You might want to start by looking at the payment method on your website. If you don’t have a way of identifying a customer by ID so they can make easier purchases, consider this option. If you can make the purchase easier, you will certainly get more sales.
As well as this you can think about reducing prices to occasionally beat the competition. Just be careful how much you cut prices because this can lead to a nasty price war with you and the competition.
If you take this advice, you’ll have the customers you can depend on when times are hard.
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