Every business landscape is hyper competitive, with countless companies vying for the attention of a limited pool of potential customers.
So, the question on everyone’s lips, is how to stand out? How do you make customers love your business more than the rest?
As cut throat as it sounds, the reality is a failure to generate enough positive feeling among your current and prospective customers is that they will simply look elsewhere.
“People want to buy from companies that make it easy to get help when they need it, that go above and beyond for them, and that make them proud to support their culture and philosophy.”
Hubspot
With this in mind, making yourself irreplaceable, through consistent quality experience above and beyond the service or product you provide, is tantamount to non-negotiable.
Anthill have written extensively on the importance of looking at each stage of the sales cycle in turn; and taking this in depth operational review is a process certainly worth undertaking.
But here and now, let’s focus on 4 quick and easy to apply tips to make customers love your business.
Show Empathy
Put yourself in your customer’s shoes for a second; do you prefer to engage with a company that cares about you as a person or a company that sees you as a number?
Customers are more likely to spend more, and be loyal for longer, if they have a history of positive experiences with your company.
Ensure your team go out of their way to understand the customer, whether they’re handling a new enquiry or responding to a service issue.
Customers want a partner, not a provider. Make sure you show empathy to prove value beyond the service you provide.
It’s your job to make their problem, your problem.
Be Transparent
The secret sauce for success is, at it’s very core, trust.
Trust creates comfort. And, unsurprisingly, people like to feel comfortable.
So when a business hides or purposefully omits information, this lack of transparency leads to a lack of trust.
Introducing communications at every stage of the customer journey allows people to be fully informed as to the status of their project.
If an error occurs, the act of acknowledging and showing a desire to solve it creates greater positive emotional collateral than pretending to ignore it. Your customers will be more disposed to love you if you can show your efforts to best fulfil their needs.
Likewise, transparency through trust creates happy customers who can go on to act as brand ambassadors.
So when it comes to considering which company to go with, the emphasis we place on the experience of others will enable you to shine through as the option most worthy of a prospective customer’s business.
Welcome Feedback
“If we don’t know what’s right, we can’t do more of it. If we don’t know what’s wrong, we can’t do less of it.
Without customer feedback, we are destined to fail.”
Brian Halligan
Feedback enables you to unearth otherwise unknown issues early on. A proactive response before a problem gets out of hand is much more valuable than a reactive apology.
Stay on the organisational front foot and valuable resources aren’t wasted putting out fires that could’ve been dealt with sooner.
The impact of feedback isn’t solely limited to giving customers a voice, ensuring they feel loved.
Recent Harvard Business Review studies have shown that it can cost up to 25 times more to acquire a new customer than to keep one.
For your longevity and sustainability, it pays to keep customers happy.
Be Human
People love people; not brands. You can connect with customers by being personal with them.
Talk to your customers like they’re your friends rather than as a faceless business. Every industry has its jargon and technical terms but it’s important to consider the appropriate level to use.
People feel comfortable when they understand and love a company who can make even the most complex or substantial purchases feel like a breeze.
Make your interactions human, and collaborate with clients to achieved a mutually desirable outcome.
As humans we want to be treated, and thought of, as individuals. We all have our unique quirks and respond positively when those are reflected in a tailored user experience built entirely for us.
Remove the blanket approach to make your customers love your business.
Intrigued to learn more? Check out our Insights Hub to keep your business at the cutting edge.
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- July 15th, 2021