Ways to Connect with Your Customers and Grow your Customer Base

Customers are what keeps a business alive. A business with no customers is no longer a business. Simply maintaining your customer base is not enough; you need to expand your reach as well. A smart business should always be looking to expand their customer base. This means reaching out and connecting with new people while staying in contact with existing customers. However, you have to do so in a creative way. Just asking for people’s money will come off as greedy and tells your customer you don’t care about them. However, connecting with your customers on a deeper more personal level will yield better results. The customers will be happier and your business will see more business. 

This guide will walk you through how to connect with customers and grow your customer base in a natural and successful way.

Customer Information

Not all customers are the same, so you can’t treat them all the same way. Different demographics respond to marketing in different ways. What appeals to one group may not appeal to another. Rather than grouping all your customers together, break them down into smaller groups. Use firmographic data, such as age, gender, income, location, and more to separate your customers and market from there. You can collect this information in a few different ways. You can send out a survey to customers, do market research, listen to customer feedback, or collect data from Google Analytics. 

Keep Customers Up to Date

It is important to keep your customers aware of your brand and products. You don’t want customers to forget about your business. A forgotten business won’t make any money, so keep people in the loop. Between emails, newsletters, push notifications, and social media, there is a multitude of ways to connect. Ensuring customers are aware of your company means they are more likely to make a purchase, so keep your customers informed. 

Customer Service

Customer service is the foundation of a successful business. Good customer service helps you maintain and grow your customer base. Treating customers well helps ensure they come back to repeat business. If word of your company’s good service spreads, and current customers tell their friends about their experience, then potentially new customers will come. Put your customers first and treat them well, your business will see positive results. 

Although the task may seem daunting, you should not be afraid of providing good customer service. Once you get the hang of it, most of these solutions will be done with ease. For example, you can put the customer first by answering their questions quickly, going the extra mile for every customer, fixing your mistakes, and getting to know you customer on a more personal level. Keep your customers happy and satisfied and they will reward you with repeat business. 

If you’re feeling overwhelmed and don’t have enough time to provide the best customer service on your own, consider hiring a Virtual Receptionist. They can answer questions, redirect calls, schedule for you, or even place orders with expert knowledge on your business and products.

Furthermore, depending on your industry, there may be alternate ways to provide customer service that is specific to your industry. For the shipping industry, for example, most carriers are willing to work with the customer to schedule and coordinate package deliveries. Carriers will even do in-home delivery to provide the best shipping experience possible. 

Customer Feedback

Customer reviews are incredibly valuable. If a customer is writing a review it is because they want people to see it, to inform not just other customers, but the company as well. Value these reviews, as they act as a report card for your company.

If you are receiving rave reviews, you know what you are doing is working. Be sure to take the time to thank customers for their kind words as it shows you care about what customers have to say. Take the time to reply to customers on social media, review sites, and emails. Take unnecessary steps out of the buying process to ensure customers don’t leave in the middle of checking out. Check on review sites, such as Yelp, and monitor your own site reviews to see what customers have to say. Sometimes, customers have great ideas you never would have thought of that will greatly improve your business. 

However, if your reviews are less than stellar, find out why. Use bad reviews as a learning opportunity. Reach out to users who leave bad reviews and try to rectify the situation. Offer a gift or some other condolence to turn an angry customer into a happy customer. Going above and beyond for a customer will only yield positive results. 

Having and growing a customer base is key. Without customers, your business will fail. Take the time to connect with customers by getting to know them. Learn what your customers like, where they live, their age, and more to better inform how you market. Keep your customers up to date on your brand to ensure your company is not forgotten. An easy way to do this is to send a newsletter to your customers to keep your brand at the forefront of their minds. Treasure customer reviews and take them seriously. Reviews are very informative and are also a good way to talk to your customers. Respond to reviews and try to fix negative situations. Hopefully, this guide has helped you learn new ways to connect with your customer base. 

About Nick Rojas

Nick Rojas is a business consultant and journalist who lives in Chicago and his hometown Los Angeles with his wife. His work often discusses social media, marketing, and branding in regards to small and medium enterprises (SMEs).