Four Ways to Connect With Your Customers

This article was written by: 
Lewis Robinson, Business Consultant and Writer.

There are a variety of factors that contribute to the success of your business. The quantity and quality of your customers will be one of the most impactful pieces to your business. Therefore, it is imperative to have a strong understanding of your cliental. This will ensure you are meeting their needs, so they in turn will support your business. Read on to learn four steps you can take to ensure an effective connection with your consumers.

Understand Your Customer Territory

To have a successful relationship with your customers, it is important to understand their needs. Many businesses utilize sales territory mapping for distributing a salesperson’s jurisdiction. Salesforce does a great job of taking the basic mapping to the next level. Instead of just dividing a territory up by salespeople, they have developed a mapping that takes into consideration additional factors, like the customer type and types of businesses in each location. Having a specialized territory mapping can give you a deeper understanding of potential customers and therefore give your Sales Team a much more promising strategy.

Request Customer Feedback

Once a potential consumer turns into a customer, it is important to get their feedback. By getting valuable customer feedback, you can learn what areas of your company are performing well and where there are opportunities for improvement. Asking customers for their feedback shows you genuinely want to ensure their needs are met and improve their experience next time. Do your best not to take any criticisms personally; evaluate the responses and if making a change makes sense, do it! A great way to show you appreciate your customer’s feedback is by offering a discount on their next purchase.

Provide Incentives

In addition to a discount for feedback, consider adding other incentive programs. These provide items or services for free or at a discounted rate. A key factor to consider when creating a program is to not make it difficult to reach the incentive. If you create a program that requires your customers to spend large amounts of money before seeing any benefit, they are likely going to be put off by your business. For example, if an average sale for your business is $15, do not make customers spend $300 to get $5 off a future purchase. Nobody gets excited about a discount that is going to take a long time to reach.

Market Appropriately

Marketing is important to any business, big or small. To create a connection and attract new customers, you must market yourself appropriately. Understanding your customer territory can come into play again; having a knowledge of your customers can provide an understanding of how to best market to them. If your business targets consumers between 18 to 25, advertising in a newspaper or country club probably would not be beneficial. Focus on where your consumers will interact the most, in this case, perhaps a local moving theater, coffee house or a form of social media advertising. On a similar note, engaging customers for their feedback can help narrow down what marketing is working and what is not. Ask consumers how they heard about you and then give them options to choose from. A great way to track marketing and entice potential customers is by offering different specials on each advertising platform. For example, if you are advertising on Instagram, offer a 15 percent discount for new customers that mention code NEW1234. Track the codes when purchases are made. This way, you can have statistics on which outlets are working and which ones are not.

Having a connection with your customers, both current and potential, is vital for your business. Not only does it keep your customers happy, it helps you learn what they like about your business and what could be changed to bring in more consumers. Take the time to review your company plans and goals so you can clearly assess what can be done to create a stronger foundation with your cliental.