Communication is key – use it to unlock your greatest potential
“Communication - the human connection - is the key to personal and career success.” Your business model and the services you provide are only half the battle. The other half, is how you treat your customers. A critical component is strong, effective communication. This might seem like a bit of a challenge, but don’t be intimidated. The fact that you have customers to communicate within the first place means you are doing something right. These four communication tips will help you attract new customers and retain existing ones:
Build a strong relationship with your customers – be relatable!
No matter what type of business you are operating, no customer wants to feel like just another cog in the wheel. Flashy advertisements and stellar products might land you customers, but the relationship you build with them will keep them coming back. A strong relationship builds your customer lifetime value (CLV), or the total revenue you can expect from an individual customer.
The best way to build a relationship with your customer is to put yourself in their shoes and show them you care. To do this, you must first understand why they are seeking your services and continually meet their expectations. You must also make them feel special and valued. Here are some ways you can do that:
- Sending personalized emails and handwritten notes
- Remembering the little things – from their names to their backgrounds and specification
- Engaging in friendly conversation and showing them you are more than just a business
- Acknowledging their feedback and responding to their reviews with empathy
- Responding to them quickly – answering their phone calls, chats, and emails ASAP!
- Creating a welcoming environment
- Offering small gifts to customers who show loyalty to your business
- Being available when your customers need you
Remember that you don’t have to be too formal with your customers. Although you should always maintain an air of professionalism, being overly formal can come across as cold or standoffish. Your customers are there because they appreciate who you are as a business, so being yourself in every interaction will go a long way.
Want to streamline your communication with your customers? Find out how Scorpion can help with client communication solutions, including text messaging, chat boxes, emails, appointment scheduling, and more.
Position yourself as a thought leader by publishing resources and tutorials
This is one of those tips that will vary widely from business to business. No matter whether you are fixing roofs or winning legal battles, your customers are coming to you because they are convinced you have a certain level of expertise that they do not have. Don’t be afraid to showcase that expertise in your online content. This is a great way to maintain strong communication with your customers because it allows them to constantly keep up with the happenings of your business without calling or emailing you directly.
One of the most underutilized ways to do this is by posting on LinkedIn. This is a great option if starting a blog or posting videos feels like too big of an undertaking. Being a thought leader on LinkedIn can help you gain brand awareness by actively communicating with your audience. It also allows you to share valuable information and insights with your customers, which will remind them why you are the best fit for the job.
Once you have built your audience on a professional platform, you can start sharing blogs, videos, tutorials, and other resources across social platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube. The next thing you know, your business will become a household name that your customers are used to engaging with. One example of a business owner who succeeds at this is Lisa Lang, a lawyer in Ohio with 14k followers on LinkedIn:
She has over 1000 posts on the platform, ranging from legal tips to awards and other helpful insights. You’ll see that she isn’t afraid to position herself as a leader in her industry, and she has broken down what might seem like a complex subject into a simple “Why this not that” question-and-answer format. Even though it is important to communicate with your customers in a relatable way, always remember that they have chosen your expertise for a reason. Be sure to make those reasons clear in every post you create.
Want to streamline your communication with your customers? Find out how Scorpion can help with client communication solutions, including text messaging, chat boxes, emails, appointment scheduling, and more.
3. Send consistent emails with important information
When you hear the term “email campaign,” what thoughts come to mind? If you think of irritating messages that get thrown straight into the junk mail, then you have been a victim of the wrong kinds of email campaigns. The truth is that email campaigns, when done correctly, can be one of the most powerful communication tools. In fact, email campaigns are almost 40 times more effective than Facebook and Twitter combined when it comes to helping your business acquire new customers. The key to a successful email campaign is to remember that you are communicating with your customers, not just sending them an advertisement.
Rather than sending your emails out at random, try to be consistent with your customers. This is one of the ways that you can make them feel special (see tip #1). They might even look forward to your emails and the information they contain. Once you have gathered enough customers’ email addresses, which you can do through surveys, point-of-purchase questions, and simply by asking, you are ready to launch your first email campaign. To amplify your business and use email marketing as a strong communication tool, remember these golden rules:
- Always have a meaningful subject line
- Address your customers in a friendly manner at the beginning of the email
- Respect your customers’ time – don’t take too long to make your point
- Make your emails easy to read
- Show a bit of your personality in every email
- Design each email with a purpose – make them remember why they love your business!
4. Utilize technology to streamline your communication
Communication is not as simple as it used to be. Long gone are the days of relying on snail mail and voicemails. Even though these new technologies are designed to help us, when you are busy running your business, keeping up with all of them can feel like a second full-time job. Looking into the future of business, technology is here to stay, so it is necessary to adapt. The good news is that technology can dig your business out of the same holes it digs you into. How is this possible? Streamlining communication.
Scorpion offers the solutions you need to streamline your business communications. From emails to phone calls and messaging, we will make sure these tools feel more like an asset than a liability. With our communication suite, you can take all of your customer communications and funnel them into one simple portal. Whether your customers prefer texting, emailing, Facebook messaging, or chatting on your website, you can easily keep track of all these interactions. We will categorize and organize these interactions to make sure no customer gets left behind.
Want to streamline your communication with your customers? Find out how Scorpion can help with client communication solutions, including text messaging, chat boxes, emails, appointment scheduling, and more. Contact us today.
