How to effectively communicate with your customers
Build a trusting relationship with your customers through how you communicate with them.
Every interaction between your business and your customers is important in maintaining a positive relationship. Being able to communicate with your customers effectively is key to the growth of your business and has a major effect on your brand image.
Everything from your customer service, how you present yourself online and on social media to your marketing strategy is you communicating with your customer.
Effective communication can:
- increase sales
- increase customer loyalty
- add to a positive brand image
- result in positive recommendation and reviews.
Poor communication can:
- result in negative reviews
- decrease sales
- result in unhappy customers
- harm employee morale.
What you need for effective customer service
Well-trained employees: For positive interactions between your employees and customers, your employees must be knowledgeable about your product/services, understand your customer's needs and how to communicate with them effectively. Your employees level of service is imperative to how your customers perceive your business as a whole and can make or break whether they will come back.
To ensure your employees are getting things right and representing your business the way you want them to, training should be provided to all employees in customer-facing roles at the beginning of their employment and when any new changes to your practices are introduced.
Take a look at these 12 tips for improving your employee's customer service etiquette.
Customer feedback: The best way to ensure you are communicating effectively with your customers is to simply ask them. Getting customers to evaluate their experience can give you valuable insights into how your employees are performing, how efficient your processes are and most importantly what you could be doing to increase customer satisfaction.
Learn smart ways to collect and use customer feedback.
Need help with your marketing strategy?
How you reach potential customers and market yourself is a big part of how you communicate. Take a look at Business Gateway's marketing resources for all the help you need.