Whether you are planning to start up a new business or you have established one already, knowing the right strategies and methods to apply in your business endeavours are undeniably fundamental.
For every business; be it a multinational or a business that runs on a small scale, it is very necessary to note that the trick to a prosperous business is the ability to retain and make customers always yearn for more.
In this article, we shall be discussing 6 proven strategies to gain the heart of your customers.
1. Value
As a business owner, in what possible ways can you describe the value your business is offering to the customers, what are they benefiting, the effect it holds on your business, what problem is it solving, are your customers getting maximum satisfaction through your products or services? Quite numbers of businesses pay inconsiderable attention to this vital aspect.
First of all, one might ask – what does value really mean in the business sphere? “A fair return or equivalent in goods, services, or money for something exchanged.” according to Merriam-Webster
When it comes to business – the number one criteria that attract customers to your brand is your value. What is your product communicating with your customers? What are those things your clients get from your service that they cannot get from others? In the face of diverse competitions, what makes your brand to be exceptional? These are some of the questions one needs to have in-depth answers to for you to effectively gain customers’ commitment.
The ability to persuade customers to patronize your products or services depends on what value or benefit they are getting in return for purchasing that particular product and buying your service. Categorically customers would want to see the worth and significance of what they have purchased from you, and the services you have rendered to them.
Your value is your “Unique Selling Point” (USP) – so understanding this basic principle will not only make your business to emerge prosperously amongst its peers – but it will also build and equip you with extensive ideas of what drives your customers’ satisfaction.
2. Patience
After you have established value that is evident, one of the major characteristics in winning the heart of customers is patience. Various customers exhibiting different temperament will inevitably patronize your business – the key to manage and maintain each and every one of them in order to still impel them to do/continue doing business with you is patience.
Whether you are running a one-man business or you are an employer, it’s a must skill that you must possess at all times in readiness because you are going to be interacting with all kinds of people.
Ability to be patient will help you to evaluate and interpret customers’ fears, purpose, intentions, as well as assimilating the complaints that each customer is trying to communicate.
As your business advances, many times you will get to meet horrible customers with an anger issue, customers that easily get irked and the likes. With patience, you will be able to solve their problems in every area. Also, this skill walks hand-in-hand with listening – the potentiality to listen while exercising patience to their request will leave a long-lasting impact on them.
3. Be Accessible
Accessibility, as it reads, plays a unique role in winning customers’ hearts. When your customers can access your products or services without having to wait for a longer period, which is most likely to make some customers avert their interest in patronizing you and look out for another alternative, it will make them develop boldness with a keen interest given that you are always available to speak to them, reply to their mails, receiving their calls, and to put them through some certain things concerning your product or service.
Systemizing accessibility into your business is very crucial because it will not only make your clients feel relaxed, it will also create a bond that will make them trust you more.
You have to make sure your online presence is not faulty, this is where a large percentage of your customers will come from. You must be ready to respond to relayed messages at the appropriate time.
4. Adaptability to the market trends
Some few months before the global pandemic emanated, I had an experience where some customers were constantly troubling this particular company that they were running a business with. Out of these customers, there was this particular woman that would always come to the company whenever she had the chance. This woman was always reflecting her displeasure anytime she came to the firm – she would complain and even enlighten the admins of that company on the newest styles and trending materials that they ought to have already. She was consistently making efforts for them to see reason from her viewpoint and why the company need to adapt to these trending products that are boosting businesses. She believes these products would serve her better and other customers like her – it got to a point she started asking questions like; why is the company not doing this, why are you not adopting this new method, why don’t you have this product, etc.
The above woman in that scenario was a customer to the company – before she was able to share that useful information, she must have gone to other companies or perhaps come across these trendings online from other competitors.
Over the years, a lot of trends have been gaining engrossment in every business scope – businesses are beginning to watch and follow closely the market movement otherwise known as (Market Trend).
As an entrepreneur, adaptability to the market is one of those things you must put into deliberation if you want to win your customers’ heart repeatedly. The skill to adapt to trends in your business area of specialization will push you ahead of your clients along with building a solid ground that your competitors won’t be able to compete with.
Following business trends will open your eyes to so many opportunities, e.g, business promotion, acquiring new concepts to apply for better engagement amongst your customers, including foreseeing the direction of the market and use it to your advantage in the preparation of new products or services that haven’t been saturated in the market.
Believe me – it oftentimes discredits business when customers perceive that your business is lagging the up-to-date needful elements.
Just like the above illustration, it doesn’t portray your business image well when customers or clients are the ones educating you on the latest techniques, tools or products that you ought to have included into your business arsenal.
Every entrepreneur must be in alignment with the movement of the market, do research, read, do research again and read, be updated, repeat the process over and over again – be ahead of your competitors and always inform your customers of the latest products or services that will be of great benefits to them. Don’t allow your clients to be the one telling you what is new and what people are going for – let the reverse be the case. Your overall responsibility as a business owner is to serve your customers better, that is the lifeblood of any business.
5. Create customer reward
Another strategy in which you can grab the heart of your customers is through rewarding them for supporting your brand.
Rewarding your customers will make them feel appreciated, once that appreciation is established, they will feel more obligated to you no matter what. Various businesses are tapping into this far-reaching method.
Psychologically humans tend to be faithful or loyal to people that appreciate them a lot. This same fact applies to the business circle.
Customer reward will spawn several advantages to your brand, e.g, positive reviews, creating your business awareness to the larger public, and most importantly, it will build the morale of existing customers to bring in new customers (Family and Friends) inclusively.
Now, you might be wondering how do you create this customer reward – it is pretty simple – I’m very sure you might have seen adverts on the media where brand A’s customers are expected to participate in a platform and get rewarded. E.g, the “Indomitables Magnet Promo” by Indomie Noodles. Customers are expected to buy a promo code pack or carton of indomitable indomie noodles and open the pack to get a free magnet, thereafter qualify to win other instant prizes like iPad, school bags, bicycle, etc.
The above-quoted example is more like for big brands in the business industry.
If you are running a medium or a small size business, you could also create a customer reward that will not overwhelm your business financially e.g, let assume you are selling crates of Fanta drink and you have 2 customers who patronize you frequently, you could offer 1 crate of Fanta to each of them freely at some point. While they are buying, you are also rewarding them at the same time for staying loyal to you in spite of different competitors around. You have just done a customer reward. By doing this, you are gaining their commitment.
Every entrepreneur that wants to gain recognition in the business world, developing a customer reward is very integral because it will make customers happy, build long-lasting respect, widens your marketing both physically and digitally, bringing in new customers and improving sales.
6. Customer care service
As it is said, “A satisfied customer is the best source of advertisement.” for every business that wants to grow and incur in more prospects, strengthening the customer care service is very essential.
The plain truth is that – the concern of most businesses in the operation is the struggle to maximize more profits – as that is necessary, it’s also relevant to mark how professionally the customer care aspect is engaging, influencing, and treating the customers to gain their consistency.
The way your customer care representatives interact with customers will determine if/if not such customers will come back or continue to do business with your organization. It’s sad that most organisations are neglecting this symbolic responsibility.
Customer care service is the core point of any business no matter the business level because it serves as an introductory level to a new customer of what your brand is all about, getting to know your product, your mode of operation, and rendering substantial help to complaints from existing clients.
No matter how good your business is, no matter the benefits customers are getting if you don’t treat them well your business can never stand for long.
How your customer care representatives connect with customers that are coming for the first time matters a lot – is it with a loving smile or a scornful dace.
If your business has an online presence, that’s even the shortest way to make things complicated – one negative review about your customer care can do a lot of damages to your business. The purpose of customer care is to care for the customers, make them happy, make them part of the family.
If your customer care service (CCS) is incompetent, it will certainly have a negative effect on your brand and this will surely result in low patronage, low profits and as well as damaging the company’s reputation if it is unaddressed.
Nothing kills a business than the inability to retain customers – study shows that “A customer will tell 15 or more people about poor customer experience.” This is where customer care comes in to make sure every customer get what he/she wants.
Complaints from customers that have been unanswered many times can/will likely make the customers quit doing business with that company – thus resulting in losing customers. If this continues over time, then the business is as dead as anything.
To avoid this, your (CCS) representatives must be well powered, well informed, well trained, must be friendly in nature, and competent to take the role.
Conclusion
“The purpose of a business is to create a customer who creates customers.” Shiv Singh.
When you are able to analyze all these valuable points – then you will see your business achieving greater heights in customers’ volume and in more revenues.
