At this point, you have a really good structure for your business. You’ve developed a customer profile, defined your value proposition, and developed your idea product.
You’re good to go, right?
Mostly. But if you really want to have a thriving, profitable business, you’re going to need to do things to make your customers fall in love with you. And that’s exactly what you’ll discover how to do inside this “packing list.” Check out these five essentials to make sure they’re a part of your business…
1. Gather Customer Feedback
Your customers are a wealth of information if you pay attention. And here’s the thing – not only will gathering customer feedback help you build your business, it also bonds your customers to you.
When they offer feedback and see it being implemented, they feel appreciated, listened to, and respected – these are all things that greatly help you develop a good relationship with them.
Here’s what you want to do to maximize your strengths and minimize or eliminate your weaknesses:
· Encourage feedback. Here’s where you regularly remind customers that you encourage their feedback on your products, your customer service, your website, and other parts of your business. For example, you may end each newsletter with your email address and an encouragement to drop you a line with feedback.
· Solicit specific feedback. This means surveying your customers from time to time to better how satisfied they are with your customer service, products, and business as a whole.
And again – don’t just gather feedback. Be sure to implement it as well.
Next…
2. Go Above and Beyond
Businesses with superior customer service tend to stand out from the crowd. And those with poor customer service tend to lose business – even if their products or services are great. For proof of this, just look at your local Yelp reviews to see how many people refuse to return to a restaurant or other business not because they received a poor product, but because they received poor service.
Here’s what you need to do to step up your customer service:
· Under-promise and over-deliver (especially in your sales copy). This will surprise, delight and satisfy your customers.
· Be prompt. Make it a priority to answer all customer-service inquiries promptly. Even better, hire more customer service staff and offer the option of instant online chatting.
· Keep your promises. For example, if you promise to release a new blog post at a certain time and date, then be sure you do it then (and not a minute late).
Next…
3. Give Customers Added Benefits
The idea here is to make your customers not only feel valued, but also increase their level of satisfaction. How? By adding value to your offers.
For example:
· Offer unadvertised bonuses. For example, give your weight-loss customers access to a private support group.
· Provide special deals. For example, send out a “Preferred Customers” special offer via email.
· Create perks and incentives. For example, you might start up a customer loyalty program where customers receive free products and other perks for making multiple purchases.
· Give good customers advanced notice. For example, if you have a big sale going on next week, you can give your best customers advanced notice of the sale. You might even open the doors a day early for them and offer them an extra 10% off.
Next…
4. Guarantee Satisfaction
Your goal here is to not only guarantee satisfaction to your customers, but make sure you do everything you can to create highly satisfied customers.
For example:
· Be trustworthy. This means always being honest, and always making good on your promises. For example, don’t use “false scarcity” (such as a fake countdown timer) to try to boost sales.
· Take responsibility for your mistakes. Despite your best efforts, you’re going to mess up sometimes. When that happens, you need to not only take responsibility (i.e., “it’s my fault”), you also need to make it right. For example, you might offer unhappy customers a free product.
· Maintain high quality standards in everything you do. From every product you create to every blog post you publish to every email you send… be sure you’re sending out high-quality goods, information, and services.
Here’s the next item on your packing list…
5. Get to Know Each Other
Getting to know your customers has a dual advantage. For starters, when you know them, you’ll be better able to create products and content that really resonate with them.
But here’s the flip side of the coin: when your customers know YOU, your business will grow. That’s because people like to do business with those they know, like and trust.
To these dual ends, here’s how to get to know one another:
· Get personal. Tell stories. Share pictures. Let your prospects and customers know what’s going on with your life. For example, if you’re getting married and you’re going to be gone for a couple weeks, let your lists, visitors and followers know about this exciting event in your life. It will draw them closer to you and help you build a relationship with them.
· Empathize with prospects and customers. Whether you’re writing sales copy or answering a customer service inquiry, be sure to empathize with your audience and let them know you really care. E.G., “I’m so sorry you were unable to download and open the meal-planning app. That must have been very frustrating for you. But don’t worry, we’ll get you up and running in about five minutes. Here’s how…”
In short, let customers know there’s a real, breathing human sitting behind your website!
Conclusion
Your customers are the key to you having a successful business, which is why you need to make customer care and satisfaction a top priority. Put this packing list to work for you to help you do exactly that!
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