For a company that operates in a highly saturated market of today, it takes an effort to stand out among competitors, build trustful relations with customers and, ultimately, make them happier. While discounts or wide product selection are factors that make customers happy, this is not something that can add meaningful long-term value to a brand.
The key to true appreciation and a closer bond lies in something more fundamental — customer communication. Just as in personal relationships, a dialogue between a customer and a brand can do a lot in terms of better mutual understanding, trust, and loyalty. Let’s take a look at the essential practices every company can start utilizing today to make their clients happier.
Be proactive
Answering customer inquiries in a fast and efficient manner is paramount for good customer communication. However, such a reactive approach won’t take you to the next level and any attempt at scaling will result in a proportional increase in the number of support tickets. For real improvement, try to analyze customer inquiries received via free live chat app, email, and other channels, pinpoint the most frequent issues, and make solving them once and for all a priority. Be proactive in communication and contact those who have recently made a purchase or employed services first, making sure they’re 100% satisfied and don’t require any further assistance.
Personalize each interaction
It is no secret that many customers enjoy feeling valued by the businesses they like. During customer interactions, avoid copy-and-paste replies and aim for something more personalized and humane. There are many ways to achieve it, from simply calling a client by their name to going the extra mile and, for example, reserving a sold-out item in another store, recording a video instruction on how to use something, or sending a small birthday gift. It all depends on the type of your audience and industry, however, personalization is welcomed everywhere.
Offer self-service support options
Even if you have the best customer support in the world, some customers prefer to lessen the frequency of interactions and solve issues on their own. For this segment of your audience, it is important to develop a comprehensive set of self-service options, including a knowledge base, FAQ section, and chatbots. While this allows some customers to get support in a preferable way, it also decreases the number of incoming tickets for your customer support — a win-win situation!
Conclude a conversation the right way
Final impressions are crucial for nurturing long-term relations with clients. When a resolution has been finally reached, don’t just rush to wish a pleasant day and close a live chat window or hang up the call — find out whether there is anything else a customer requires assistance with, thank them for reaching out and inform on any current news, such as deals or new products.
Adopt an omnichannel communication strategy
To make customers more satisfied with your services, engage them via their preferred communication channels. Engaging them on the same social media and messaging platforms they use to communicate with friends and colleagues is a sure way to make customer service more comfortable and boost satisfaction rates.
However, providing omnichannel support is not that simple. Managing multiple channels while remaining customer-oriented requires either a large budget for extending sales and support teams or more tech-savvy solutions. Omnichannel messaging platforms, such as Umnico, allow companies to connect multiple communication channels and conduct all conversations within a single interface while providing valuable insights into customer preferences and employee performance.
All in all, making customers happy is in many ways similar to making friends. Be attentive, show genuine care and engage in a dialogue — this is a sure way to build long-term and mutually beneficial relations with your clients.
