How to Keep in Touch with Your Customers

understanding your customer is vital for growth.

These know-how marketing tips can help retain a strong base with your customers.

Unless you are very lucky and don't have competitor in your line of business, you must keep in touch with your customers.  If it happens that your competitors do this before you, they are going to take your customers away from you. In this world of uncertainty, you no longer count on customer loyalty.

You must keep your name in before your customers to prevent them from being tempted to "try out" the services from your business competitor that is trying to lure them in with amazing specials, convenience and fancy offers.

For a shop, what is it that you must to remain vigilant? Here, I have spelt out some suggestions to win your customer loyalty.

Appreciate Your Customers - Really

Every shop owner realizes the value of their customers, but do you really believe that your customers do?  Every shop owner should appreciate their customers and receive their money with genuine appreciation. You should ensure that your frontline employees understand the importance of each and every customer and that they show sincere appreciation.   

Don't Hide the Technician

For auto car centers, whenever your customers come in to pick up their vehicles, allow the technician a moment to greet the customer, explain to them the work that was done and thank them for their business.

Pre-set Appointments

Pre-set your customer's next appointment. This is an easy one to be done, just give the customer a small card with the next "service due" appointment. Remember to call them ahead to be sure  that the time is still convenient. This starategy works for the dentist, so it should work for you!

Survey

Since you  don’t know how your shop measures up and is meeting the needs of your customers, you should make a point f asking them since most of them  wont tell you when they aren’t happy but they will tell others. Know their feelings for your business and the services you offer, by so doing, your customers know you appreciate and value their business.

Direct Mail

You can decide to keep in touch by a quarterly newsletter, where you explain to them about all the services you offer.  You can also use the reminder card program since it is also an excellent way of keeping in touch. Don’t forget a thank you card or telephone call after a service has been performed.

Training the Staff

You can use a lot of money in advertising, maybe give your technician’s certification training and still lose the customer because your lead staff doesn't have a clue on customer relations. Help them by doing the following:

o   Enroll them in classes for help in this area of customer relation. This will be worth your time and money.

o   Ensure that your employees understand the shilling value of every customer and its reflection to the business and their paychecks. Each employee should know that every customer has an exemplary experience whenever they visit your shop. Don't just meet the customer's expectation - exceed it!

o   You should set a good example then your employees will follow your lead.

o   Let your employees know that customer loyalty starts with genuine customer appreciation.

Telephone Skills

This concern and is the chief difference between you getting and keeping business. Always have someone answer your telephone calls. If a prospective customer sends mail and calls but  gets no answer, especially if it is someone who has never used you before, they will go to your business competitor. It does not stir confidence when you get at a business and always find a ringing phone during business hours.

You can also recommended an answering  machine but as a last resort to state hours of operation, that each call is important and that as soon as you are finished helping another customer you will call back immediately. It is at least a gesture of goodwill.

Some General Guidelines on phone ethics:

Do answer the telephone this way: "sparks technologies,  this is Tim, how can I help you." Or, "How can I help you sir/madam?"

•                 You can put the person on hold if necessary but don’t lay the telephone down.
•                 You should always, always - answer the telephone.
•                 Always - thank the customer for calling!
•                 Listen to the customer and if you can't help them, get them to a person that can.
•                 Use an on-hold message that states your services, hours of operation and specials.
•                 Take a message when the person the customer wishes to speak to is not available.

Customer Complaints

Customer complaints can put your staff on their defensive due to guilt and this is just human. Help your staff get above this by appreciating them as they take the time to complain. This means they still want to do business with you. Occasionally customers don't complain to you, but to others, and then quietly take their business elsewhere. Through customer complains you have the opportunity to fix the situation and keep the customer's loyalty.

In summery, you should treat others the way you want to be treated, then exceed that. That is the best way to stay in touch and maintain the business relationship with you.