Take Care of Your Relationship with Your Customers

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Remember the days of parties in your youth.  You came in with your friends, made a bee line for a spot in the craziness, and somehow through the mass of faces, loud music, and roar of conversations you saw someone across the room. Someone that made you stop. 

With every relationship, work or personal their are phases that we go through in order to move along a path, whether linear or non-linear.  The one thing that many business ignore is the single most powerful tool in their tool chest which is the advocacy of the current and happy customers. 

Back to the party - Assuming you two met on the dance floor in spectacular form, dated for a few years and ended up married is that the end of the story? Or, is there still work to be done? How do you turn that initial meeting into rabid advocacy. 

1. Courting - Open, Honest, Transparent.  

Very few people or customers actually fall in love at first site.  Their is a courting period where you learn about products and services.  You find out the history of the company and why it’s a good match for you and your company.  Sometimes the worst thing you can do is to make promises that can’t be kept which can lead to time, effort and investment spent in the wrong place. Cut the strings now if its not the correct fit - they will never become an advocate.

2. Dating - Begin With The Goal in Mind

If all you are looking for is a sale and your business model does not benefit from long term advocacy and repeated sales than this is not for you.  If your goal is to convert the time, energy, and investment spent in this dating period into a long term customer who can sing your praises than their are a few things to think about.  Listen more and talk less.  Give rather than take.  Partnership allowances and special access can provide the needed fodder to move to the next phase.

3. Engaged - Don’t Make Any Assumptions

This is not the sale nor is this advocacy stage.  Brand advocates want their voice to be heard, their expertise to be valued, and their requests to be addressed.  Some of the best and simplest product innovations I have seen have come from conversations at this phase.  Whether the questions be around the product or service or even the process involved make them known to eliminate surprises and a breakdown in trust.

4. Married - Tending to The Relationship

In the end all of the time, effort, and energy spent through the process, asking the right questions and having the right answers has led to that long term relationship.

Now that the sale has been made and the product or service is delivered how can you promote that advocacy. Help them to be heard with the right tools.  Remind them to be heard through a drip program. Provide tangible perks to empower them and provide them a channel to help share.

5 THINGS YOU CAN DO NOW:

  1. Content. Content is King in this social media world but creating content is sometimes assigned to one person within a company.  Allow and empower your advocates to share content on your social channels as testimonials, case studies, or even just a quick comment. 
  2. Social media toolset. Shares, likes and comments related to your customers are a great way to stay connected, keep top of mind, and show that you are truly interested in their business. 
  3. Referral bonus. Share in the perks and rewards of the ease of gaining a new client through one of your brand advocates. 
  4. Integrated Social Media.  Yes you may have 1 in 100 comments be negative but with the proper brand advocates the village may address the comment before you can.  These self sustained social media channels are where true advocacy excel.
  5. Christmas in July (or whenever).  Assign the Christmas gift or other funds to a tiered thank you in the middle of the year when a gift will stand out rather than be one of many.

To learn more reach out to JENOA to discuss your specific business challenges today.