
Improving customer relationships in business
What defines a customer relationship?
- For businesses, it is defined by the quality of the service provided.
- For customers, it is defined by their satisfaction with the quality of communication and services offered by the business.
Sometimes, just one negative step in an otherwise positive process can jeopardize the efforts invested in the customer relationship. Customers tend to remember negative experiences longer than positive ones, which can harm trust and discourage them from continuing to work with you. Delivering exceptional customer service helps retain customers and solidify your reputation.
Here are some tips to improve customer relationships over the long term:
1. Make customers the heart of your company culture
Your company’s culture inevitably reflects the experience it provides to customers and must be embraced by all team members. Even employees without direct customer contact should ensure customer well-being. The motto for everyone should be: make the customer experience easy, quick, and pleasant. This can be achieved through understanding requests, delivering flawless work, performing final quality checks, and more.
2. Establish clear protocols for customer relationships
Setting clear protocols in your business provides employees with a foundation to build upon. Offering training on company protocols can help employees refine their expertise. However, it’s essential to maintain some flexibility to avoid rigid structures that hinder customer requests or stifle employee creativity.
Creating a guiding framework unifies customer communications, including the tone of voice, attentive listening, and empathy when a customer appears alarmed. When resolving issues, use positive phrases like “yes, and” instead of “yes, but,” or say “thank you for your patience” instead of apologizing for making the customer wait.
3. Share effective communication tools with customers
Email communication with customers can often become chaotic: lost messages, scattered documents, and forgotten details critical to project completion. Instead, implement simple and effective communication tools, such as Google Drive or task management software, to streamline exchanges. Depending on the project’s scope, determine the best tool to meet customer needs.
4. Implement a complaint management process
Complaints are inevitable because mistakes happen. It’s important to establish a protocol for addressing them appropriately and ensure the same mistakes are not repeated. By cataloging and categorizing complaints, you can provide adequate follow-up and avoid recurring issues.
5. Customer relationships start at the top
Every member of your business should prioritize customer well-being, including senior management. In fact, leadership often serves as the primary long-term contact between customers and the business. Leaders are responsible for setting protocols for employees to handle complaints and maintain customer satisfaction. Customers will feel more confident knowing senior management is involved and supportive.
6. Exceed expectations
Customer relationships should be a core value for every business. Depending on the industry, this can take various forms and may require a certain level of creativity. The most memorable solutions for customers are those where their needs are not only met but exceeded. For example, IKEA offers free childcare services so parents can shop in peace. In your industry, think beyond simply defining your offerings. Remember that your customers are human, with all that entails. Put yourself in their shoes, analyze their behavior, and create the best conditions to make them feel comfortable and satisfied.
Customer relationships are a collective effort
Customer experience is not a one-off task performed by a single department—it’s an ongoing collective effort. By fostering a clear vision shared by all team members, your business can continuously improve customer relationships. The benefits will be mutual: satisfied customers will maintain a long-term, beneficial relationship with you, while your business will gain increased recognition and reputation.
Sources
https://isarta.com/infos/5-idees-pour-ameliorer-sa-relation-client/
https://www.webmarketing-com.com/2016/12/26/54708-5-conseils-relation-client-de-qualite