Keeping Up With Consumers

Every market is shifting and forever changing to accommodate for the economy, new released products and the never ending rat race for a like businesses to be on top of their industry.

With these shifts and changes through each market, the all important key to remember is that these adjustments are controlled by the consumers. It truly all comes back down to supply and demand.

With overcrowded markets it’s important to not only retain your customers for profit and gain but to also assist in the growth and expansion of your own business. A happy customer is a regular customer. Delivering a consistent level of high customer service is integral to maintain your clientele and brand reputation.

Customer service encompasses a large array of factors, ranging from the initial meet and greet to the uphold of rapport’s and relationships. Preserving customers is an important part of maintaining your overall business. Keeping a consistent rate of contact with customers on a personal level will boost revenue and also help create a personality and tone to your business.

Touching base with clients on a regular basis can be done through a few simple strategies:

Newsletter:

A newsletter sent out weekly, fortnightly or monthly is a great way to showcase new products, future sales and other updates within the business. When sending out newsletters or updates to your client base, be sure not to bombard them with ‘junk mail’. Less is more. Sending out emails between longer intervals with quality content will more likely to be read then newsletters sent out too frequently with less engaging content. Including a ‘sign up’ or ‘become a member’ function on each of your web pages will allow for more opportunities to expand your client database.

Social Media:

Social Media platforms are an easy way to engage with your consumers and also to a wider audience. Through the applications of comments, likes and private messages, you are able to communicate one on one with clients. This develops a personal relationship with your consumers and creates an image for your business that is perceived as friendly and interactive with your market. Uploading photographs or updating status with information of sales, new stock or giveaways is a great way to assist your marketing. It will draw users to your page and browse through albums or content. It also allows you to reach out to other markets and build stronger brand awareness. A business’ social media page should be in every way similar to their website. Color schemes, logos, etc. should all be identical to make them more recognizable and identifiable. It is important to also have the correct information of contact numbers or emails, addresses and domain names. This is not only helpful with your SEO but also makes you findable on other sites such as Yelp and Google Places.

Gift Vouchers/Birthday Cards/ Postal Mail:

Sending gift vouchers, birthday cards or post cards through mail to your clients is a personal touch that will be remembered. Less and less people are using postal mail these days with everything being communicated over the internet.  By keeping records of your databases birthdays or those that have spent a certain amount over a period of time, you can send incentives to show your consumers that they are important stake holders. It is also a tool to generate business by inviting people to buy with you because of the discount offered. Material sent out is also a constant reminder of your business. Magazines, postcards, posters will be kept by consumers and flipped or looked at before they’re thrown away. This is a good way to exhibit your branding and develop a stronger identity with your market.