We live in a world that is more connected than ever before. Businesses have to adapt to the changing times and make themselves as responsive as possible to their clients. There are plenty of different means of communication out there, and you need to make sure that you are on top of them.
Customers are more impatient than ever before these days and likely to move onto another business if they are not receiving a good enough level of service. Here are a few of the ways that you can build that link between customer and business.
Live Chat
Live chat has become a firm favorite among customers as they can receive quick and easy responses to their questions with minimal fuss. These days, younger people, in particular, are less willing to pick up the phone and more likely to log onto an app. Whoever is in charge of your live chat function needs to be properly trained on how to use it. Alternatively, a lot of companies looking to outsource this particular function. If this is a path you are thinking of going down yourself, it is certainly worth looking into live chat pricing options. A frequently asked questions page can work well in conjunction with your live chat as people are able to browse through some of their most common queries before committing to getting in touch with one of your agents.
Related: What is a Chatbox? Methods to Increase Conversion on the Site Using Live Chats
Social Media
Social media is perhaps the most obvious modern way to open up a dialogue with your customers. Of course, there are all sorts of platforms out there, so you need to choose the ones that are going to be most beneficial to your company. As well as this, you need to ensure that you have a clear content plan and keep them all updated with fresh and interesting posts. Encourage interaction with your consumers to make sure that the dialogues are two-way. From time to time, you need to review your social media activity to work out which posts are working well and which of them need to be further refined and improved. Social media is an area that moves at a rapid rate, and you cannot afford to get left behind with so many other businesses hot at your heels.
Related: 10 Unique Ways to Advertise Your Business and Stand Out
Write a Blog
A blog page on your website is important for a couple of main reasons. First of all, it gives you a form of connection with your customers, as well as establishing yourself as an authoritative voice in your sector. Beyond this, it is also important from a search engine optimization (SEO) point of view. Customers need to be able to seek out your website with ease, and one of the best ways of ensuring this is with a regularly maintained blog page. Just like your social media accounts, you need to take the time to create a content calendar. This way, you always have at least a rough idea of what you are going to be posting and when. Otherwise, it is likely to be the case that you struggle to come up with ideas and don’t write as often as you should.
Ask Customers to Complete Surveys
Unfortunately, for too many business owners, customers are there to be told what they want rather than listened to. However, if you open up a dialogue with them, you get a much better understanding of what they are seeking out in a business, and you can adapt your products and services accordingly. One of the best ways of finding out what customers are looking for is by asking them to complete surveys. You can advertise these on your social media accounts or send them directly out to customer emails. Sometimes, people are not that keen on filling in surveys. One of the best ways of overcoming this initial reluctance is to enter them into a competition or similar. This way, they are properly incentivized and more likely to get involved.
Attend Networking Events and Trade Shows
A big part of making yourself known as a business is putting your face out there again and again. Networking events and trade shows may seem old fashioned in some ways, but they can also be highly useful ways of putting yourself out there. The great thing about these events is that they can be targeted to your specific industry. This means that you are meeting the right people and certainly not in danger of wasting your time for any reason.
Before you go to these events, it is important to perfect your elevator pitch. This means summing up your business and everything that it has to offer as succinctly as possible. Remember, there are a lot of other people at the event who are all clamoring for attention, so you need to stand out from the crowd in any way that you can. Bear in mind that attending the event itself is only half the battle. Afterward, you need to follow up to make sure that your business stays fresh in the mind of attendees.
Stay Active on Forums
The virtual version of the events above can also prove to be an invaluable way of putting yourself out there. Forums exist for all sorts of industries, and you always notice that there are some people that are more active than others. So, if you make yourself busy on these sites, you are likely to generate the attention that you are looking for, develop a following, and establish your expertise in the area. When people see that you are knowledgeable in a particular area, they are more likely to come to your business and see exactly what you have to offer.
Connecting with customers is one of the cornerstones of running a modern business, and certainly, an area that cannot be overlooked for any reason. So, by using a combination of the above techniques, you can create a better link between consumer and business that carries you through to greater business success.
