To some degree the methods that you use to develop customer loyalty will vary depending on whether your customers are individuals or businesses. Also the circumstances in which you have contact with the customer will vary considerably.
In some cases you may only have brief, but hopefully repeated, face-to-face contact with the customer, such as in a shop. In others you might only deal with customers from a distance, such as an online business. Whereas in still others the contact may be ongoing over a period of time, such as a solicitor’s practice.
But the bottom line is that these days customers must not only like and trust you but they must also regard you as a useful resource in developing their own businesses and personal lives. So you must be able to have personal, business and corporate rapport with them.
Personal Rapport
You must build a personal relationship with your customer as well as a transactional relationship.
You must show that you genuinely care about them and their concerns and that the relationship is not solely business related.
When people feel valued by you they’re much more likely to be loyal to you.
Business Rapport
When your customer is a business they must see you as a resource in helping them to drive their business forward and meet their goals. So make sure you understand the reason why they shop with you. What are the needs they’re fulfilling?
Then make sure that you introduce them to potential employees and customers which are relevant to their business.
Approximately two thirds of customers stop shopping with a supplier because they feel their supplier has become indifferent to their needs. Avoid falling into that category.
Corporate Rapport
When your customer is an organisation, it’s essential that you have a good relationship with many people within the organisation. This allows you to have a secure overall relationship with the client generally and not just with one individual within the customer organisation.
Recently a client of ours lost a customer as the purchasing officer retired and the new appointee decided to, for costs reasons, change suppliers even though it will be probably be detrimental to his business in the long run.
Call Now
Why not call Seamus Parfrey today on 021 431 0266 and see how we can help you continue to grow your business.
See also: 8 Useful Customer Service Statistics