Ensuring that your customers are happy should be one of the priorities. Otherwise, you are bound to fail as a business. And once your current and most loyal customers leave, do not expect an easy way back.
Oberlo explains how to measure customer satisfaction, and they emphasize the importance of it as well. Ultimately, no business can function without customers. And making them happy should always be a priority.
If you are still relatively new to the world of online marketing, ecommerce, or business in general, lack of experience can become a big hindrance. Thus, it is extra important to pay attention and do everything in your power to ensure customer satisfaction.
This guide ought to be a good reference for developing a solid strategy. Take all the steps mentioned below, and you should be good to go as far as relationships with customers go.
1- Keep up With Trends
Some trends come and go, but you should not underestimate how much of an impact a new advancement in technology can make. For example, there are quite a few developments in virtual reality, and it will not take too long before customers can experience products without leaving their homes.
The fact that you cannot try something is one of the biggest disadvantages of an online store. But customers who have such an option are bound to pay more attention to the store with the VR feature.
And this is just one example. Given the growth of ecommerce, even more new and innovative features are bound to appear in the future.
2- Engage Them
Customers will appreciate it a lot if you show them attention. At least the majority of them will. Engaging customers would mean being more active on social media, for instance. You could respond to as many comments as you can. Even hiring an extra person to manage social media would be a good idea, especially if you were to create a group or even a forum that would be a gathering place for customers. And this place would ultimately turn into a community hub.
3- Ask for Feedback
Constructive feedback and actively seeking for one would be one of the major points for businesses that are looking to succeed. And when it comes to customer feedback, you need to be extra cautious.
The reality is that the majority of customers will not bother with leaving any reviews after their purchase. You need to be clever and offer them some perks, such as a simple discount for the next purchase provided that they leave a review. Or maybe run a weekly contest for the best review every week? Whatever incentivizes more genuine feedback is of great use to you.
4- Improve Communication
Communication skills are necessary for every step of the way. If you have poor communication, people will not miss that and will react accordingly.
Hiring someone who would be in charge of communication is one of the best options out there. Running a business is one thing, but not everyone has the skills to understand what it takes to convey the message in a manner that is constructive and appeals to everyone, or at least to the majority of people.
Again, do not underestimate the importance of having the right resources for communication. And it is not just the customers. You will eventually cooperate with other brands and influencers for scaling purposes, and knowing how to communicate with them is also as important.
5- Develop Loyalty Program
A loyalty program is there to indicate your best customers that you care about them a lot. It is also an incentive to get an average person to spend more as well.
But the relationship improvements stem from the fact that you will provide a reward. Develop a system that functions as a VIP point program. Every purchase gives people points that can be exchanged for various perks. The perks could be free shipping, an exclusive piece of merchandise, or a simple discount.
6- Address Customer Support Concerns
Customer service should not be limited to a few people who work in shifts and cover the messages or phone calls coming your way 24/7. You need to look for constant improvements in this area as well.
One of the examples of a good change would be the introduction of a knowledge base. The information customers could find themselves would relieve the burden from the customer support department. And it is no secret that not every customer has the patience to wait around for a response. They would rather look for answers themselves.
Video guides, infographics, insightful articles, and an in-depth FAQ page are just a few examples of what makes a solid knowledge base.