At a time when a pandemic accelerated the digital transformation, the way you interact with your customers online can make or break your small business.
Online shopping has grown into a multi-billion dollar industry, with an estimated over two billion people worldwide purchased goods online. If your small business is not offering outstanding experiences and services over the web, you’ll get left behind in an increasingly competitive market.
Achieving a strong online presence for your small business means so much more than just putting up a website. Now more than ever, businesses of all sizes and types are compelled to reassess how they communicate with customers and adapt to their ever-changing behaviors and preferences. This is crucial not only to attract new customers but also to build and maintain relationships that last.
Benefits of Effective Digital Communication with Customers
Just because small businesses have a small budget doesn’t mean that they have limited options for online communication channels. On the contrary, small businesses have a wide array of digital platforms available to them to leverage their ability to build relationships with customers.
Here are some key benefits of online communication platforms for small businesses:
- Save time, effort, and resources. You can send out messages to your customers via SMS, Facebook Messenger or other social media, and other digital channels with little to no investment. These cost-effective methods let you send out messages in bulk and reach more customers for less.
- Fast and direct. With online platforms, you get to communicate with your consumers in real-time and respond to their inquiries and concerns promptly and honestly.
- Reach customers anytime, anywhere. These digital channels enable you to expand your scope and target audiences from around the globe.
- Customize or personalize messages. Online communication channels allow you to improve conversational marketing techniques and get to know your consumers better through feedback and input.
- Monitor and track responses. These channels may come with data analytics to provide valuable insights that help you fine-tune your online campaigns.
How to Effectively Boost Customer Relationships Online
People are more connected and empowered than ever because of online communication channels. That’s why it’s critical for your business to meet and engage customers where they are. Here are simple, practical yet powerful ways to improve online customer relationships and elevate the customer experience amid the pandemic.
- Humanize Your Small Business
Empathy goes a long way when building and reinforcing online and offline customer relationships. When you respond to inquiries, concerns, and comments online, do your messages sound like you care? Is the tone of your language kind and personal?
Forge an emotional bond with your customers online by treating them with kindness and respect. You can do this by personalizing your messages and uniquely connecting with each person. Using emojis, exclamation points, and the like can help set the mood of the conversation, inject purposeful emotion, and leave a lasting impression on your customers and leads.
Also, do your best to respond to your customers’ queries as quickly and as comprehensively as you can. This way, you’ll be perceived as a small business that people can rely on for prompt solutions to issues.
- Encourage Feedback and Reviews
What better way to track your consumers’ changing needs, expectations, and preferences than to regularly seek their feedback, opinions, and suggestions. Maximize every opportunity to let your consumers know that you want to hear from them.
Sending out surveys and getting suggestions through email, website, and social media are surefire ways to gain valuable insights into your consumers’ current desires, goals, and preferences. You can use these insights to enhance your marketing campaigns and improve your products and services.
Allowing reviews on your online channels and empowering your audiences to share their thoughts and opinions promote the transparency and trustworthiness of your small business.
Always thank customers and respond to their feedback, whether positive or negative. Make sure that each complaint is handled in the best way possible so that you can turn a negative customer experience into a positive one and gain brand advocates for your small business.
- Reward Loyal Customers
Drive engagement and brand loyalty by rewarding your repeat customers. For example, you can boost customer loyalty through SMS marketing by sending out coupons, discounts, early shopping privileges, and limited-time offers or inviting your returning customers to a loyalty program. This will not only increase your small business’s revenue but also enable you to nurture your relationships with consumers.
Social media channels offer exciting ways for you to interact and reward repeat consumers while generating buzz for your small business. Try hosting live Facebook chats and giveaways or run contests and facilitate games with top-notch prizes.
- Follow-up and Keep in Touch
It pays to be proactive when strengthening and growing customer relationships online. Show them that you value their loyalty and trust by sending occasional emails or updates about your products and services.
Your emails and social media channels can also be easily configured to send customers virtual birthday and holiday greeting cards. Explore every opportunity to stay on top of their minds and make them feel appreciated.
Putting Customers at Heart
Doing business on the internet is the new norm, and the key to your small business success is how well you manage your customer relationships online. Putting in the time, effort, and resources to build quality relationships online will not only grow your business but also set you apart from the competition.