Successful businesses know how to talk to their customers. They understand the language to use, are available to answer questions and provide excellent service every time. Well, that’s the idea – although as everybody knows, it doesn’t always work out that way. However, it’s that ideal that your business should strive for. Let’s take a look at how you can start to communicate with your customers in a better way.
Be consistent
Having a consistent message and tone of voice is important because it lets the customer know what to expect. People like familiarity and respond better to it. Consistency also allows you to make the odd mistake here and there – nobody can be perfect all of the time. However, if your mistake is one of many and your approach to communication is mixed and chaotic, your customers will be less forgiving.
Be sociable – in the right places
OK, so we’ve just been talking about consistency in your tone of voice. However, that doesn’t mean you should adopt the same tone for all of your marketing channels. For example, your social media marketing might need a less stuffy tone of voice than your landing pages. You need to be friendly, and light-hearted enough in your social media marketing so that it stimulates people. Give them interesting statistics, make them smile, and improve their days. If you are always selling to people on your social media accounts, they will start to ignore you.
Be there
One of the most frustrating things for a customer is to not be able to get in touch with you when they need you. Or, having to wait days – or even weeks – to get back to you. It’s a good idea to have plenty of people ready to answer phones and emails, and to do so promptly. Not only is it professional, but it is also courteous. If you don’t have enough employees to manage, then think about outsourcing to a call center or similar service. Also, think about your contact details – are they easy to find? Make sure you have clear lines of communication on your website and any business literature that you print.
Listen more
Listening to your customers will give you two things. The first is your customers respect. They will like the fact that you listen to their concerns, and will put it down as excellent customer service. Secondly, listening will also provide you with a lot of data on what your business is doing right, and wrong. Both of these benefits will help you strengthen your understanding of what you need to do, and help your business stand out from the rest.
With any luck, this guide will have given you some ideas on how to better your communications. It is simple stuff on paper – but it can be tricky to turn into reality. Hard work, good staff training, and dedication to providing the best possible service to your customers will help you on your way. Good luck!
Photo Credit: Flickr
