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Ed Willmott

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Ed Willmott is a PR executive at Lava, an award-winning marketing communications agency in Lincoln. He is a B2B comms specialist, as well as a published academic. Ed has a first class PR degree from the University of Lincoln and previously worked as a freelance for the NHS, Nestle and the BBC.


In the past, businesses made money from simple transactions; I have something you want, and you have the money to buy what I’m selling. The deal was done. But the business world has changed. Customers want something different, something new, something personal. What customers really want is a relationship.

Think about your favourite brand – Apple? Audi? Ted Baker? Zara? Now think about why you like it – the products? The service? The sales staff? Or something different… Something you can’t quite put your finger on… Sounds familiar?

The brands we love connect with us on an emotional level. We don’t just like their products, we like their brand personality, we empathise with their corporate values and we trust the decisions they make. We enter into relationships with our favourite brands and we stay loyal to them.

However, like any relationship, a business-consumer bond is fragile. If you get it right you can retain custom, generate return sales and build a loyal following. But if you get it wrong, you can isolate customers and turn them against you.

Here, I’ve put together my top tips to building bonds, managing relationships and keeping customers happy. By following these simple ideas and tailoring them to your business, you too can create long-lasting connections and move forward into the future of business transactions.

Meet expectations

First things first, deliver what you say you will and make sure you can provide the same service again and again.

Your customers and clients need to trust you and trust is built by meeting expectations. When you tell a customer you’ll call them back, do it. When you promise to rectify an issue, do it. Trust is key to building great customer relationships.

Make it personal

No two customers are the same, but every customer wants to be considered as special and valued.

As a starting point, make a note of who customers are, what they buy, what they like, even what they dislike. You can then cater to their interests and make your service personal to them. The Tesco Clubcard is a prime example of this, rewarding customers for their loyalty and tailoring benefits to purchasing habits.

Listen

It’s a relationship, not a dictatorship. Customers hate to feel that everything is one way.

Instead, show them that you care about what they have to say. Show them respect and make sure they feel like more than just a sale.

Whether this is by engaging with them on social media, asking them to take part in improvement surveys, or, like business guru Pierre Danon, phoning up a selection and simply talking to them, demonstrate your commitment to making it reciprocal.

Respond

If it aint broke don’t fix it. If it is broken, get it sorted. It’s one thing to listen, it’s another to respond and react to what’s being said.

Customers want the latest, the newest, the most advanced and the coolest. Don’t keep your head in the sand, listen to how market requirements are changing and make sure you move with the times.

Ask your customer what they want, listen to what they need and react to meet expectations quickly and effectively. The decision is simple: keep ahead or prepare to watch your relationships waver and your customers find alternatives.

In conclusion, building and maintaining good relationships will always be the foundation to keeping customers happy. And remember, a happy customer is a loyal customer.

But how does your business approach customer relationships? I’d love to hear your thoughts. Why not leave me a comment or Tweet me @edwillmott.

Ed Willmott is a PR executive at Lava, an award-winning marketing communications agency in Lincoln. He is a B2B comms specialist, as well as a published academic. Ed has a first class PR degree from the University of Lincoln and previously worked as a freelance for the NHS, Nestle and the BBC.

Despite sustained economic growth during the first and second quarters of 2013, businesses nationwide are still faced with challenging market conditions.

In fact, with few companies reporting notable share price rises, minimal consumer spending figures and high lending charges across the UK, it seems that we have significant distance to go before reaching dry ground.

With this in mind, more and more businesses are looking towards marketing initiatives to maintain income and stay afloat. In particular, focus is being driven towards a customer-relations approach.

Although a simple principle, keeping your customers front of mind is essential to long-term business success. Long gone are the days of asymmetric communication, identifying quick leads and hard selling. Instead, focus must shift towards listening to your customers, reacting to their changing requirements, building trust and developing relationships.

Listening, however, is something often overshadowed by sales targets, promotional strategies and finance plans. But with daily reports of business bankruptcy, liquidation and administration, can you really afford not to?

Retaining customers: There is no straightforward equation to ensure a high customer retention rate. This said, we do know that trust, confidence and self-association are all key to building emotional bonds. Although this sounds complex, building and retaining trust is relatively simple. In fact, it should come naturally from good business practice.

I’ve put together some of the most popular examples to get you started:

Social media

From Facebook and Twitter to YouTube, Pinterest and blogging, social media gives a direct communications channel to engage with stakeholders, interact directly, respond to queries and monitor feedback. Free to set up, simple to run and easy to manage, social media is one of the most effective relationship management tools.

Digital marketing

With over 85% of the population online, 74% using email and nearly 35% owning a tablet device, digital marketing techniques, such as infographics and e-newsletters, can provide a great way to stay in contact and build relationships.

Personalised, targeted and cost-effective, e-newsletters are a great way to keep front of mind, tell customers about the latest news and views, as well as ask for feedback. Cloud-based software, such as Mailchimp and Bronto, can distribute information free of charge, as well as provide open and click-through reports, giving useful data capture information.

Direct mail

Developing relationships, building confidence and engaging customers relies on consistent impact and repetition. Although historically used to advertise, direct mail is a great engagement tool. You can let customers know about the latest products, provide discount offers, give them something for nothing and easily keep front of mind.

Low cost and powerful, direct mail is still the most widely used marketing tool and a great tactic to build relationships.

Rewards

Something as simple as saying thank you can help to retain custom. From loyalty cards and vouchers to repeat purchase rewards, events and priority services, delivering a personal approach and ensuring each customer is considered a valued individual can develop strong bonds.

This can even be integrated with social media, digital marketing, direct mail and other marketing tools to ensure increase influence and ensure communications efficiency. Although just a few ideas of customer relations tactics, the tactics above give insight into the importance of listening, rewarding, responding and actioning.

But what works for your business? How do you approach retention? I’d love to hear examples and feedback, so why not leave me a comment, tweet me @edwillmott, or email [email protected].

Ed Willmott is a PR executive at Lava, an award-winning marketing communications agency in Lincoln. He is a B2B comms specialist, as well as a published academic. Ed has a first class PR degree from the University of Lincoln and previously worked as a freelance for the NHS, Nestle and the BBC.

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