Last Updated on July 14, 2019 by Jessica Adams
If you run a business, you know that your ability to communicate with your clients and customers are some of the most important aspects of your overall business. The key is to always put them first so that they know they are valued and appreciated.
This will keep you in their good graces and the appreciation will be reciprocated by way of your continued business relationship. In my humble opinion, the best way to nurture this very important relationship is through consistent and effective communication.
Remember that customers appreciate any extra attention that they are given. They understand that running a business is time-consuming, so any time that you go out of your way to check in on them and their business won’t go unnoticed.
In this case, consistency doesn’t necessarily equal reaching out on a weekly basis. But if you make a point to genuinely communicate with your clients at a given date and time, this will help you stand out from all your competitors.
There are several ways to better communicate with your clients and customers, all of them well-known. It’s how you utilize these methods of communication for ultimate efficiency, that will help you stand out in their minds.
How To Better Communicate
With Your Clients & Customers
Good Old Fashion Email
Email is the most common form of communication among businesses and with their customers. Do you know the saying “clean as you go”?
My mom used to say that to me when I was doing something in the kitchen as a child. If I cleaned up and put things away as I was cooking, there wasn’t a lot to do by the time I was done.
What does this have to do with email? I’m getting there! I was reading an article about small business email hosting. I don’t know if you’re aware but your web host also most likely offers email hosting. “But I already have Gmail Jess….jeez!” Well, imagine for a minute that your Gmail and web host account existed in a singular, joint account.
Now, picture yourself having a way to organize your website stats on a particular client (what they’ve opted in for, most read posts/pages, etc), search for email communications between you and this client, also any related content sent back & forth?
Drafting a brief email, prepping for a coffee chat or quick call would be a lot easier with all that searchable data in a single location. And let’s face it, in business, your email and website are the two tabs on your browser that are always open, am I right? Let’s close a tab and streamline that communication more efficiency!
ChatBots or Instant Messenger
You can also add the feature of ChatBots on your website or leave your Instant Messenger (IM) chat feature open on your Facebook Business Page.
It’s important to make sure that you’re incredibly prompt with answering since that is the whole point of having this feature! If you’re shooting for maximum communication and efficiency, you’ll need to respond almost immediately.
This is why, to be honest, I’m not the biggest fan of chat features. I’m the type of person that appreciates some notice before I have to be ON. I do like that chat features offer both existing and potential clients, easy access to someone in my business.
Personally, though, I feel that monitoring this particular feature should be outsourced but that’s just me! The truth is, if you can respond to an IM or chatbot in under an hour, customers will usually wait. They would gladly choose to wait for someone to chat with about their request or issue while surfing the web!
If they have a question about something but don’t want to wait days for an email response, it’s definitely the quicker option. Just be sure to state the amount of time it will take for someone to get back to them, in your SET away message (unless you or your magical assistant are sitting right there).
It’s Time For a Coffee Chat (you can
have online)
Skype, Facetime, Zoom or just the video option in a chat box or Instant Messenger. The ability to sit across from someone “face-to-face” while wearing your pajama pants, is simply the best invention.
It allows you the reap the benefit of being able to look them in the eye and gain their trust, without being in the same room!
Now of course, if you and your client happen to be in the same city (a rare thing these days, doing business online), then you should totally grab a coffee!
The best bit of advice when conversing with a customer face to face is to put yourself in their shoes and think about how you’d want to be treated. Body language is everything and it communicates so much more than you’d imagine! People judge you on your body language within the first few seconds of seeing you.
So, if someone comes into your store or office (assuming you can see them coming!), you should make a point to relax your shoulders, face, and hips, and share a natural smile. This will help to relax all of you, your mind and body. Your open body language should communicate your sincerity and professionalism.
Make a Quick Phone Call
We’ve all been “on the phone”, I mean really on it since we were in middle school. Having to make a quick phone call is hardly a chore for anyone in our generation!
I think this is why people assume that cold calling shouldn’t be an issue because we’re the “communication generation”.
Sitting in the call center and randomly bothering people you don’t know is a very different experience from getting to call one of your clients or customers from your office (or home office!).
Our clients know that we’re busy, they’re the ones who keep us in business and that is no small feat. To be clear, I’m not talking about reaching out to every single person who has purchased your $10 eBook.
Your time and energy are best spent nurturing the relationships you’ve built with your recurring clients and customers. Communicating with them even once a month, thanking them for their continued trust in you and support for your business, it means everything to them to hear they’re making a difference.
When you communicate directly with someone who may feel like they’re 1 in 100 (and they may be), they feel like they should….like they’re the only one. Because on that monthly call, for those 10 minutes, they are the only one and you appreciate them.
Do you have any communication tips that have proven effective with your clients or customers? Would you mind sharing one or two tips in the comments below?
Let’s communicate with each other right here on our site! You never know, we could each learn something new to try with our own clients!
Jessica Rose Adams
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