Keeping connections open with your customers is a two-way relationship. Make sure that they are aware of any changes to their projects, schedules, or any new products, promotions, or services that they may be interested in.
Also, there is a real benefit to your customers feeling that they can contact your business at any time and that they are introduced to the teams working for them so that they know who they are talking to.
Having as many options available of how your customers can contact your business and specific teams is also very advisable. Not everyone is happy with an email or text message and prefers to speak to a person, whether it is via telephone call or via video link.
Keeping communication links open
It is important to keep all your communication links open so that your teams, wherever they are working, can talk about projects, gain ideas and keep on track with the customer brief and deadlines. It is also important that the customer is kept fully informed and can contact your team to discuss the project being worked on. Communication tools such as messaging apps, email services, and even digital fax for document transmission would be necessary to maintain good customer relations.
This is even more important to the media business when dealing with promotional videos. Being able to work in real-time with your customers and gaining their approval on vital parts of any promotional video can save so much time, which could otherwise jeopardize deadlines and customer confidence with your business. High-quality proofing software will provide your media team with different tools to allow you to meet your customer’s expectations and, therefore, will keep your customers happy and your communication links open.
Be open-minded and listen to what your customers tell you
Being open-minded and listening to what your customers tell you is not only about the brief for the work which you will be doing for them. While this is very important, it is also about listening to what your customers say about the level of service they have received and where they would like to see improvement if they feel that there should be some. Feedback is important to any business and should not be ignored just because you do not like what you hear, but it should be acted on. There is no breakdown of communication that can not be pulled back around to be made a positive connection again.
However, when talking about the project brief, remember that you are there to guide them and not make their decisions for them. If you feel that your customers are making the wrong decision, it is probably best to suggest a better way or an alternative and be sure to let them know why you are suggesting these changes without undermining your customer’s intelligence.
Improve your business’s customer relations
By having the right customer relationship software, you will be able to store all your customer’s details, order and payment history, and communications in one place, making it easier for you and your team to be able to see exactly what communication has happened between your business and your customers as well as being able to see the type of products which they are interested in. This will make it easier when it comes to selling to these customers again.
It will also mean that all your staff members have access to the information they require when dealing with your customer base, regardless of whether they are working remotely or are within the office environment.
By having documentation of all correspondence, including dates, you will be able to make sure that you do not duplicate any previous communications. This will ensure that you come across as a professional business.
Continuous training is a must for success
When it comes to most businesses, continuous training of employees is a must if you are looking for success within your chosen sector, and is even more important when dealing with technology as this is constantly changing and upgrading to provide these businesses with an ever-evolving world to offer their customers.
Employee training can take many forms. Whether it is on-the-job training, company training on-site, or carried out by an educational establishment online or on campus, it should be taken seriously and rewarded when completed to an acceptable standard.
There is more to training than just a qualification or a certificate. You will find that by giving your employees training, even if it is just on-site company training, it will improve employee morale and give confidence to the individuals involved, which improves production rates and quality of work. It has a knock-on effect as far as the level of service customers will gain and can therefore improve your reputation within your customer base.
Having fully trained or qualified employees will benefit your business greatly, especially if they are employees you have nurtured, from novices to experts. The bonus of this is that you already know the commitment of these workers before you invest in their future with your business. They will recognize that they have been selected or headhunted for improvement, which will again improve their morale, and they are more likely to stay within your business and become loyal employees rather than selecting someone who has just been hired who may only be hanging around long enough to gain the training and then be off for a job elsewhere.
To wrap things up
In order to keep your business moving forwards and being successful, you need to keep your communication links open between your individual team members as well as between your teams and the customers which they are serving. This will aid any projects and keep them moving smoothly towards their deadlines while keeping changes happening in real-time along the way, cutting down on the number of hold-ups or downtime due to missing information or waiting on your customer’s approval.
Make sure to ask for your customer’s feedback on their experience with your business and act on any comments raised. If there is praise, make sure that it is passed on to the teams it is aimed at. If there are areas that are lacking, make sure that they are addressed so that they do not happen again.
Improve your customer relations by making sure that your business always comes across as professional and support your teams with the right CRM software for your business needs.
Most importantly, keep your employee’s training so that you can offer your customers the very best service and products on the market. This, in turn, will make your business stand head and shoulders above all your competitors and keep your business with a cutting-edge reputation.
