Customers are the heart of any business. It is what marketers focus on day in and day out, how to please their customers. This means effectively communicating with them and providing what they need. It sounds easy but it’d harder than it sounds. With so many ways to touch a customer, sometimes it’s hard to know which one is right.

In addition, companies may be good at talking but are not so good at listening. It can be complicated to get the message out there.   We’ll examine some ways to effectively communicate with customers.

Keep your Communication Relevant

A lot of companies focus their content on what they want to tell their customers and don’t really take the time to listen to what their customers want. Be an active listener and find out what your customers are interested in. What is that they want to know about your product? What value can you add? What emotion are they trying to feel with your product? Use surveys, social media and other customer analytics to understand your customer’s needs. By creating relevant content that speaks directly to the customer helps to build brand loyalty and lets them know you are interested in them.

Use Social Media

  • Social media is a true method to provide that personal relationship that so many customers want. Through Facebook and Twitter, specifically, product updates and company information can continuously be made. It is ideal for two-way communication as well as customers can provide feedback, comments and other posts. Should your business opt to use social media, it is vital that staff is assigned to continuously update the sites, tweet and respond to comments. Your business will get valuable content information from engaging with customers through social media.

Keep Them Informed

Customers have become accustomed to getting the behind-the-scenes view of a company due to the growing number of social media platforms. Keeping them informed as much as possible about the going-ons on the inside will go a long way. If there are technical problems, shortage or outages, communicating with customers will help them feel like they are more than just contributors to the bottom line. Being direct and upfront will generate positive feelings and they will appreciate the honesty.

Keep it Simple

When developing your communication strategy, remember that it’s not just areas, demographics or data that you’re marketing to; it’s live, human beings. When your content can appeal to them on a personal level and elicit an emotional response, that’s when you’ll build trust and brand loyalty. If you need help developing your customer communications strategy, Contact Us we’ll devise an online marketing strategy for you.

SOCIAL MEDIA

FB, G+ – Wednesday

With so many ways to touch a customer, sometimes it’s hard to know which one is right. In addition, companies may be good at talking but are not so good at listening. It can be complicated to get the message out there.   We’ll examine some ways to effectively communicate with customers. (blog link) #CustomerCommunication

Twitter – Wednesday

Are you effectively communicating with your customers? (blog link) #CustomerCommunication

Twitter – Thursday

Soon you can use new search filters on Twitter to find the exact people and Tweets you want.  https://blog.twitter.com/2013/new-ways-to-search-on-twitter #TwitterSearch

FB, G+ – Friday

Twitter is adding new search filters to make it even easier to find, follow and comment on exactly what you want.  https://blog.twitter.com/2013/new-ways-to-search-on-twitter #TwitterSearch