As a sales representative, it’s your job to maintain relationships with customers to ensure that they keep coming back for more. By keeping your existing customers happy, you can boost your chances of referrals, and ultimately, your top line. Let’s take a look at some tips you can take into account to transform your customers into a loyal army of advocates.
Anticipate wants and needs
Don’t be afraid to work with data to uncover behavioral trends among your customers, so you can give them more of what they’re looking for. If you use a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) platform, such as Hubspot or Salesforce, dig in to understand which emails customers click on, what type of outreach drives purchases and what content interests them.
Connect on an emotional level
When you get the opportunity, ask your customers up front what they are looking for in a product or service to get a better understanding of their pain points. Then, put yourself in their shoes. By empathizing with them, you can make a lasting impression while also addressing their needs.
Provide a top-notch customer experience
In addition to practicing empathy, give your customers an experience that’s one for the books. To achieve this, make each experience personal. Address customers by name. Think of each individual’s particular pain points, provide thoughtful solutions, and handle any negative feedback in the way that the customer needs.
Celebrate customer milestones
Birthdays, for example, can give you a reason to celebrate patrons with extra goodies and perks if they spend a certain amount with you. Building dedication doesn’t have to just come in the form of a standard loyalty program, which offers rewards to all customers for their business. Rather, find ways to single out “high return” individuals, so they feel special.
Give your patrons a voice
Encourage your customers to sound off on social media, whether it’s with general feedback or product reviews. Work to develop a presence on social media that you can use to connect with customers on a one-on-one basis. The goal is to make every patron feel like an individual.
Practice transparency
Don’t hesitate to give customers a “behind the scenes” look at how your company operates. People like to feel good about what they are investing their money in, and this can encourage them to refer your business to others. You can offer to show your customers a look at how foodservice equipment is made, for instance, at the factory level.
Communicate with customers on their own terms
Whether they want to communicate via email or Facebook, make yourself available to customers on the platform of their choice. Similarly, you’ll want to ensure that you are available during convenient times during the day, whether it’s before- or after-work hours.
Reaping the benefits of reliable foodservice equipment.
By taking some of these tips into consideration, you can build upon personal relationships with customers and back it all with reliable Hatco equipment. In the end, you’ll have your own loyal army of advocates — such as this happy customer — to sing your praises and drive more business!
