A very vital determinant of the success of any business is the customer-base. Obviously, customers are the primary and arguably the sole reason why anyone is into business. This is why, as a business person, you have to know how to relate with your customers, not just to maintain them but to also grow more customers. A lot of people do not know that one customer that is satisfied can become a promotion to get other customers for you. In the same way, one customer that is dissatisfied can cost you future customers. So relate well with your customers.
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A few days back, I took one of my plain materials to a particular tailor within my neighbourhood to help me sew it. The way he attended to me felt so good and when I chose the style, he told me the day it will be ready. A day before the collection date, he sent me a reminder that my cloth was ready. It was so great. When I got to pick it up, it was amazing - he did an excellent job. Guess what I did? My group was looking for a tailor to sew their uniform for them, so I quickly recommended my group leader to the tailor. Just by satisfying a customer (me), he got over 30 more customers, and these customers will also recommend others to him. Imagine if he did not do well the first time, he would have missed out of the future customers.
Now, one may ask how can someone or a business person build a relationship with their customers to secure their patronage and gain more customers? Let us look at them:
1. Give the customers exactly what they want
This is a very vital and obviously the lifeline of customer retention. The truth is that as long as you give the customers what they want and when they want it, they will always come back for it. While growing up, there was this popular woman that was into selling of grilled and roasted yam. People would leave other sellers even from other streets to come to buy from the woman, simply because of the way she spices up the yam and the packaging. It made customers to always look for her. You have to note that you need to give customers what they really want, not what you assume or what you feel like. After all, you need them to patronise you.
2. Give listening ears to customers
There are times when customers would want to give you their feedback on your product/services, or a complaint, suggestion, or other things, just try to listen to them first before you make recommendations or comments. Sometimes, the complaints may not even be logical and may look annoying, but you have to learn to separate your emotions from your business so that it will not weaken the business. More so, if a customer knows you will always listen to what they have to say, you have already secured their patronage. This is because humans are wired in such a way that they grow affinity for people that give them listening ears.
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3. Proper and good communication
When dealing with your customers and when talking with them, you have to learn to to effectively communicate with them. The truth is that a wrong choice of word can discourage them from patronizing you, but a right word can go a long way to secure their patronage. When communicating with your customers over your product/services, you have to be as clear as possible, and be honest with them. If they notice dishonesty in your communication, you may lose them as customers.
4. Appreciate their patronage
As much as you are a business person, it is still not your right to be patronized, it is a privilege and as such, you need to show appreciation to your customers to encourage them to do more. You can even create a reward system that will give incentives to customers for their patronage. No matter what you sell or the service you offer, someone else also offers a similar service, so you do not have to take the patronage of your customers lightly. Always learn to appreciate them.
Thanks for reading
