5 formas de crear relaciones con los clientes y su importancia

Any business owner can tell you how important it is to build relationships with customers—good ones. Connecting with what matters to your customer, not just in terms of product or services but in the way they expect to be treated, is key to understanding your customers’ needs. This is important to do business with them. But it also stands to provide future benefits to you as well. That is to say, build great relationships with customers and you may gain their returning business and potential referrals as well. 

But how do you build a relationship with a customer that suits both their needs and your resources? Let us analyse the types of customer relationships you can build and the keys behind how to build good relationships with customers that you need to consider for a successful business.

Build Relationships with Customers by Knowing Your Options

Essentially, when we talk about customer relationships, we are talking about the types of relationships your company establishes with specific customer or customer segments. To decide on this, your approach to building client relationships should focus on a few questions: 

• What type of relationship does your customer expect from you?
• Which types of customer relationships have you established so far?
• How costly are these relationships, both in time and resources?
• How do they integrate with the rest of your business model?

Once you have an answer to these questions, you will have a clear path before connecting with your customers. These relationships will be established through your different communication channels, and will deeply influence the overall customer experience.

Types of Customer Relationships

When thinking about your approach to building client relationships, you should know that no type of relationship is inherently better than others. The perfect type of customer relationship will depend on the products and services you offer, the types of clients you are after, and the combination of their expectations and your resources. 

Transactional

You interact with your customer on a transactional basis. This means that you do not build any real relationship with your customer. Also, any connection you may have with them is over once the sales interaction is over.

Long-Term

You interact with your customer regularly. Your relationship is both long-term and likely deep, as it is established over time. 

Personal Assistance

Your relationship with your customer is based on human interaction. Clients can communicate with a real customer representative to get help during the sales process or even after it. While it will require you to spend more resources, it also makes it more likely for your customer to feel heard and taken care of.

Dedicated Personal Assistance

Each one of your customers has a specific customer representative that takes care of them. This ensures they develop a strong relationship based on an understanding of their needs, and usually goes on for a long time. Oftentimes, this type of relationship is reserved for high-end clients. For example, platinum members for credit cards or private banking services.

Self-Service

You provide no personalised assistance to your client and thus build no direct relationship with them. Instead, you ensure they are provided with all the necessary means for customers to help themselves.

Regardless of the way you choose to connect with your users, to build a great relationship with customers and keep them strong, you must do all you can to engage with them.

But how do you build your relationship with a customer? Here are our five recommendations.

Techniques to Build Relationships with a Customers

Communicate

Communication is an essential way to building client relationships. While most companies may think about communication in marketing terms, rather than just telling customers about your business, aim to have conversations with customers. This type of behaviour should not just be behind your overarching strategy. Instead, you should ensure it is happening at every potential point of contact your customers may have with your company. Teaching your employees how to effectively communicate with customers, for example, is key. Maintain an employee policy that requires timely follow-ups. This will make sure the customer’s needs are met, and make sure your staff returns voicemail messages and emails promptly. This will streamline communications, and help you build good relationships with customers.

Exceed Expectations

Customers will always expect great service, so being consistent about this is key. A great way to do this is to under-promise and over-deliver. Of course, anything you promise must still be enough to entice your customers. However, being able to deliver much more than what they expect will surely impress customers, and will in turn make them keep coming back.

Ask for Feedback

Asking for feedback is a great opportunity to build great relationships with customers. It offers a double benefit. Whether they have a good or bad opinion about your business, customers will make their thoughts known. Asking for feedback offers them a chance to say what is on their mind and makes them feel heard. Also, this is a learning opportunity where your company stands to improve something that may be causing friction with your customers. Customer feedback helps you improve your customer experience. And the better your offering meets their needs, the more your business will grow. However, be mindful. If you ask a customer for feedback, you need to be ready to address their concern in some way. Not addressing negative feedback can have dire consequences!

Show Appreciation

When it comes to long-time customers, a great way to continue fostering those client relationships is to offer them benefits or discounts for consistently choosing you as their preferred business. This reinforces the idea that continuing to choose you is the best way to go. Also, it helps you appear more attractive in potential customers’ minds. It is a small yet effective way to say thank you to customers while keeping your business top-of-mind.

Translate Your Content

Content translation is a great way to connect to people on a deeper level and build relationships. Also, despite the growing use of English, content translation increases brand confidence and consumer trust. CSA research found that more than 75% of consumers found that “seventy-five per cent of respondents say that they’re more likely to purchase the same brand again if customer care is in their language.”

Final Thoughts on Building Relationships with Customers

Your approach to building relationships with customers will influence the types of business you attract, which will in turn define the success of your company.

At Optimational, we aim to create deeply personalised relationships that fit our client’s needs and are adapted to their company goals. We are interested in not just translating your content but in truly communicating your message. Do not hesitate to contact our translation experts today and learn how our language specialists can help you.