What is the best way to communicate with your customers? 3 tips for clear communication
The increasing degree of digitalisation in our modern world means customers are becoming ever-more demanding: they are exposed to a wider offering via the Internet, which enables them to compare different options, and they expect a reply to their enquiries at any time of day. How can you effectively respond to these developments and keep your customers satisfied? Follow the three tips below to ensure effective communication with your customers.
1. Keep your customer in the loop
Customers like to be aware of the latest developments so that they know where they stand. For example, if you're repairing a part for your customer that is critical to their business, it is important to keep the customer involved in the process. Listen carefully to the customer, discuss what they expect from you and agree on what action to take. When you communicate with a customer, it is important that you treat them not as a stranger, but more like a member of the family. You can achieve this by expressing sincere interest and paying attention to the customer. A good example is complaint handling: has your customer lodged a complaint that you have now resolved? In that case, be sure to let them know! This tells the customer that you have taken the time to investigate the complaint and they will feel satisfied knowing that they have been listened to. Many organisations think that the main reason for dissatisfied customers relates to the service or product that the organisation sells. This is not true: the primary cause of dissatisfaction is when a customer does not feel valued by a company or gets the impression that customers are not important. This emphasises just how important personal contact and care can be.
2. Be open with your customers, even if you have bad news
And what if something goes wrong? We are all human and everyone makes mistakes. If that happens to you, come clean to the customer and do not wait too long to make the call. If a customer has a complaint about delivery times, invoices or some other common issue, make sure to be as transparent as possible and admit that you have made a mistake. Transparency can be very helpful when handling complaints: if customers are kept up to date with all processes from the outset, they will be more understanding about setbacks than if they had been kept in the dark the entire time. Many companies fall into the trap of not mentioning setbacks because they want to keep customers satisfied and think that they can work out a solution in the meantime. Avoid worst-case scenarios and be open, fair and transparent. Not knowing what is going on makes customers feel uncertain, which results in dissatisfaction. Nothing is more annoying than having to wait a long time for something if you don't know how long it will take. But as long as you keep your customers up to date with everything, they won’t be able to say that they were kept in the dark. They are certain to appreciate your openness.
3. Treat each customer differently
To make things even more difficult, there is no one-size fit all when it comes to communicating with your customers. Every customer is different and it is your responsibility to have a sufficiently good understanding of their preferences. You can then capitalise on this understanding by tailoring your communication style accordingly. Some customers much prefer informal contact: be bold and ask your customers if it would be okay to keep them in the loop via WhatsApp. And if some of them say "no", don't be embarrassed that you asked. You tried your best to be flexible and adapt to your customer's needs, which is good. Customers who prefer not to use channels such as WhatsApp can always be contacted by email or phone. And make sure that you do keep in contact! This way, customers won’t be able to complain that you are not keeping them sufficiently informed. If you find it difficult to assess how your customer wants to communicate with you, simply propose a few different ways and let the customer choose. This shows that you are open to whatever works best.
Would you like more information about the best way to support your customers? Please contact us and we will be happy to help you further.
