We recently celebrated Customer Appreciation Day, which made us consider, “How do our customers prefer we connect?” We posted a poll on LinkedIn to gain valuable feedback on our follower’s thoughts, asking the question:
What is the BEST way to practice outreach with your clients?
The response options were:
• Email • Phone • In-Person Visit • Other (please comment)
In doing so, we also researched strategies to strengthen our connections and build more meaningful relationships. Customers drive our business, and their behavior offers great insight into which motivating factors (e.g., benefits, values, solutions, features, etc.) influence their decision to remain loyal or seek an alternative provider. The poll results may be a surprise to some, as a phone call received only 10% of votes, while an email received 37%. An In-Person Visit was the clear winner, with 49% of the votes. According to Motista, face-to-face interaction builds loyalty and trust, creating an emotional relationship. In fact, customers with an emotional relationship to a brand have a 306% higher lifetime value and recommend the brand 71% of the time versus the average rate of 45% (Motista.com).
We also included the “Other” category to gain additional insight. One person responded that his client prefers different methods of contact in the morning versus the afternoon, but said that ultimately, “Getting to know your customers is the key to effective communication.” We couldn’t agree more, as adding that personal touch to every encounter makes all the difference. Be intentional with your outreach. It is those authentic and genuine interactions that allow you to discover the real reason for your customer’s frustration or delight (genesys.com).
In summary, don’t use a one-size-fits-all approach with your customers. They want to be seen, heard, and feel special. Customize your interactions based upon your conversations and feedback to build the relationship and gain trust. Check-in, respond to concerns, and make interactions more personal instead of transactional. Interested in learning more about your customers? Create your own poll to learn how your customers prefer to connect. Your customers will thank you.
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