Client Relationships: If The Client’s Happy, Everybody’s Happy

We all know that an unhappy client can damage the reputation of your business with one strategically placed social media post. What we often forget about is the importance of our loyal, satisfied customers. Those clients who keep coming back are a business’s greatest asset — they take far less effort to retain than it would take to draw in new customers. By maintaining contact with them and showing that you value them and their continued business, you can be sure that they will keep coming back, recommending you to others and hopefully, become your brand champions. Here are some ideas on how to keep these client relationships strong:

Be consistent in your values
The key to earning brand loyalty from your existing clients is, above all else, consistently living up to your brand values. Of course first, you need to know what your brand values are — so figure this out first! Hopefully you have created your company’s vision and mission statements based on an assessment of these values, which will make it very easy to identify what you need to do to stay true to them. Whether your company values quality, reliability, exemplary customer service, affordability, or even fun, be sure that your marketing and business practices reflect these values consistently at every turn. By doing so, you’ll avoid confusing your clients and build trust in your brand image.

Acknowledge your history with your clients
Long-time clients can sometimes use a reminder of your appreciation. Delivering the same great product and service day in and day out is priority number one, but a little something extra now and then reaffirms the positive relationship and their desire to continue working with you — rather than be lured away by a shiny new competitor.

Acknowledgment can be as simple as an extra special social media shout-out. I’m not talking just your regular Follow Friday tweet, but a genuine message of appreciation. Something along the lines of “We’d like to take the time to thank Business XYZ for being a long-time client. If you need (your roof reshingled/dog walked/an amazing risotto), we highly recommend you check them out. They are a wonderful company!”

Detailed shout-outs like this have more of an impact because they are unexpected; they remind your client that you do notice and appreciate their continued business.

Listen to your clients and fine-tune your offerings
What do your clients need? What are they asking for? What have they requested you offer more of? Really listen and be attentive to their business needs at every opportunity. It’s possible that they are looking for a service that you already offer or could easily add to your repertoire, and by letting them know, you could offer them even better service than you already do (they may also save money by having more needs met in one place rather than going elsewhere for that one thing).

I found myself in this situation when I noticed that my clients were asking for help with their LinkedIn more often. I already offered some LinkedIn services, however they weren’t on my radar as a big seller and so I wasn’t promoting them much. Once I knew that it was something my customers needed more of, I created a new package that bundled these services together (including LinkedIn profile optimization, updates and articles) and it quickly became my leading seller.

If you need help building a social media presence that reflects your core values, I would love to sit down with you and draw out a strategy.Give me a call to get started!