We all have a brand that comes to mind first when asked what our favorite car or soft drink is. Becoming that first thought in your customer’s mind is the goal of relationship marketing. Yours should be the first name that they think of when they need a product or service that you provide. This brand awareness is sometimes referred to as “brain share”.
Customers remember businesses that provide them with a feeling that they are really being taken care of. Not just when they have a problem but all the time. This means providing the customer with the little things.
Little things make a big difference when it comes to customer service. It can be as simple as keeping a record of browsing history so you can recommend similar products. Taking care of problems, maintaining the site so it is always available, providing easy to use interfaces and offering a wide arrange of payment options such as credit cards, electronic check or PayPal can go a long way to helping with customer retention but these types of things require planning and organization to accomplish.
Your customer service training should focus on things like what to look for in a customer that needs help. How to notice the small things that can offer the benefit of insight into the customer and what they are looking for. It is these insights that provide the ability to give the little extra to your customers. You can do this online by tracking what customers look for, what their browsing history is like, and then provide suggestions that direct customers to products that are similar to what they are looking for. Customer service is different online than in person only in the method in which customer service is accomplished.
Relationship marketing is about creating an impression significant enough and frequently enough that you gain customer loyalty. This helps you to retain your customers, having them become repeat buyers. This actually increases the profitability of your company as well and can provide a stable business base.
Make sure that your products and/or services are taking up the majority of “brain share” of your customers. Be the first one that they think of every time they need your service. Help their minds eye visualize your product every time they have a need for it or something similar. Help them to want to help you.
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