Let’s start with some think tanking – What do you think sets companies like Amazon, Starbucks, and Disney apart from the rest? It essentially comes down to their consistently stellar customer experience. Established brands always strive to offer more than their customers expect – fostering solid and lasting customer relations.
“When dealing with people, remember you are not dealing with creatures of logic, but creatures of emotion.”
Today’s customers have a great deal of autonomy over their choices. They can very conveniently express their satisfaction or dismissal of a brand on social media. These platforms have given them a voice which they can choose to share publicly. In this customer-centric climate, it has become imperative to exceed customer expectations and foster memorable and lasting relations.
What Is Customer Relations?
Customer relations refer to the processes, strategies, and techniques a brand uses to create and maintain customer relationships. It’s the way a brand engages with their customers – helping them get past minor roadblocks as well as developing long-term solutions for customer success. If done effectively, it can lead to positive outcomes like rock-solid customer relationships, higher customer lifetime value (CLV), and increased customer retention.
Customer Relations Vs. Customer Service
Customer service is a reactive approach whereas customer relations include proactive strategies. In customer service, you cater to your customer’s needs and queries after they have interacted with your brand. It is a service to enhance customer’s brand interaction and overall experience. Customer service agents resolve issues in real time and provide a positive experience through the sales funnel. The insight and feedback gathered through these processes can then be shared with other teams.
Customer relations is when you proactively come up with novel ways to optimize customer experience from their initial point of interest in the brand. It is more anticipatory than customer service – addressing potential issues before they can negatively impact the customers. Although it’s crucial to understand why customer is not always right, both customer service and customer relations are important and work collaboratively to create memorable customer experience.
Benefits of Building Positive Customer Relations
Customer relationship building is one of the major drivers of your business growth. Companies who prioritize customer relations see 60% higher profits and a 5% boost in retention – increasing profits by 25% to 95%. (Yaguara). Also, 93% of consumers are more likely to stay loyal to brands with a stellar customer service. Lasting consumer relations are important to foster loyalty and long-term success.
Let’s further explore why you should prioritize building customer relations and how it can benefit you.
Better Customer Retention
Companies with a focus on their customer relation management usually see a boost in customer retention over time. Apple never compromises on its customer relations, which is apparent through its in-store experience and support (e.g., the Genius Bar). By investing in building a strong brand loyalty led to a 90% retention rate for its iPhone customers. A sense of transparency and dedication is important to gain the customer’s trust and genuine interest for a long time.
Increased Customer Loyalty
Consumers often have their favorites they turn to and pick over any other brand. That is ideally what you want to achieve with your company to optimize sales and drive maximum profit. Loyal customers are responsible for generating 40% of a company’s revenue, even though they make up only 20% of the customer base.
Whether you run a tiny corner shop or own a multi-million-dollar organization, having loyal customers is what drives your business forward. Once you have earned loyalty, your customers will not look at factors like convenience and cost as roadblocks. Although the investment might seem cost-heavy, the outcome of a loyal customer base is quite rewarding.
Enhanced Customer Feedback
Companies that understand the importance of client relations create an atmosphere where their customers feel comfortable sharing their feedback and experience. Creating a customer feedback loop is essential for smooth running business operations.
So, why does customer feedback matter? Creating an open channel of communication helps foster customer trust over time and positively impacts their purchase decisions. Research suggests that customers believe that a satisfying customer experience with a brand has more impact on their buying decisions than advertising. Customer satisfaction is how your customer will eventually create a memorable association with your brand.
Get a Competitive Advantage
No matter your field of business, it is likely that you have a bunch of competent competitors in the market who share your target audience. That means you must come up with ways to be distinctive from the crowd. A great plus of building strong customer relations is that it gives you a competitive edge.
Customers are also likely to pay a premium price for better service, with 86% of consumers saying they would pay more for an exceptional experience. Thus, it is imperative that you create a unique identity for your brand and make sure your customer picks you over the rivals.
Better Employee Engagement
Benefits of positive client relations aren’t just confined to your clients; they have a direct impact on your work environment and employee engagement. With customer service as your core value, you develop a stronger customer connection with your brand’s mission. Prioritizing customer satisfaction fosters a culture of pride, making employees feel motivated and valued.
Companies like Ritz-Carlton have invested a great deal in building every client relationship – empowering their team to go above and beyond for customers. It creates a sense pf purpose that motivates and engages employees. Also, Ritz-Carlton is known for its “Ladies and Gentlemen” motto, treating both employees and customers with equal respect, fostering a culture of accountability and employee satisfaction (Steven Van Belleghem).
Strong Customer Relations is Your Key to Growth
Cultivating solid customer relationships is not merely a business strategy – it’s the very foundation of lasting business success. Whether through optimized feedback loops, employee engagement, or loyalty, brands that prioritize customer relations set themselves apart from their competitors. Brands like Ritz-Carlton, Apple, and Amazon have already showcased the undeniable value of investing in customer experience and, you can do the same with your business.
Boost Your Customer Relations with Abacus Outsourcing
If you are ready to up your customer relations management, Abacus Outsourcing is here to help. Our team understands why proactive customer engagement and seamless support are the primary drivers of your company growth. Contact us today to learn how we can help you to exceed your customer expectations and build lasting customer relationships.
FAQ's
Customer Relationship Management (CRM) is a strategy and set of tools businesses use to manage customer interactions, improve relationships, and boost satisfaction and retention. It helps companies track customer data, streamline communication, and enhance overall customer experience.
Prioritizing your customer relations creates a culture where your team members feel connected, empowered, and motivated to the brand's ideology, leading to improved job satisfaction and engagement.
Brands can elevate their growth by improving customer satisfaction and building loyalty. Good customer relations can increase customer lifetime value and elevate retention rates – driving lasting company growth.
Customer relations can adapt by consistently gathering and evaluating feedback to identify the changes in customer preferences. Companies must remain flexible and modify their offerings and strategies according to customer expectations and emerging trends.
Technology helps in automation of processes, facilitating communication, and personalizing interactions. Customer relation management systems organize customer data, and tools like analytics and chatbots help create real-time support and tailored experiences.
