Consumer Interaction plays a significant role in the success of your business. It not only boosts your company’s conversion rate but also builds a long-term relationship with your customers.
Think like a customer; how frustrating is it when a brand doesn’t reply to your queries?
You would have ended buying their product and services, right?
Customer satisfaction is the key to progress for any company. You need to make sure that your company is consumer-centric to earn your customers’ trust and provide them a positive experience.
Customer-centric businesses are 60% more profitable and productive than companies that don’t concentrate on customers.
As they say, people usually forget what you say or did for them, but they won’t forget how you made them feel.
Communicating regularly to your audience will make them feel that you care for them, making them loyal to your company.
Loyal consumers are 5X more likely to buy again and 4X more likely to refer a friend to the company.
Now we know how important it is for your business to communicate with its audience, let’s see how to connect with your audience online.
Let’s dive in.
How To Connect With Your Audience Online
Here are 7 practical ways to connect with your customers and build a long-lasting relationship with them.
1. Respond To Consumer Queries
Resolving Consumer queries help you build a brand reputation and earn customers’ trust.
If customers do not get the expected reply from your company, they are more likely to abandon your company; therefore, carefully assessing and addressing customer complaints is essential to retain your customers.
Here’s an example of how A&J Fencing responded to a dissatisfied client. They accepted their mistake and assured their client that it would not happen again.
2. Follow Up With Your Customers
Regular follow-up with your customers after they buy your product or service, whether they like the product or not, is a great way to earn customer trust and make them use your product or service again.
It also allows you to upsell your product because if your customer is satisfied with your services, then they are more likely to buy again from you.
Source: HubSpot
Here’s an example of how Apple does follows up after a consumer buys their products. They simply thank them for buying their services and assure them that they will be available to help in case of any inconvenience.
3. Send Out Surveys
Sending out surveys to your customers helps you understand they are satisfied with your product or services or what needs to be done to improve their experience.
You can add different questions about the product or services you offer like you can ask your customers about which product they buy more often from you or what you should do to improve your services etc.,
That will give you an idea of what customers expect from your company and how you can serve them better.
There are various tools for creating and sending out surveys to customers, like Google Forms, SurveyMonkey, Facebook, Survey Legend, and more.
Source: myfeelback
Here’s how Timberland is using customer surveys to find what their customers need from them.
4. Run Contests and Offer Giveaways
Running online contests and offering giveaways (Offer something that your customer would love to have) helps you increase customer interaction and engagement with your brand.
Make sure you promote your upcoming contest to create awareness and to drive Customers’ interest. You can promote it on your website, social media channels, or via emails.
Look at this enticing Facebook contest by Gillie’s coffee with a prize valued at around $25, which got around 2274 entries.
5. Stay Active On Social Media
Social media channels like Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Twitter, etc., have become the central platform for people searching for products or services and sharing their feedback.
Customers often check companies’ social media handles before buying products or services from them as having a solid social media presence builds trust in customers’ eyes.
Since customers are using social media platforms to connect with brands, it gives you a tremendous opportunity to earn your customer’s trust by regularly interacting with them and handling their complaints and queries.
You can interact with your customers on social media platforms by going live, posting user-generated content, and doing Q&A sessions.
Make sure to be responsive on social media as customers expect a quick reply to their queries.
Source: Mention
E.g., See how brands like Starbucks Interacts with their customers on Twitter.
6. Host Virtual Meetings
Hosting virtual meetings on Zoom, Skype, and other apps helps you connect with your audience personally. You can help the customer by solving their queries and giving advice.
You can also allow your consumers to share their opinion on your products or services and give their ideas on how you can serve them better, which will make them feel special and motivate them to continue as your loyal customer.
Venture cafe hosts online meetups every Thursday from 16:00-20:00 AEST and allows you to share your ideas and meet new people. According to the company, More than 200,000 people have attended their online meetups since 2010.
7. Appreciate Your Loyal Customers
Don’t you think your loyal customers deserve appreciation from you?
If you appreciate your customers for purchasing goods or services from you, they are more likely to become loyal to your brand.
Customer appreciation makes customers feel special and happy and encourages them to come back and refer your brand to their friends and family.
From increasing customer loyalty to generating higher ROI, showing gratitude to your customers has enormous benefits to your brand.
According to some reports, 91% of people said they prefer to do business with companies that appreciate their consumers.
There are various ways to show appreciation for your customers, like sending thankful mails, giving them VIP treatment, creating a thankyou video, sending a handwritten note, giving discounts, and many more.
Source: instapage
Here’s how PBIRx donated to charities to show appreciation to their loyal clients.
Conclusion
Connecting with your customers frequently helps you build a trustworthy and personal relationship with them. A company that communicates with its audience is more likely to have loyal consumers than companies that don’t.
However, building a long-lasting relationship with your customers is not an overnight process. You have to constantly solve consumer queries and appreciate them for buying your products.
In this blog, I’ve stated 7 ways how you can connect with your consumer online to make them loyal to your brand. Make sure you don’t miss any.
