One of the greatest signs of a successful business is a healthy flow of return customers. Retention isn’t automatic, and it isn’t magic; just as with other aspects of business, like efficient inventory procedures, it comes from consciously developing it. Here are a few ways to do just that.
In recent years, quite a few tools have come onto the scene which can help you have a better relationship with your customers. Many of them arise from, or at least closely interact with, the tech solution for accepting credit cards for small business. Things like automated customer relationship management greatly improve the process for you and for your customers, making it all the more likely that you’ll have a great relationship.
Content marketing is a stale and possibly even intimidating term if you’re new to the concept of promoting your business. It doesn’t have to be. Creating a blog for your website is a great way to give your brand street cred, while also helping your site perform better in search results. All this entails is sharing your expertise about your business, which probably comes very naturally to you. What might not come naturally is doing it in a systematic way, especially if you are running a busy business. Still, if you can commit to a regular blog post, once a week, or once a month, even, it can help your website better express your business.
In the same way, you can make your website unique by sharing your perspectives, the same must go for your location, if you have one. This is the face you choose to show the world, and it’s so important to make it yours. It doesn’t matter if you have competitors selling similar, or even the same products as you. Your approach distinguishes you, and in turn, will win you return customers and referrals. If you own a restaurant, what’s that unique brunch offering that will stay in people’s minds? If you sell mattresses, how do your people on the floor make people feel at home, or give them what they are looking for? From the moment they walk into your store, you’re telling a story: make it yours.
No matter what it is that you do, the odds are that the number-one thing that you can do to win returning customers is being a good human to them: in small business terms: it’s customer service. No amount of technology that comes with accepting credit cards for small business will help you if you don’t have a grasp of that concept.