7 Ways to Build a Customer-Centric Culture

As the old saying goes, “The customer is always right.” Sometimes it is hard to remember the customer in the day to day work of running a business. You can get so wrapped up in internal matters, suppliers, and logistics that you forget that somewhere there is a customer counting on your product or service. Whether that customer returns or not depends on how he or she is treated. In the end, it is the customer that will make or break your business’ success. Here are some ways to keep your customers at the forefront of your business.

Know Your Market

As you start your business, it is important to know the people who are most likely to be interested in what you have to offer. Most businesses do not have an appeal that reaches across all markets. Your regular customers probably fit into a profile shaped by categories like age, gender, or place of residence. This is important data that you can use to improve customer service. By learning about the different types of people that use your services, you can make smart choices about targeted marketing or expansion to new markets.

Work With Focus Groups

Once you know a little bit about the profile of your regular customers, it can be helpful to gather a few people together as a focus group. This gives you a face to face opportunity to learn about the needs of your customers and how they see your business. A small group of potential or current customers can tell you about your reputation in the community. They can help you understand the things that are working well for your business and places where there is room for growth. Focus groups can also give you a better sense about day to day issues like the best business hours or pricing strategies.

Seek Customer Feedback

Getting customer feedback, especially at the point of sale, is a useful tool in improving customer relationships. If you have an active website, Google reviews are an easy way to get the customer’s point of view. Using a Google review link will simplify the process of obtaining reviews, which will increase the likelihood that a customer will be willing to give feedback. You can include this link on the checkout page or in a follow-up email. The sooner the customer is engaged, the more relevant the information will be for your decision-making process.

Engage Customers Through Social Media

Social media is an excellent way to stay current with your customer base. You can give information about sales or special offers in real time. Social media can also turn your customers into a personal marketing team when a connection to your business show up in their media feed. The challenge of social media is that information, comments, and criticism move at a fast pace. In addition, people tend to let their guard down on these platforms. As the business owner, it can be tempting to respond to criticism in an unprofessional way. Remember that your personal account represents your business too. A kneejerk reaction can have a long-term cost to your reputation.

Respond Quickly to Complaints

Even with your best efforts, you are bound to make mistakes along the way. Possibly an order will ship out late. A product will be defective. You may post something that you later regret. While you strive for perfection, such mistakes are part of being human. As a business owner the best course is to acknowledge and rectify your mistakes. Protesting or blaming others simply makes your business look bad. Covering up mistakes will break people’s trust in you. The sooner you acknowledge a mistake, the sooner it can fade in the background as you move forward. It is also important to do what is necessary to make things right with a customer, whether that is free merchandise or a public apology. It is a low price to pay for customer loyalty.

Learn About Your Competition

Unless you are the first business of your kind, you have competitors that are seeking the same customer base as you. A smart business will pay attention to what the competition is doing and how they are marketing themselves. This does not mean doing anything sneaky or underhanded. It is just about paying attention. When you examine these other businesses, you can decide what they are doing right for their customers and what you can do better. You can also think about how you can present yourself as a unique business in the marketplace. Learning about the competition also helps you decide whether the best strategy marketing is to further refine your market niche or try to expand to a broader market.

Share Your Mission

People love a good story. They feel connected to a business when they understand why a business exists beyond the profits. If you have a mission statement, make sure that it is easily visible on your website and posted prominently in your workplace. It is critical that you think about the implications of a mission statement. It is one thing to have a winning philosophy and another thing to live it out. If your statement talks about concern for the community, you need to think of ways to connect, serve and help that community. If your statement talks about customer service, you need to make sure that you have the best customer service possible, with employees that go the extra mile. A mission statement not only gives you a way to focus your efforts, but it also gives your customers a way to measure your business. If customers are treated in accordance with your mission, the reputation of your business will improve.

As a business, you are dependent on customers for your success. You need to maintain a good reputation and a strong connection to your customer base. Customers want to be treated fairly, and they want to be treated well. Businesses that put customers before profits often find that they have more of both.

One of the best ways to build a great work culture is by hiring the right people. For all your hiring needs, Gorman Recruiting is there to help!