Without customers, a company has no future. Managing customer relations is therefore an essential task in the strategy of any organization. It is not only about collecting certain information about the customer. It goes far beyond that. Indeed, today customer relationship has taken another dimension thanks to ever more efficient tools but also to new technologies. Companies have no other choice but to review their approach to retain a maximum number of customers and thus increase their sales.
Why is it so important to master customer relationship management? On the one hand, it is important to know how to maintain your current customers and this seems easier than winning new ones. On the other hand, if your customer is not satisfied with your services, he will not hesitate to go to your competitors and in the worst case, he can even be brought to harm the image of your company.
To avoid losing your customers, you will have to make efforts and optimize your customer relationship. The key to your company’s success lies in your ability to satisfy and retain your customers.
Discover in this article, all our advice to manage your customer relationship.
Definition of customer relationship management
Customer relationship management (CRM) covers all activities that involve interactions with the customer.
It plays an essential role in the commercial strategy of companies, whatever their size. It concerns small and medium-sized companies as well as large groups.
Its goal is simple: on the one hand, it aims to identify prospects in order to convert them into customers, and on the other hand, it focuses on customer satisfaction in order to build customer loyalty.
Among the actions implemented in the follow-up of a customer relationship, we find sales prospecting, mission management as well as an after-sales service. Companies use all these means to increase their sales.
To go further: Best Practices in B2B Sales Prospecting?
Managing customer relations well means maintaining a mutually beneficial relationship between the company and its customers.
A good knowledge of your customers
Knowing your customer well is the basis of a good relationship management. As each customer is different, it is important to know what touches them and what they are passionate about. But not only that! Indeed, you will have to anticipate his needs to better adapt your products or services.
The customer relationship is constantly evolving. That’s why you have to be very attentive to your customers’ consumption patterns and requirements. To get the maximum of information, it is useful to ask yourself the right questions, namely:
- Who is your customer?
- What are their needs and motivations?
- What are their consumption habits?
- What stops them from consuming?
Finally, a good knowledge of your target customer is like creating a buyer persona.
Listening to your customers
Listening to your customers will help you to take into account their changing expectations and perceptions. By taking into account what your customer is saying and how they are talking to you, you will show interest in them. By practicing active listening to your customer, you will ensure that you have a firm grasp of his precise needs, and you will be able to better prepare your sales pitch.
The more you listen to your customer, the more he will feel confident, and he will be ready to talk. It is therefore up to you to use all your interpersonal skills to establish a very professional customer-oriented relationship.
Developing your interpersonal skills and knowing how to adapt to the profile and needs of your customers are therefore essential qualities for managing customer relations effectively.
Be reactive to manage customer relations effectively
Responsiveness is an essential criterion for responding to your customers’ requests for help. It is even the key to a good customer relationship. When you are constantly interacting with your customer, you will make sure to provide a quality answer as soon as possible, an answer that brings added value.
However, there is no need to rush to respond too quickly. Indeed, such behavior may appear suspicious in the eyes of your customer and cause the opposite effect, i.e., he will assimilate your reaction to a lesser quality response. So be careful to moderate your response time and provide a thorough analysis.
Personalize the customer relationship
Today’s customers increasingly want a personalized service. Moreover, the personalization of the customer experience has become a great opportunity for organizations. Organizations understand that providing a relationship that is as close as possible to their customers allows them to stand out from the competition.
Generally speaking, customers appreciate feeling that they are considered more than just customers. Being friendly and engaging in conversation about things you have in common appeals to your customers.
Therefore, to take care of customer relationships, it is important to know your customer well, listen to them, be responsive and develop a strong bond with them. A personalized type of customer relationship will be better adapted and more efficient to reach your audience.
Customer relationship at the heart of your business strategy
All the efforts you put in place to ensure a good customer relationship converge towards a common goal: customer satisfaction. Customer satisfaction is perceived as a key element of business relationships. It is becoming a real differentiation issue for SMEs.
Customer satisfaction
This is an obvious notion, yet some companies do not spend enough time on this indicator: customer satisfaction. Indeed, customers are the heart of your business because without them, you will not make sales and therefore you will not generate revenue.
It is therefore important to develop a strategy that allows you to make decisions that are more and more focused on the quality of experience. Companies should no longer focus primarily on profit.
Not only is customer satisfaction essential to keeping your customers, but it will also help you attract new ones.
Finally, making customer satisfaction a priority is a real asset to your business strategy! Because a satisfied customer is a customer who will become loyal, which will lead to an increase in your turnover in the long term.
Customer loyalty
Today, the best advertisement for your company is a loyal customer. This customer will not only repeat the purchase of your products or services but will also speak out in favor of them.
“The purpose of any business is to create and keep a customer “
Theodore Levitt, American economist.
To keep your customers, your products or services must first correspond to their needs and respond to their problems. Don’t hesitate to offer them a little extra, such as personalized advice, a bonus, etc. Then, check that your customers are satisfied with their purchase.
Don’t forget to collect as much information as possible in order to establish a relationship of trust. To do this, the implementation of a CRM is recommended to communicate and follow your exchanges with your customers.
CRM: the essential tool for managing customer relations
The implementation of customer relationship management requires the use of specific tools. Among the many tools, the CRM is undoubtedly the most recommended for managing customer relations.
The advantages of CRM
The CRM allows to gather all the available information on the customers and to follow in real time the state of the relationship with each of them. It is a real time saver to analyze and anticipate the needs of your customers.
Moreover, the CRM software is beneficial for all the departments of your company: sales, marketing and customer relations. Thus, the whole company has up-to-date data to ensure the role they have to play.
Today, many companies are equipped with a CRM solution. The use of CRM not only improves the customer relationship but also helps to optimize the company’s production and to offer the best possible services. The goal is to place the customer at the center of the company’s attention in order to satisfy him to the maximum.
To learn more: Why should your company use a CRM?
Customer relationship outsourcing
The bigger your company becomes, the more difficult it is to manage customer relations internally. Hence the possibility of outsourcing this activity to continue to provide quality service to customers.
There are many reasons to outsource customer relations. By choosing outsourcing, your employees will save precious time and will be able to focus on their core business.
In addition, entrusting customer relations to an external service provider ensures that an expert will be able to answer customers’ questions about your products or services. Thanks to outsourcing, your customer service becomes present and available at all times.
Customer relationship management must therefore be an important part of a company’s strategy. Good customer relationship management will lead to satisfied customers and will encourage their loyalty. And your company will be even more successful!