Every year, hundreds of businesses open up to provide goods and services to the public. From the initial brainstorming of a business idea to finally opening their doors to the world, this process of getting a business to take off from the ground can take anywhere from a few weeks to a few months.
This means that since the beginning, aspiring business owners are already hard at work to create goods or services that will be welcomed by the consumers. And the challenge of becoming an entrepreneur doesn’t end once they’ve opened for business; in fact, that’s just the beginning of an incredibly long road.
Even if your business has been operating every day for a few months, you will still have a long way to go to achieve that elusive success. Keep in mind that your business isn’t the only one offering goods and services to your target market. If you don’t show your customers that you are worthy of their patronage, they will look for others that do.
That’s because your business competitors are simply waiting to snatch your customers from under your care when you start looking the other way. This is especially true in the digital age because you’re all using the same marketing channels — websites, social media platforms, and community portals.
As a business owner, your goal should be to work on retaining the customers you already have while attracting new and potential customers. Your business won’t become successful if you’re focused on one-time sales; instead, you must prioritize building patronage which you can do through the following methods:
Feedback Management
Always remember that consumers will be more likely to support the brands that listen to what they have to say as customers. People want to be valued, and they want to be heard, but if you don’t actively listen to what they want to say, it can bring about spite and ill feelings toward your business.
This is especially important if you’re not providing your goods or services through face-to-face interactions. That’s because miscommunication is often a source of conflict when you’re using mediated channels for interaction. So, if you’re only engaging with your customers via the internet, you must be careful with the words you say.
It can also help your case if you take a proactive approach to seek feedback. Instead of hearing about your previous customers’ good and bad experiences in their social media accounts, you can use voice-of-the-customer programs to get their feedback directly. This can show your customers that you’re determined to work on your service and are open to constructive criticism.
Customer Relationship
Consumers will always prefer the brands they can trust over others. If you truly want to get patrons out of your digital marketing efforts, then you would have to work double-time to make repeat customers. That’s because it will be easier to promote your new goods or services to consumers that already trust your brand than to try to gain new customers.
This is not to say that you should no longer exert effort into acquiring new customers, but building mutually beneficial relationships with your patrons should be your utmost priority. You can do this by starting a loyalty program to encourage your existing customers to keep supporting your brand.
Another option that you have is to make your patrons feel like they belong the moment they step inside your business store or website. Patronage is a result of both good products or services and an amazing customer experience. You can’t expect to succeed by just selling the best products or services in the market.
You will also have to make sure that your customers are being cared for in the best way you know how. After listening to what they have to say, you need to carry out those changes through your actions. Consumers will appreciate businesses more when they give value to the entire customer experience.
Interactive Marketing
In the digital age, anyone and everyone is connected in some way via the internet. This means that it’s not enough for you to produce high-quality advertisements and eye-catching posts; you need to make an impact that will go above and beyond for your customers.
When you’re collecting feedback from your patrons, it might bode well to ask them about what kinds of publicity materials can actually catch their attention. There is so much visual and textual content, or a combination of both, online that it can be overwhelming for the audience to digest.
However, by making content that only advertises your products or services to a specific demographic, you can help your existing and potential customers identify your posts from the rest. This can increase your social media interaction and generate even more traction for your website.
So even if everything can be done with a few taps on the phone screen, it pays to be attentive to the person holding the device. Customers prioritize their experience alongside the quality of the brands they patronize, and by addressing both of these concerns at once, you’re slowly honing your success as a business.