Keeping your company or startup growing and successful takes a lot of time. Connecting with your customers is actually a good way to get inside view in how you can improve your products and growth.
Today, both companies and people are quite different than back in last century and the approach to what it takes to acquire potential customers has changed as well the keeping the connection with them. Back then the connection with the customers was there in some areas but we can safely say that it was almost non existent in most areas. Companies were mostly seen as cold, heartless corporations, that don’t care about the customers and only interested in generating more profit. However, going back today this has changed tremendously. Today we have startup culture that back them was still in its infancy phase, while the giants of today struggled to get where they are now and had to use various marketing schemes to get their message across to the customers so that their business could actually grow. Once a popular way to communicate with customers before internet, printed ads/coupons still exist as a way for local business to advertise and make connection.
Social networks and discussion platforms are they key in connecting with your customers/potential customers.
1. Answer their questions, but don’t be a robot
If you are startup or established business, you want to be connected with your customers as best as possible. They are the kitchen sink for your success. You need to pay a lot of attention to marketing when communicating with users. The best way to start interaction is by giving answers to the questions that they have for you in regard to using your product or service. In addition, try to be as natural as possible, so that they have impression that they are receiving a reply to their question that has actually been looked in and not just generic robotic reply. Yes, your customer support team has to know some basic norms when communicating with customers, but they should also try to give some normal answers and not general answer that doesn’t solve anything. That way you improve your relationship with customers, as they see that they are communicating with you and that someone is actually looking into their problem instead of just tossing it away on pile of problems.
2. Connect with them on social networks
In the end we are all people. Socializing with you customers is important in gaining tract and presenting yourself in better light. Also, it affects your popularity too, as the companies that have their presence on social networks, tend to have better user satisfaction and overall support for the projects. Speaking of projects, they are also a good platform to present your future plans and gain feedback from the users. As you get various opinions, you will also have a view on what certain demographic of people thinks about your plans/products and how you can improve them so that you gain even more customers. Being on social network has become a norm if you want better insight. Also you can organize various promotions and giveaways to give your products better exposition.
3. Try to reach customers by joining discussion boards of theirs
Have you ever used an discussion board to get your message across or to provide support for your product? Most of you will answer positively. Have you ever tried to reach them by signing up on some forums that deal with tech or any other topic that is related to your business. Some business’s tend to do this so that they could talk with users that will give them real opinion since they have already probably tested more similar products. The opinion that you gain from visiting boards that deal with the specific topic that your product is connected with is even more precious than that you get from from social networks. The good example of this tactic is Cooler Master representative service in the Balkans. Currently, they even have their own vendor specific forum room on the popular tech forum Benchmark.rs where you can communicate with them just like you would with your other friends on the forum. By having their presence there they are connecting with their core customers and potentially acquiring new ones in process. As they see that they can relay on you giving them support or honest opinion on what would be the best choice for them to buy you will only benefit because that along with quality products will lead to better user satisfaction and reviews.