You know that you need to advertise and invest in marketing campaigns to draw customers to your business. Unfortunately, you’re dealing with the reality of a limited budget and not having enough hours in the day to accomplish everything on your to-do list. The good news is that doesn’t need to be discouraging when you get your customers to act as brand ambassadors for you.
Communicate with Your Customers Openly and Often
You don’t want to go through all the hard work of attracting new customers to your business, having them buy one thing, and never see or hear from them again. To build a relationship with customers, you or your employees need to be the ones to reach out. Check-in via email on occasion just to see how things are going without trying to sell anything. Invite customers to join your email list or follow your company’s social media pages to stay on top of new happenings and sales. This keeps your business at the forefront of customers’ minds when they do need to purchase something.
Be as conversational and authentic as possible in your interactions with customers and train your staff to do the same. When a customer asks a question, respond quickly or let them know you need more time to find the answer. Many will appreciate this treatment so much they won’t be able to hold back acting as brand ambassadors for your company.
Show Appreciation
When a customer buys from you, refers a friend, or takes the time to comment on a social media post, do whatever you can to help that person feel appreciated. Maybe it’s inviting them to an exclusive shopping event, offering coupons, or simply commenting back that you appreciate what they shared on your post. The method of appreciation doesn’t matter nearly as much as the fact that you thanked people for investing their time and resources in your business.
Consider Offering Incentives
To expand on showing appreciation, consider starting a formal customer loyalty program where people earn points, prizes, discounts, cashback, or whatever else you want to offer just for being a good customer. Be sure to study some of the successful loyalty programs out there to see what they do well and try to emulate that in your own offering.
Make Things Right When Customers Are Unhappy
Even someone who you consider to be a brand ambassador for your company can have times where they feel less than delighted with its products, services, or treatment by an employee. When this happens, listen without interruption to find out what is upsetting your customer. Acknowledge that your company made a mistake and find out what it would take to keep the customer loyal to your brand.
Contact Us to Discuss More Tips
With just a bit of creative thinking, you might be surprised at how many ways you can turn your customers into brand ambassadors. Our small business consulting firm would be happy to help you come up with more ideas or evaluate what is and isn’t currently working for you. Contact us to set up a free consultation.
Emory Ware