It’s long been said in business circles that customer loyalty is too dependent on the fidelity you show in the quality of your product. While most of us agree that this is true, the question becomes; what about those who have no goods to sell?
What fidelity is used to join businesses that are 100 percent or larger service businesses? The truth is, if you have a product, your product is your brand and can sustain you. If you wholly deliver services, you become the brand, and then it becomes necessary for you to learn how to brand yourself for success.
Product integrity is a bit easier to maintain than the integrity of staff and the people who make up the business
1. Develop a feedback system for both positive and negative feedback.
Communication they say is not complete until feedback is received. When your business has to deal purely with services rendered, like virtual office, telecommunications business, co-working space, training room, or property management business, you need feedback much more than any other business. Getting feedback — and asking for it regularly, even if it is negative — is a strong move in protecting yourself.
Many businesses have faced litigation and even filed for bankruptcy as a result of little things ignored over time. Feedback helps you know what to work on or what to keep up. You can use feedback charts, boxes or provide room for feedback on your company app if you have one. Make feedback avenues available and beyond that, encourage and ask for it. It protects you more than it makes your customers feel valued
2. Understand the three rules of customer attraction and retention.
There are generally three broad rules of customer attraction and retention. First, you must apply the adequate tools to gain visibility. This may take any shape appropriate for you — conventional advertising, social media advertising, or, one I personally advocate, social impact advertising. Social impact advertising is when you carry out deliberate efforts that have positive societal impact. It often works best with businesses whose services are rendered majorly to customers in their immediate geographical location. However, with the advent of social media and content marketing, it can draw any number of customers from anywhere and retain them as well.
Secondly, you need to have consistency. Consistency is not very relevant if you have a weak brand, but if you have developed a strong personal brand, efforts should be put towards maintaining that brand through the consistency of customer interactions.
Lastly, you need to earn loyalty. Consistency does this, but the additional services you render is what many customers will keep coming back for.
In effect, the goal is to showcase an identity or personality, that is visible, consistent, and valuable to your customers or your audience.
3. How you say it is more important than what you say.
For product-based businesses, most of the customer’s focus is on what you have to offer, but with service-based businesses, how you offer it matters a lot as well. If you need to write proposals to prospective clients or investors or even just have to address customers, you have to pay more attention to your tone and content.
A work-from-home business owner is more likely to subscribe to my service because of my approach than because of my expertise because frankly, the skill is the same everywhere. You should be going straight for the heart to make them accept you. A good product usually cushions the effect of bad service, but when service is all you have, you have to step up your game.
OTHERS: 4 SIMPLE WAYS TO MAKE YOUR STARTUP LOOK MORE PROFESSIONAL.