Ambition is a powerful thing in business. It can spur entrepreneurs on to great heights, and it can help entry-level employees rise swiftly through the ranks. Similarly, when an entire company is working toward a common goal, the results can prove quite impressive. Unfortunately, it’s often difficult to get your entire operation –– including marketing, sales, and customer service –– to coordinate their efforts. However, for businesses to increase their customer retention rates and dominate their given market, they need to ensure cohesion within their ranks. Here then are three simple steps any business owner can take to put their team –– and their business –– in the best possible position to succeed:
Engagement-Geared Marketing
Marketing isn’t about getting the word out, or making a big splash, or “wowing” your customer base. Rather, good marketing should center around building relationships and engaging with leads in a meaningful way. Progressive marketers understand the modern consumer is more sophisticated that consumers in the past, and as such, marketing material generated for them needs to reflect that sophistication. Of course, the better you understand your current customers and qualified leads, the more effectively your team can create content to their preferences. Remember, you can always reach out to a company like Communications for Research if you’re looking to get a better picture of your customers’ habits through surveys and market research.
“Warm” Sales Calls
The cold call is largely a thing of the past. Yes, some companies still cling to the process of blindly pawing in the dark for potential leads, but most dynamic businesses have long ago done away with the practice of cold calling. Instead, they align their sales team with their marketing efforts to ensure higher conversion rates and better customer interactions. When a salesperson knows how a potential customer arrived at their business’s website, they can craft more compelling sales pitches as a result. In an ideal set-up, every call a salesperson makes should be “warm” already.
Practice What You Preach
No B2C or B2B transaction ends with a purchase. Instead, every business owner should realize that a purchase is, in reality, just the start of a new cycle. How you handle your current customers –– and how well you address their issues, questions, and concerns –– won’t just have an impact on your retention numbers; it will also affect your potential to draw in new leads as well. Online referrals are essential for a new businesses’ viability, and your digital reputation has never been more crucial. That’s why small businesses everywhere need to prioritize their customer service department, and make sure it’s working to deliver the best customer experience possible. If your current customer pool is feeling dissatisfied, odds are you’ll struggle to make much of a dent in your market in the years to come.
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