Building Strong Customer Relationships
How to Meet Expectations with Conversational and Contextual Interactions
Customers expect more from their interactions with companies. They want natural conversations where they feel like the business acknowledges their concerns. First impressions matter, and that’s certainly true for your business. When customers have a good experience with a company, they will want to continue supporting it or be more likely to recommend your organization to others. Conversely, it only takes one bad experience to lose a customer.
A conversational and contextual (C2) framework not only aims to have a back-and-forth dialog with customers but also works to understand as much as possible about the customer’s situation (that’s the contextual part). Let’s discuss how to implement this strategy and its benefits.
Conversational & Contextual Framework
A conversational and contextual (C2) framework not only aims to have a back-and-forth dialog with customers (the conversational aspect) but also works to understand as much as possible about the customers situation (the contextual aspect). The goal is to drive strong customer relationships.
Core Components
Conversational
Consumers expect natural interactions where they feel like the business acknowledges their concerns. Provide customers with easy ways to share their experiences (for example, review platforms and social media) and respond to their feedback. Active engagement shows you value your customers.
Contextual
Your audience has different segments with different needs and interests. Research and references your buyer personas to tailor your messaging accordingly. For prospects, explain what's unique about your company and how it can benefit them. For customers, focus on creating a personalized experience that builds trust and loyalty. This advice applies to traits like age, gender, socio-economic status, etc.
Benefits
Increased engagement with your products and services
An effective conversational and contextual framework will help you increase engagement with your prospects meaning more of them are likely to move through the buyer’s journey to become customers. To boost engagement using C2, create content that directly addresses customer issues and includes strong Calls-To-Actions (CTAs).
Furthermore, arranging direct marketing efforts that reach your desired audience is another way to boost engagement. For example, host webinars or events that invite industry experts to speak or share insights. As a bonus, these provide networking opportunities with potential partners or clients.
Community growth
Customer advocates are customers who also promote you independently. Having advocates is a hallmark of good customer retention and brand loyalty, so pat yourself on the back if you have some!
The true benefit of customer advocates is that they can attract new customers through positive word-of-mouth marketing — customers are more likely to listen to customers, rather than businesses.
How to Implement the C2 Strategy
The Conversational Aspect: Stay Connected With Your Audience
Building a community of customer advocates starts with identifying and engaging with customers who are already passionate about your brand. Once you’ve found them, open up a discussion where both your business and customer can interact organically.
Provide them with easy ways to share their experiences and incentivize them to spread the word. Encourage open communication, respond to feedback, and show that you value their opinions. These gestures continue to grow positive customer sentiment. Take advantage of social media platforms to connect with your customers and create a sense of community among them — active engagement shows you value your customers.
The Contextual Aspect: Personalize How You Communicate
The audience you address is never a monolith. For example, people will be in different inbound marketing stages. What resonates with prospects may not have the same impact on customers. Make the distinction between various segments of your audience and tailor your messaging accordingly.
For prospects, educate them on your company’s unique value proposition and how it can benefit their business. For customers, focus on their needs, pain points, and interests. You’ll create a personalized experience that builds trust and loyalty, ultimately leading to long-lasting relationships.
This advice also applies to other traits like age, gender, socio-economic status, etc. Continuously refer to your buyer personas and continue to research the people in your market.
Maintain high-quality customer support
Overall, effective customer relationships are at the heart of any successful inbound strategy, so keeping a customer support mindset is crucial. Work to provide a high standard of consistent, quick, and accurate responses. These responses will allow your business to enhance the prospect and customer experience and increase their loyalty to your brand. More loyalty means more leads which will result in more customers and improved customer retention!
Tips for Building Customer Success
When you establish trust with customers, they are more likely to recommend your business.
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Increase engagement with your products/service
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Grow a community of customer advocates
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Have different conversations with customers than with prospects
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Collaborate with customer support to answer questions from customers
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Focus on making the customer experience the best it can be!
