Building customer relationships that last is another piece of the business puzzle.
In this guide we will explore the importance of building customer relationships as well as 9 strategies to get started.
Why is it important to build customer relationships?
The way businesses and customers interact with each other has changed significantly due to social media. Therefore, social media should be considered as a way to communicate and receive feedback in real-time.
Even if you successfully convert a new customer, you can’t rest on your laurels. You need to continue to cultivate the relationship on social media so they become a repeat customer. When you do, they’ll start promoting your business for you.
There’s no replacement for word-of-mouth marketing, and having strong relationships with your customers is a great way to keep them excited about your business. When you have customers who are passionate about your business, they will not only continue to shop with you, but they will also tell their friends and family about you.
It is essential to build strong customer relationships as part of business and marketing. It is smarter to retain loyal customers and continue to build customer relationships than to try to solely convert new ones.
To break it down further, it’s important to build customer relationships because it:
- Reduces customer turnover and improves customer loyalty. As with any organization, the less turnover the better. The same applies for customers: the longer you can retain your customers, the better mutual outcome. They receive excellent customer service and products from your business and, in turn, you receive their loyalty.
- Increases the customer lifetime value (CLV). This is a great social media KPI to capture. The longer a customer remains loyal and purchases from your business, the greater the value this customer has in their relationship with you.
Here are nine strategies to help you use social media to build strong and lasting customer relationships.
9 Ways to Build Customer Relationships Through Social Media Monitoring
There are many ways you can build customer relationships, such as using a forum, your website, email marketing, or your blog. In this article, we will discuss how you can use social media platforms to build customer relationships.
Why not use the audience you’ve worked hard to grow to convert and nurture longterm relationships with customers?
#1 Humanize Your Brand
These days, it’s not enough for brands to be unknown, artificial entities to customers. The web, and social media in particular, has created a need for transparency. Before making a purchase, 54% of users research the product on social media. Therefore, it’s vital that you be active and engage with them.
You should respond in a way that is natural and not fake. When you act like a normal person on social media and have conversations with customers, your business will appear stronger.
Social media monitoring can help you improve customer service by providing insights and observations that go beyond traditional customer support methods. It allows you to see what customers are saying about your brand, product, or service on social media and take action to improve their experience.
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Track Sentiments
You can learn what the general sentiments are of the customers in your industry by using social media analytics.
You could be a vegan hair color brand that sells conventional Indian shades, for example. Due to the western influence, there may be a demand for out-of-the-box, bright hair colors like red, blue, or green. Through your social media monitoring tool, you can track the sentiments of the conversation spreading around and take action to expand your product colors.
- Decrease Customer Churn
One of the ways to prevent a high rate of customer churn is to communicate with the customer. By engaging with them on social media, you give them a reason to keep coming back to you.
A message like “Hey, we understand your concern about the product. Can you tell me more about the problem so we can solve it?” shows that you care, and can help you win back your customer. Automated messages don’t have the same personal touch.
#2 Create a Customer Service Social Media Channel
One way to relationship build on social media is to create a dedicated customer service channel. This involves creating a space on social media where customers can ask questions or air grievances. This provides customers with a space to voice their concerns, and also allows businesses to address these issues directly. This type of customer service can go a long way in building relationships and trust between businesses and their customers.
First, you could take a page from Sprout Social’s book and create a Twitter account specifically for handling customer service requests, communicating product support issues, and resolutions. (Do a “support” or “customer support” search on Twitter to find more examples of customer service Twitter accounts across a variety of industries.)
You could also add an option to your Facebook Messenger chatbot that allows customers to input customer service requests, or direct people to a support page on your website. This would be an additional way for customers to get in touch with customer service.
Make sure your responses are quick and helpful to create a positive image for your company.
#3 Listen and Jump Into the Conversation
A social media monitoring tool allows you to listen to relevant conversations about your brand and industry. It also helps you segment and analyze large data sets to determine which conversations need your immediate attention.
An example of a company that does social listening well is Skyscanner. Skyscanner is an airline search engine that helps you find the cheapest flights. A user posted about a glitch on their Facebook account. Skyscanner’s social media manager not only acknowledged the post but also left a witty reply in addition to the solution. Her personalized response got viral and attracted user engagement.
#4 Surprise Your Customers
When trying to build customer relationships, you can’t just rely on what you’ve been told. You have to consider each person as an individual with their own perspective and emotions.
Be ready to break protocols – social media allows your brand to be less professional. You can engage in memes, reply with inoffensive sarcasm, use witty language. You have the ability to be flexible and casual.
It’s important to stand out from your competitors on social media, and one way to do that is by doing something unexpected. Monitoring your social media channels can help you identify opportunities to delight your customers by creating memorable moments for them.
An example to follow might be Gaylord Opryland. A user who stayed at the hotel for three years reported loving the clock radio in her room. She tried to find the same model for three years without success. Finally, she turned to the company’s Twitter page to mention her disappointment.
Gaylord Opryland embraced the opportunity to make a positive impression on the customer. They sent not one but two spa clocks to her room with a letter. With this action, they not only won a lifetime customer but also gathered a lot of goodwill.
#5 Offer Rewards and Incentives
One great way to offer rewards and incentives to your audience is to put together contests and giveaways.
Aerie is giving away a prize on Instagram. To enter, users must leave a comment with the branded hashtag and tag a friend.
You could share flash sales on social media, including freebies and discount codes, to help boost your sales.
There are several things you can do to make your social media strategy more effective. Try to think of ways you can use these tactics in your own strategy.
#6 Share User-Generated Content
People tend to share and tag photos of branded products they like on social media. This is known as user-generated content (UGC) and can be useful for both developing a community and filling your social media calendar with highly relevant content.
Online swimsuit retailer Cupshe uses UGC in their social media strategy to showcase their customers wearing their different styles and sizes. For example, they tagged the original account of a customer who shared a photo of herself wearing one of their bathing suits. It’s important to note that you should always ask permission before reposting a user’s photograph onto your brand’s account.
They way to encourage customers to share photos of your product is to create a branded hashtag. This can be shared in your bio, as seen in the example below from A Color Story’s Instagram bio.
#7 Listen to Customer Feedback
It is beneficial for companies to have a way for customers to provide feedback, but it is more beneficial if the company does something with the feedback.
Let your customers know that you appreciate their feedback by putting their suggestions into practice.
If you want to gain your customers’ trust and loyalty, it’s important to listen to their feedback and implement it. This shows that you’re willing to act in their best interests and that you’re responsive to their needs.
#8 Deal With Complaints Instantly
It’s important to remember that even if a customer is happy with your product or service, they may not take the time to leave a public comment, review, or rating. However, if they have any problems, they are much more likely to speak up. Additionally, negative feedback is more likely to go viral than positive feedback. So, if you have a few customers who are unhappy, it’s important to take care of the issue before it becomes a bigger problem.
Social media monitoring tools can help you stay up to date on negative mentions of your brand in real-time. You can set these alerts to come through on different channels, like email, app, Slack, or other platforms. This way, every time there is a sudden increase in mentions, you can be alerted. Together with your reputation management team, you can figure out a damage-control plan. In most cases, customers appreciate a quick response and are more forgiving. This can save your brand from disappointed customers and trolls. Moreover, when you answer a complaint, customer advocacy increases by as much as 25%. In the opposite situation, when you do not do so, it decreases by as much as 50%.
#9 Embrace the Bright Side of Social Media
There is a positive side to social media platforms, even though they may be filled with negative comments and trolling. You can still use the platform to your advantage by promoting your brand.
When your customers take to social media to appreciate your efforts, be sure to respond to them. Showing them that you value their opinion and are grateful for their kind words is essential. You can track positive mentions of your brand using social media monitoring.
Customers trusting other customers more than the brand is beneficial to the reputation of the brand.
Squarespace emphasizes its customers and how the company contributes to their fulfillment. By showcasing satisfied customers, Squarespace fosters its own positive reputation and attracts more customers.
If you want to start building strong relationships with your customers and followers, use these nine tips. Also, check out our free social media templates for more content ideas.
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