The way you communicate with customers is important for your business. The way customers view the business can make the difference between being a return customer or leaving. When customers feel a connection to a brand and have a trusted relationship with it, they become loyal customers.

Their Preferences

There are multiple channels through which you can communicate with your customers. Businesses don’t need to utilize all channels, but they need to realize that their customers have preferences to which channels they want to be communicated through and these preferences can vary depending on the purpose of the communication and who they are. Some people would prefer to get text notification from a business, and some prefer to contact a business through email for things like appointments. People may want to chat with an agent to get their questions answered, while online chat is a great option for others. Knowing who your customers are and their age group can help you determine what channels to use.

Response Rates

The channel you use to communicate with customers can affect response rates. Face-to-face interaction allows for quicker response rates from the customers. However, face-to-face communication is not always feasible. Calling, texting, and emailing are other ways you can communicate with customers, each with different response rates. Phone calls and emails are more likely to be ignored by customers of a younger age bracket. Sending text messages increases response rates by 209%, so this can be a more effective way to communicate.

Personalization

Customers expect a business to know who they are and what their preferences are. The way you interact with them, and how personalize this interaction is, can play a big role in your relationship with them in the future. If they are dissatisfied with the interactions, they may choose to go somewhere else, and tell everyone of their dissatisfaction. To personalize your communication, you can focus on gathering information from retail locations, direct mail, social media, cell phones, and searches and clicks on your website. Once you have this customer data, you can communicate with them in a personalized way.

Customers are the most important part of a business. Without them, there is no money. They need to feel connected and trusting, which will come through how you communicate with them. Gaining loyal customers comes from learning who your customers are and how to communicate with them.

Read this next: What Makes a Brand More Attractive to a Younger Audience?