How to Nurture Relationships With Customers

In our last post we talked about how to create trust with potential customers who visit your website. So when they do become a customer, then what? How do you continue to nurture that relationship and create deeper connections with the people who buy from you, subscribe to your blog, or subscribe to your newsletter?

Ted Rubin wrote a great article about how to create real relationships with social marketing which inspired this post. Ted talks about being real and authentic, which can be a challenge when you're interacting online, but as he points out, there are ways to show people who you really are.

The first step in nurturing relationships is to follow up with customers. This is one thing that many businesses forget to do. It's like sleeping with someone on the first date and not calling them afterwards...or ever.

Do you treat customers like one night stands? You'd be surprised how many businesses do.

Treat your customers like they are your grandparents. You call them every once in awhile and send them cards or gifts on special occasions, right? Why not do that with customers?

Remember that people do business with a variety of companies. They’re busy and can sometimes forget about your business. That’s why it’s important to make your business memorable. Perhaps it’s cliche to say this, but people remember how you make them feel. What is it that you do that creates a warm and fuzzy feeling with customers?

You may have heard all the great stories about Amazon or Zappos and how they treat their customers - like mailing purchases overnight when it wasn’t expected or sending flowers on a special occasion. Those stories have spread fast, which has helped boost these companies’ sales and image. Can you grow your business like Amazon and Zappos have done just by offering great service and nurturing relationships? Absolutely.

The social web has made doing business so much easier given all the different communication channels available. What used to cost thousands of dollars and take up a great deal of time can now be done with a few taps and a push of a button on the computer. Sending messages to your customers costs you virtually nothing except some time to actually craft up the message. A quick tweet to wish someone happy birthday or a Facebook message to thank them for participating on the fan page does wonders for your brand’s reputation.

What can you do today to begin nurturing relationships with your customers?

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