Building healthy relationships between your business and your target audience is very crucial. A lot of entrepreneurs fail in this aspect; they fail to value the importance of establishing a strong connection with the people they aim to reach and even with the people they have already reached.
Note that in order to get people’s attention, to earn their trust to believe you, and to have them constantly support your venture, you must not only be providing good quality products but also satisfying customer experience. One of the major facets in allowing customers and potential customers to bag home a remarkable experience with your business is communication.
You have always heard it: Communication is a two-way system. One listens as the other speaks, and they take turns; that’s how communication happens. When you have a business, do not forget the significance of not only producing and serving but also listening and hearing. Yes, it is important that you are able to effectively convey your business’ intentions to people, yet it is also a must to let people convey their message to you. Anyone interested should be able to reach you in various means. In that way, they can be helped, and you can help them.
To give you ideas that will benefit your business, check out these 5 tips to help your customers and potential clients contact you better! Keep these in mind, and get ready to respond to people’s messages sent to your business!
1 – BRING YOUR BUSINESS TO VARIOUS SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS.
Living in the digital era, you surely know how the advancements of technology and the Internet are among the most influential, if not the most influential, instruments for business’ progress and success today. It’s not a secret that online businesses have become very popular all over the world. The conveniences and comforts of the virtual sphere are impressive without a doubt. The benefits are unprecedented, and one of them is faster and more efficient communication.
So people can contact you without hassle, bring your business to various social media platforms. Facebook, the most used social media site, is famous for businesses. Because it has Facebook pages, you can introduce and run your online business favorably. They are easy to learn, use and promote! Instagram is very useful, especially for businesses using the power of visual appeal for their products. Hashtags also take your posts closer to people looking for services like yours. Twitter is advantageous for online stores as well because retweeting easily spreads the news. Well, you can choose and have just one social media platform for your business as long as it is where your target audience is found.
Take advantage of social media for your business since it is where people stay most of the time. People can easily inquire by commenting under your posts and by sending your business direct messages. Remember, these social networking zones are not anymore limited to leisure; they have become a necessity because of communication.
2 – CREATE A BUSINESS WEBSITE WITH A CONTACT FORM.
Social media makes it possible for people living in different places and in different time zones come together in one place. Aside from using a reputable social application, you can also create a business website of your own. Yes, it’s a site that is specially customized for your venture. It does not only add credibility to your enterprise but also paves way for another worthwhile sort of communication.
The benefits of owning a business website include properly introducing your venture’s background, clearly exhibiting your offers, proudly showcasing your accomplishments, quickly answering frequently asked questions and more. You can do these all in a place that only your business owns!
Use the prowess of contact forms in business websites. When people take time to send you an inquiry via the contact form, you will know that they really are eager to hear from you. They navigated through your site to find the ‘Contact Us’ tab, so they can reach you. This is a good sign of interest because they took time to visit your business website to know what you can do for them!
Always check and update your business website features, too, making sure none is problematic. When the contact form is not working, it becomes worthless. See to it that when a potential client sends a query, they are assured that their message is sent and that you receive it!
3 – INDICATE YOUR ACTIVE TELEPHONE AND/OR MOBILE PHONE NUMBER.
Although social media has become the leading tool for communication nowadays, the functionality of telephones for calling and mobile phones for text messaging is still present. Of course, when Internet connection is problematic or unavailable, phone calls and texting save you for sure!
Indicate your active telephone and/or mobile numbers on your social media page and/or business website. On the other hand, if you don’t have these but a physical shop, let your customers know through verbal communication, flyers or posters. These must be the phone numbers you are actually using and managing. Make sure that you update them whenever you change them, so people trying to inquire can contact you without issues.
4 – INCLUDE YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS.
Together with phone numbers, email addresses must be included in your list of contact details – whether they are online or offline.
Not all businesses use email communication with their customers because this method requires more effort and, in a way, formality, compared to Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. There are only particular ventures that are highly recommended and even required to use email with their clients.
If your business is solely online, sharing your email address to clients, potential customers and fellow businessmen who might want to collaborate is helpful. What else? For example, your business is a graphic arts studio providing graphic design services for event giveaways. You need your client to send you the photo that they want to have printed on their birthday souvenirs. Since the photo must be clear and Facebook Messenger lowers the image quality, they have to send it to you via email.
You just have to be wise and mindful when using email for your business because there are cyber attackers using emails to hack, scam and steal crucial information from businesses. Be careful when “customers” send suspicious links or files because they might be traps for them to access your account and device. If you have business insurance, you can be assisted just in case you become a victim, but of course, prevention is better than cure, so be extra careful first and foremost.
Though emailing was much more popular before social media has actually become a communication medium than today, it cannot be denied that it is still being constantly utilized for business purposes, especially in the corporate setting.
5 – DISPLAY THE ADDRESS OF YOUR PHYSICAL OFFICE.
If online and text messaging are not sufficient for people to let you know what they need, visiting you is the key. This is obviously applicable if you have a physical store for your business. For your target audience to know where they can find your business beyond social media, display the address of your location.
Moreover, it would be helpful if it can be found in road navigation software and mobile applications. Clients living far or are quite unfamiliar with your office’s location will be helped. Face-to-face communication is generally much better than a virtual one, so if you have an actual shop, let people know, so they can contact you by paying a nice visit!
Clean your store regularly. Have it scented pleasantly. Design and decorate it suitably considering your business’ nature and mood. Make the store’s exteriors and interiors as presentable as the impression that your online page probably exudes, if you do have one. See to it that when people visit your physical store, they will have a positive reason to come again for your service and products in particular!
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REACHING YOUR BUSINESS
Reaching a business must not be a hassle, especially for potential clients who do not actually know about you yet. Because people need to look for a business that will kindly assist them and skillfully achieve their requests, contacting one should not present any more problems than they already have. Instead, it should make access to your zone a stress-free one.
Aim to make your business friendly for all kinds of customers. Being accessible and reachable is one terrific way to achieve that! Customers find it really convenient and comfortable when they can obtain the products and services they need without having to spend a lot of time finding how to contact the business that provides them.
Look from the perspective of a customer, and you will definitely understand the feeling and need!
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Nicole Ann Pore is a writer, an events host and a voice over artist. Quality and well-researched writing is her worthwhile avenue to enlighten and delight others about things that matter. She is a daytime writer for Insurance Advisernet, a quality business insurance provider and adviser in Australia. Nicole graduated Cum Laude from De La Salle University Manila, Philippines with a Bachelor’s Degree in Communication Arts.
