10 ways to build good customer relations

Customer relations is the art of dealing with the customer in such a way that the customer feels welcomed and appreciated.

Entrepreneurs or business owners should be very much interested in what will make their customers happy about the services and products that they offer. Customers are the ‘ingredients’ that keep an enterprise running and therefore should be treated with the greatest care as if they were eggs.

These are some 10 tips to help you maintain good customer relations.

1. Respond to Clients as Soon as Possible

Speed is everything, especially when a client is requesting something time-sensitive. Try very hard to meet deadlines and deliver products to customers on time. This would help customers to develop trust and confidence in your enterprise’s ability to deliver effectively and promptly.

Even if you can’t work on the task they’re requesting you to accomplish right away, be frank and let them know that you appreciate their request but you are in a fix and cannot deliver the task at their specified time.

Then supply them with a timeline of when you will be able to get the task completed. If you can’t find the time to perform the task, it will be very considerate of you to let them know as soon as possible so that they can make alternative arrangements.

2. Keep Clients Updated

While working on the projects of customers, it will be appropriate to keep them updated on the progress of work as well as the challenges that you may have encountered in the course of your work. Status updates give clients reinforcements that they’re involved in the project.

If you’re experiencing trouble with something, let them know right away. It shows that you’re keeping them in the loop and that you have things under control. If it’s something major, communicating your concern right away allows clients to plan for possible delays in the project’s completion.

3. Go the Extra Mile

If a client asks you to do something that truly won’t cost you a lot in time and income, you have the option of going the extra mile and doing it for them. Not only will these result in making a customer happy, they can also go a long way in terms of keeping yourself in their good books for future projects.

4. Fix Your Mistakes

If you did something that didn’t end up working, you should repair it. A quick way to lose a client forever is not admitting that you are at fault and not fixing your own mistakes. You should always strive for a high-quality output.

This would show that you have a high level of standards in your craftsmanship. Not taking responsibility of your own mistakes is a sure-fire way of gaining a bad business reputation. Transparency is important in any business.

Apologize and bear the cost in producing another product if the first one produced could not satisfy the customer as a result of your poor workmanship.

5. Listen to Your Clients

It is important to listen to what your clients are communicating to you. Understand what they are saying and ask for clarifications on things that might be ambiguous.

Clients might be unfamiliar with certain terminologies in our profession, and what you think they mean might be different from what they mean. Listen to what their needs are, and then offer your suggestion on the best way to go about fulfilling their needs.

6. Keep Your Promises

If you say you’re going to do something, make sure you do it. It’s part of being a professional. If you need more time on something, you should let them know as soon as possible, not after you’ve already missed the deadline. Honoring your commitments is very important.

7. Don’t Confuse Clients with Jargon

Try to explain whatever the problem is as best as you can without making the client feel stupid. When proposing a solution, make sure you state it in terms they understand. You could use analogies that are relevant to them. Read more about how to talk to clients effectively as well as how to get your ideas across to clients. This shows your customer relations idea’s levels is increasing.

8. Be Patient

Some customers are quite troublesome. There is the need to exercise great patience on them while keeping tempers under control. If you feel that the client is overstepping his or her boundaries, let him or her know in a cordial and professional manner. It will be very bad to start yelling and cursing at the people you make a living from. Maintain professionalism at all times.

9. Know Everything You Need to Know

You are a paid expert. People are giving you their hard-earned money to do something they believe you have a high level of mastery in executing. You need to keep yourself up-to-date with the profession and always be ready to answer questions your client needs to know. If you exhibit signs that you don’t know your craft inside out, you risk the chance of ruining your professional reputation.

10. Put Yourself in Their Shoes

Workers in an enterprise should ask themselves this question: If I were in the shoes of my customers and were being treated the way I am treating them, would I have enjoyed that experience?’ If our answer is ‘yes’ then we are doing a good job.

On the other hand, if our answer is ‘no’, we have to work harder to improve upon our customer relations. It is important to constantly evaluate our customer relations to provide good and efficient services to the ‘blood of our enterprise’, our cherished customers.

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