7 Simple Ways to Improve Customer Communication

The average person sees around 5,000 advertisements in a day. This is an overwhelming number of messages communicated to customers.

Your customer communication strategy has to cut through the clutter in order to make a relevant impact. Here are 7 simple ways to improve customer communication for your brand.

1. Get to the Point

One of the biggest mistakes brands make when it comes to customer communication is trying to tell their entire story at once. You typically only have a few seconds to grab the attention of your audience.

A Google study shows that this is especially the case when it comes to web pages. If a visitor doesn’t see relevant information on a web page within 3 seconds, they click away from your site.

Get ahead of the competition with clear, concise messages. Guard against long talking head videos that are self-promoting.

Equip customers with the information they need to make smarter choices when doing business with your brand. Think of your brand as an educational resource for customers.

If relevant, share how customers can solve problems without you by giving away tutorials or white papers that update them on the industry. Many business owners worry that this makes them obsolete.

But most clients won’t use information from a white paper to start a new department within the company. The information overload is more likely to encourage them to ask for help than to inspire them to take on even more tasks at work. 

2. Be Accessible

Make it easy for customers to communicate with you. Be accessible by email, phone, and even text if possible.

Avoid telling clients your communication preferences as it can lead to confusion about when to reach you. Comments like “I’m more of an email person” or “I don’t usually check my voicemail til Friday” makes it seem like there are rules to connecting with you.

Instead, open the door for customers to reach out to you anytime using any method. Even if you can’t respond right away, you’re keeping the door open to discuss potential opportunities.

Set a reminder to check your messages daily, or at least within 48 hours, so you don’t miss urgent communications. 

3. Try SMS

SMS or text marketing is a great way to connect with existing customers. Guard against SMS marketing for potential customers because it can easily come across as SPAM. 

But existing customers can enjoy immediate communication that alerts them to sudden changes to their accounts. SMS marketing also helps to alert customers of flash sales or other promotions you have going on.

Make sure the information is worth sharing before deciding to text your customers. Deals that aren’t worth their attention won’t be forwarded to friends and family members.

Only reach out to your customers when you have something urgent and amazing to share with them. This increases your chances of a viral message.  

4. Solve Conflicts Quickly

Have a policy in place to help your customer service team solve conflicts quickly. Often, the conflict itself isn’t worth losing the entire value of the customer relationship.

Getting repeat business or referrals is the cheapest way to increase your bottom line. Allow customers to ‘return to their happy place’ by offering them solutions that quickly and easily resolve their issues.

If there is no precedent for the conflict, ask the customer what would make them satisfied again. There will be times when customers simply can’t be pleased.

In this situation, the only option is to remain an open door they can come back to should they choose to do business with you again. An angry customer could later calm down and decide to return to your company if you don’t burn a bridge. 

5. Welcome Feedback

Encourage customer communication even if you think it’ll make your brand look bad. After an obvious mess up on your part, schedule a follow-up meeting to get feedback on the customer’s experience.

Your team might think they have the problems all figured out but, in many cases, your customers can present an entirely new perspective. Happy customers aren’t necessarily without problems.

Often, they’re simply more satisfied than dissatisfied so they keep doing business with you. 

6. Listen More, Talk Less

When it comes to customer communication, less is more. Encourage engagement across social media channels and using online polls.

Keeping the door open for public comments on your brand increases engagement. This is the key to optimizing your online presence and getting to the heart of customer wants and needs.

Avoid too many sales-related posts on your social media channels. Marketing language can be reserved for e-blasts and other forms of temporary communication.

Your social media channels and blog are about sparking ongoing conversations. Respond immediately to negative comments even if they seem unresolvable.

Apologize to the customer and offer a follow-up conversation to keep them engaged. Your online comments will quickly become a resource for learning more about your target demographic.

Use this data for future marketing campaigns and product releases. 

7. Own Your Message

Stay true to your core company values across your communication campaign. Brands that hop on trends that seem contrary to previous messages come across as untrustworthy.

Stay away from controversial messages unless your brand image centers on controversy as a value. You’ll isolate many potential customers with polarizing messages.

Instead, stick to a timeless value that can be communicated across all your marketing channels using the storybrand guide. Embed this message into the minds of everyone in the company from the sales team to the customer service staff.

With everyone on the same script, your brand will soon become associated with your stated values. 

Customer Communication Training

One of the best things a business leader can do to improve customer communication is to ensure all staff speaks from the same brand messaging. Have scripts in place for customer service teams to follow.

Train your sales team to listen more and talk less. Prompt the marketing staff to spark interesting conversations on social media to lure in customer ideas and feedback.

Training is key, but your staff can help your company shine among its competitors with the right customer communication training. For more information and tips, visit our blog for updates.

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