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Connecting with customers is one of the most important things you can do as a business. Building a strong connection from day one improves retention and expands your network. For new businesses, this is one of the most surefire methods of achieving growth.
If you find yourself struggling to connect with customers, don’t fret. Some simple strategy adjustments will get your brand on the right path. Use these tips to start connecting today:
Embrace Self-Awareness as a Brand
In his podcast “How I Learned to Connect with People,” John Maxwell talks about how understanding his unique capabilities made him a better connector. Instead of trying to emulate what he sees in others, he leverages his personal strengths. Recognizing what he was good at and leaning on those qualities made him a more authentic and genuine leader.
Your brand needs to do the same thing. Don’t try to project a fake image just to sway customers your way. The connections you make will be shallow ones, and customers will bail on you when the facade bumps up against reality. If your burger joint gets its supplies off the Sysco truck like every other restaurant in town, don’t try to portray yourself as a farm-to-table destination. Instead, embrace the friendly comfort food vibe, encouraging customers to stop by when they need a fries fix.
Your brand has unique qualities, values and strengths. You should focus your energy on expanding upon those strengths—custom-seasoned fries? a hot fries guarantee?—instead of trying to mimic other brands. You will make better connections if you are aware of what makes your brand distinctive and share those qualities with your customers.
Prove Your Worth
Customers value transparency today more than ever. Making an effort to be transparent will eliminate many of the reservations new customers may have when considering doing business with your brand.
For starters, customers want to know that you can solve their problems and have their best interests at heart. Overblown marketing campaigns and products that fall short of their promises will cause customers to avoid your brand. Use your platforms to show customers that your products aren’t intended just to make a quick buck—they exist to successfully address their pain points.
Forge a connection with new customers by showing them how you’ve helped existing ones. Customers will be able to picture themselves in the case studies you provide, and who doesn’t appreciate a candid product review from someone who’s faced the same issue? By not shying away from what people have to say about your brand, you show customers that you’re comfortable with who you are and want to openly share that with them.
Consider Their Feelings
If you truly want to connect with customers, get to know them. What are their fears and desires? What does your brand do that soothes those fears and fulfills those desires? Answering these questions will help you to make customer connections more meaningful and profound.
Maybe your customers are just heading back out into the world after a year spent in sweatpants. They worry about looking like schlubs as they re-enter the social scene. They want to make a good impression on both new acquaintances and friends they haven’t seen in months. Position your subscription clothing box as the solution to their worries and their wants.
Don’t view customers as just potential conversions to add to your data tracking. Look at them as people with feelings looking for a brand to support them. Seek out opportunities to talk to individuals to get an idea of what they want and how your brand can be of use to them.
Build a Content Bridge
There are more ways to connect with customers than pushing products and services. In the digital age, many consumers will come into contact with your brand through content. To these customers, your brand identity will be built on the basis of being an industry leader rather than simply a provider.
I spend much of my days helping brands use content to better connect with their customers. Consider the provider of a videoconferencing platform, for example. In a rapidly growing industry, how can that company set itself apart from the competition? One strategy that has proven successful time and time again is to use content to build a rapport with audience members and turn them into customers.
A company blog gives this content a place to live. For example, the company could share blog posts about meeting etiquette, online customer acquisition and tips for managing a remote team. This content will be found by their target demographics through search engines and establish the brand as a trustworthy source in its field.
Today’s customers can spot inauthenticity a mile away. To truly connect with members of your audience, you need to know who you are, and you need to know who they are. What’s more, you need to care. When you approach your customers with a genuine desire to help and to inform, you’ll build lasting connections that will enable your business to thrive.
