Any business that wants to succeed both on and offline must strive to continually communicate with their target audience. A company must ensure their brand name remains in the mind of their existing and prospective customers all year long. It’s essential to build stronger connections with your demographic. To help you do so, we’re offering 10 ways to strengthen customer relationships.

• Regular Communication

Businesses looking for long-term growth and a high-turnover need to regularly communicate with past and potential customers. Yet, the medium you choose, the message you provide and the frequency you choose can determine your industry success. For instance, no customer wants to receive a hard pitch in every message. If they do, they will stop engaging with a brand and will turn to an industry rival.

Instead, aim to provide your customers with relevant topics for them – and the frequency and medium you choose will depend on your business and industry. For example, you can connect with a target demographic via email, social media, direct mail, over-the-phone, or in-person.

• Reward Your Customers

Even the richest person in the world loves a bargain. Give your customers a reason to invest in your products and services by creating a rewards program. For instance, you can create a “spend more, earn more” concept that will encourage visitors to shop with you to receive more for their money. It’s an effective way to increase your conversion rate, connect with your audience and improve customer loyalty.

• Host a Special Event

Get to know your customers by hosting a special event, such as a product launch, executive dinner, summer party or a formal ball. It can be a lucrative marketing investment, as it will allow you to meet with existing and prospective customers, while learning more about who they are and their opinions on your brand. What’s more, the event will boost your brand recognition and may gain great press coverage, which could generate more leads and conversions.

• Make the Most of the Holidays

People from all walks of life will be turning to stores both on and offline to buy products in time for the holidays. The festive season therefore provides the ideal opportunity to reconnect with existing and potential customers, who will be in the market to buy your products and services. You must strive to make the most of the holidays to engage with your demographic, build relationships and generate leads. To do so, read the Holiday Checklist to ensure you have a profitable holiday.

• Gather Customer Feedback

Engaging with your customers is a two-way street. Not only will you want them to buy from your business, but they will also want their voices to be heard. It’s vital to listen to your customers and gather as much feedback as possible, so you can improve customer satisfaction, your products, and services. If a customer feels as if their problems or concerns are being listened to, and the appropriate action is taken, you can trust they will return to your business time and again.

We recommend hiring a team of dedicated employees who will both respond and resolve customer issues immediately. You can even add an online customer service assistance to surpass your competition and enhance the customer experience.

• Go Multi-lingual

Do you want to considerably increase your sales? It might be time to add a multilingual component across the company, which will allow you to enter the global marketplace to broaden your reach, connect with overseas customers, generate more leads, and transform your conversion rate. Consider adding a translation of your website or providing an online operating service your desired languages.

• Follow the 80/20 Rule

Do you realize that 80% of a company’s business will come directly from 20% of its existing customers? That is why you must focus your marketing efforts towards your current patrons, which will allow you to generate a higher return on your investment, while helping to build strong customer relationships. Attract past customers with a personalized service, loyalty discounts and exclusive content.

• Personalize Your Email Marketing Campaigns

Aim to gather as much information as possible on your customers to deliver personalized, targeted emails straight into their inbox. For example, reward them with a discount code on their birthday, or learn about their age, gender, hobbies, and interests to utilize segmentation to create tailored email campaigns that are relevant to your subscribers.

Send informative, compelling blog posts they will want to read, or promote products or services to those who’re more likely to engage. Personalized emails will also establish your brand’s credibility, while proving your company strives to provide their customers with meaningful experiences, which can help set your business apart from its competitors. What’s more, it’s believed personalized emails will deliver a 6x higher transaction rates.

• Publish Insightful Blog Posts

An insightful blog post will establish your expertise and tone of voice. As a result, a customer will be more likely to turn to your content to resolve their problems or inspire their own lifestyle. Simple “how to” articles will allow you to provide an answer for common issues, while opinion pieces can provide your audience with food for thought. Blogs therefore provide an opportunity to speak to your target market and establish your brand’s personality, which can help a customer form a connection with your company.

• Create Fresh and Engaging Social Media Posts

Every marketer knows they need to have a social media presence to grow their business online and connect with customers. However, creating an online presence doesn’t mean simply uploading a photograph or blog post and hoping for the best.

You must be proactive across social media to stand out from the crowd of competitors. Create unique, creative, and fresh posts that connect with audience in a way your competitors can’t. Review your direct and indirect competitors’ social media posts to discover where they’re going right or wrong – and learn from the mistakes while building on their strengths.