How to Strengthen Customer Relations?

Good customer relations are a very important element in a well-functioning business. They comprise a set of diverse procedures that are essential in managing contacts with people, building these contacts, and maintaining them for a long time.

What to do when these relationships have been strained? Can anything still be done to improve and save our image?
Certainly, but it is not that simple.

Let's start from the beginning with what to do to strengthen relationships with our customers.

A handshake, a smile, and a friendly tone of voice are some of the elements that make others feel comfortable in our company. In conversation, often use the plural form to emphasize that it is “We” that will do something together, not just “I” alone.

When we talk about joint action, we give the feeling that we create a team with common goals.

Try to always be somehow accessible; contrary to appearances, it is not so difficult: just set up a voicemail or autoresponder that will inform about your return to work and indicate the person who will replace you during your absence. It seems obvious, but it often happens that emails remain unanswered for several days, and no one knows the reason.

Speak directly and be assertive; clients sometimes like to cross the boundaries of the agreement, so to prevent conflicts, speak directly about your expectations for cooperation, and refuse firmly if you know you are asked for too much.
Reward loyalty. Keeping a customer is much cheaper than acquiring a new one. Rewarding loyalty also includes discounts and rebates for regular clients. These actions bond customers to the brand and make them identify with it.
What to do when the relationship with a client has been severely damaged? It is worth rebuilding it because the world is small, and burning bridges behind us is not good for our image.

It might sound banal, but first and foremost, apologize, even if some time has passed, the word "sorry" does not have an expiration date. Don't count on someone forgetting because it certainly won't happen.
Take responsibility if the fault lies solely on your side and correct the mistake. Remember, we always work with people, and people value credibility and honesty.

We build a relationship with the client from the first meeting with our company. Therefore, two things are extremely important: professionalism and an individual approach to the client. When several companies in the market provide similar services in similar price categories, what distinguishes one from the other is the quality of service.