What is primarily responsible for strength gains in beginning clients? QUICK RESPONSE: the constant loyal relationship you show and demonstrate in facts you are willing to build over time through actions, words and favors.
From this material you will learn:
- Why a good relationship between the client and your company is so important
- Top 10 Customer Relationship Principles in Sales
- Fundamentals of customer relationship management in a business model
- How to analyze the relationship of customers to your company
- Instructions for organizing long-term relationships with clients
Good and trusting relationships with customers are the primary task of any company, no matter what type of activity it is engaged in. By creating strong relationships with customers, you will certainly raise the level of efficiency and financial security of your business to a new level.
Let’s say that the elementary data that you can get from your regular customers will help you analyze the trends in demand for certain goods and services. In addition, having such information, it becomes possible to build a more targeted approach to expanding your business. If you want to know what should be at the heart of a strong relationship with customers, read on our article.
Why a good relationship between the client and your company is so important
The success and prosperity of a business depend on consumers, so it is important for any entrepreneur to be able to competently build relationships with those who are willing to pay for his services. Of course, the company can provide a one-time service and calm down, but this is the most unreasonable approach that exists. Next, you will learn how to implement one of the key business tasks, namely, to form and maintain relationships with customers.
Building a long-term relationship with a client is beneficial, as it provides a stable income for the company. It is these connections that form the basis of profit.
To get a new buyer, the company must incur certain financial and time costs, that is, you will have to spend time and money on establishing contact, collecting information, studying your tasks and the needs of a potential visitor. Next comes the stage of planning an advertising company, informing the audience about the services offered, and the cost of the presentation.
While working with an old client is much easier – you only need to present your new products to him. He already knows you, so he trusts and appreciates your suggestions. The main task at this stage is to analyze his needs, then you can talk about the goods and services he really needs.
Top 10 Customer Relationship Principles in Sales
- Show interest more often, try to express your own opinion less .The speech of many sellers is built from long sentences. Such employees do not think about whether the interlocutor wants to listen to their story. It is likely that a person is interested in some specific properties of the product.Therefore, it is important for every sales specialist to learn how to ask the right question, because this skill is the main component of conducting a business conversation. Then you have every chance to build normal relationships between managers and clients.Coming to the store, the buyer always initiates a dialogue. At this stage, the main thing is not to translate communication into a seller’s story about the product. Practice shows that the majority of visitors try to complete such a lecture as soon as possible.An employee of the company should ask the interlocutor how he evaluates the characteristics of the proposal. After reading his thoughts, the seller can express his own opinion. It is important to use a friendly, in no case categorical form. It is very important to remain unobtrusive, attentive towards the visitor.
- Do not rush to complete the sale . You need to understand that the formation of relationships with customers is a complex, multifaceted process. If you really want the product to be bought, you cannot impose conditions and set limits on a potential client. Your task is to intrigue, arouse interest in your proposal, because only then can you hope to continue the conversation.Help the visitor to form a position himself, so that he does not have the feeling that he was forced to buy a product. On the contrary, he will be pleased to come back to your store, because here he is well understood.
- Take care of your reputation .Word of mouth is one of the best ways to grow a business. This is especially noticeable today, when information does not take much time to get to a potential consumer of services.But you need to understand that positive reviews spread just as quickly as negative ones. If a person is well acquainted with your company, the likelihood that he will say unpleasant things about you is very small. There is only one way to achieve this attitude of the audience: you must learn to find the main problem of the buyer and help solve it.Remember that reputation is the key to building trust with customers.No matter what services the company provides, a person comes to get what they want and spend the money in the most profitable way.Each buyer is happy when he is kindly met and given time, in addition, he always strives to learn more about the goods offered. If you have received a person well, then he will recommend you to his friends. First of all, he will talk about the entrepreneur himself and his managers, and then about the products.
- End the conversation so that the interlocutor understands: you are ready to continue the business relationship . Here you need to act like a thriller writer: in the last scene of the first part there is always an intrigue hinting at the development of the plot in the next film.Therefore, although each manager has a badge on his chest, at the end of the communication he must introduce himself again. However, this must be done indirectly, under any pretext, once again pronouncing your name.For example, you can advise a person to contact you next time, promising additional services in a half-joking tone. If it is clear from the look of the visitor that he is not ready for jokes, say that when you meet again, you will definitely find the right thing for him.This way you can start a relationship quite easily. Each of us subconsciously treats well-wishers well, so become one. It’s always nice to think that a certain store has “their own person” ready to help in a difficult situation. The buyer will definitely not go looking for new options, but will return to the company where he is welcome.All this will provide you with long-term relationships with consumers of your company’s services.
- Keep feelings and emotions under control .Smile is the basis of the ethics of customer relations. It is not very pleasant to work with tired consultants with a downcast or distant look. The consumer feels much more comfortable when he realizes that he bought the right thing from his cheerful friend. Even better, if he can cheer up, share interesting news, and also remembers previous requests and is ready to give a constructive solution.
- The client may be wrong . The expression “The customer is always right” is known, but you should not consider it an axiom. The buyer can only be absolutely right if he knows what he is talking about.You should not try to cash in on the inexperience of the interlocutor – you should tell him the truth about your proposals and correct him if he is wrong. Otherwise, after some time, the person will be disappointed in your services, which will negatively affect your reputation.The buyer will come to you constantly if you can prove to him that your relationship is not built on deceit. Therefore, be careful not to give hope where it should not be done. Offer only what you have no doubts about.
- Always arrive on time .Any businessman values his time and the time of those with whom he has an appointment. If the entrepreneur is honest, he has no one to be afraid of, he does not look around with fear, and all business dates have a relaxed, open character. Do not allow yourself to make excuses or blame external circumstances for everything.There is an opinion that “once does not count”. Even your smallest mistake will leave its mark on your business relationship with the client.As you plan each step, think about the consequences that await you. You can work on your reputation for many years and lose it overnight – it’s not worth the risk. Never push back in your schedule the activities that you agreed on in advance. You can’t afford to leave a potential buyer feeling left out.Of course, you can get into an unforeseen situation, then call and warn of your lateness. You must take responsibility for yourself, not trying to make excuses or refer to coincidence. Remember that good customer relationships are more than pride.
- Take responsibility for your own actions . If people feel that you are really ready to take care of them, they will not refuse your services. Everything here is built on a trusting relationship between you and consumers, and only under this condition will you succeed. Even if a rumor suddenly gets around that you are stubborn, it is difficult to convince you, people will perceive this as a manifestation of your strong character traits and will only respect you more.But if your potential audience understands that you are ready to step over any principles for the sake of money, you should not expect respect from them. Remember that it is always more comfortable to communicate with nice people who care about their own reputation and make deals on mutually beneficial terms. And a good attitude to visitors will always pay off, do not even hesitate.
- A regular customer is a friend .It happens that trusting relationships in the employee-client format develop somewhat differently than originally expected. So, people can ask the opinion of the entrepreneur on topics not related to his field. If you find yourself in a similar situation, it is better to share your own experience, give advice to help the interlocutor solve the problem. In fact, this is the basis of friendly communication. It is always nice when people want to know your position on the issue, because it means that you are not trying in vain – now the reputation is working for you. In this scenario, the relationship with the buyer will be able to develop without your further efforts.
- Do not be afraid that the consumer will leave .Do not deny the fact that there are inadequate people. Of course, you should not scatter customers and break all ties as soon as a person has made a mistake. But it is quite another matter if he deliberately creates problems for some reason of his own. If you see that the partnership does not have a profitable prospect, it is better to end it as soon as possible. Do not be afraid to seem categorical – others should understand that you value your principles and will not cooperate with a deceiver.
It makes no sense to spend money increasing advertising budgets if the sales department does not work out applications properly and simply “merges” them. It’s the same as trying to pour water into a leaky bucket.
You can endlessly fill the department with leads, spend money on marketing and product packaging, but if you don’t have a sales department, but a sales department or cashiers department, they will still lose applications.
You will think that you need to increase marketing budgets more and more, spend instead of 2 million – 4. While in fact you need to achieve a normal closing of the application – to increase the conversion of managers.
As long as there is a hole in the “bucket”, it is pointless to pour water into it, and under any pressure. The more you pour water, the more water will flow out of the hole.
The primary task for every leader is to identify: leaky bucket or not.
We have prepared a checklist for checking your employees from the No. 1 expert in sales, Sergey Azimov, so that you can quickly close all the “holes” in your sales department. It is based on our many years of experience, helps to increase the conversion and bring the client to the conclusion of the transaction. It’s completely free!
Before you are going to pour water anywhere, do not forget to check if there is a hole there or not. This will allow several times to increase the company’s revenue.
Fundamentals of customer relationship management in a business model
From the point of view of the rules for conducting partnerships with the client, it is important to clearly define the communication strategy and analyze in detail:
- how do you intend to attract a new audience and build work with it;
- which way you choose to develop relationships with existing partners – remember that it is important for you to maintain their loyalty;
- what is happening with your relationship with consumers.
Experts distinguish several types of relationships with customers. The choice of one of them depends on the area in which you are doing business.
- Personal support .In this case, a person contacts directly with a representative of the company, who helps him in his choice and can advise him after purchasing the goods. Typically, retail stores choose this principle of operation.
- Special personal support . This is a trusting type of relationship, which implies that the attitude towards each client is special, because a separate specialist of the company is attached to it. This approach is used by private banks when working with reputable clients.
- Self-service .The client is deprived of direct contact with the company. For example, a soda machine can serve as an illustration of this approach.
- Automated Service .This is an analogue of the previous variety, with the only difference being that there are automated processes.
- Communities .Companies create communities on social networks to better understand their audience and form a warmer relationship with them. Groups are managed and maintained by individual moderators.
- Joint Publications .In this case, value is created together with the consumer. So, readers write reviews on Livelib.ru or finalize articles in Wikipedia.When choosing one of the types of relationships, ask yourself the following questions:
- What kind of relationship do you currently have with clients?
- What kind of relationship does each customer segment expect from you?
- What marketing costs will this approach to building relationships with customers lead to?
- How does this fit with your business model?
How to analyze the relationship of customers to your company
Always remember that customers are the backbone of any business, because without them, entrepreneurial activity is simply impossible. If a company wants to develop, it needs to actively replenish its customer base.
To do this, an analysis of customer satisfaction is carried out, that is, an assessment of how satisfied people are with the services provided to them. In other words, you need to understand whether they are satisfied with their buying experience or with your product or service.
It is the measurement of customer satisfaction that is one of the most common types of business analysis. Companies use it no less than financial analysis. Thanks to the information received as a result of information processing, it is possible to understand why people value your offers. Often, business leaders find themselves in a difficult financial situation due to a lack of understanding of what exactly their customers want.
1. Why is this tool important?
Satisfaction analysis allows you to save consumers from possible difficulties when buying or using a product and build the most comfortable relationship between a specialist and a client. This means that in this way the likelihood increases that people will come to you again and turn into your loyal audience, ready to constantly bring you profit.
Thanks to a large number of satisfied customers, the company is able to reduce its costs. The fact is that it is much cheaper to keep people you know than to attract new ones. For this reason, experts recommend periodically measuring customer satisfaction in order to build relationships with them in the most competent way. So you will know exactly what people think about your company, offers, how they treat you. So, you will understand how well your business is going, whether your competitors are luring too many buyers to themselves.
In today’s world, customer dissatisfaction has become much more dangerous than before. If before that the seller managed to anger the visitor, he could call the management or write a harsh letter. This is where it all ended. Today, an offended person is more likely to post the most negative reviews on social networks, which can seriously affect your sales.
Therefore, it is recommended to track how satisfied consumers are in order to quickly correct an unpleasant situation.
2. When is this tool needed?
It is necessary to continuously measure customer satisfaction, because thanks to this information, you can evaluate your opportunities for developing business relations or notice a threat in time. The viability of a business largely depends on how well and how often such an assessment is carried out.
In fact, dissatisfied customers are not always a bad thing. You need to understand that doing business without them is simply impossible. Whether one of them becomes a threat or a new opportunity depends only on how you resolve the current situation and build relationships.
Discontent is not an unambiguously negative factor. There is nothing wrong with it if you managed to find out the mood of the person in time and took measures to neutralize the possible consequences. Then the dissatisfied buyer will turn into a satisfied one and will want to stay with you. But for this you need to regularly assess the level of customer satisfaction.
3. What questions can this tool answer?
Due to the timely analysis of audience satisfaction, you will learn:
- Are your customers getting what they want?
- Are they satisfied with your offers?
- Are they satisfied with the level of service?
- how well you work with clients.
4. How to use such a tool?
Satisfaction is a subjective phenomenon, so the same action of a manager can cause a completely opposite reaction in different people. This leads to the fact that the analysis of customer satisfaction becomes a difficult task. It is usually carried out by combining studies to assess quantity and quality.
Due to the quantitative component, it is possible to understand the time trend of customer satisfaction. Suppose this indicator allows you to define the following task: “On a scale from 1 to 5, indicate how satisfied you are with product X. 1 means completely dissatisfied, and 5 means completely satisfied.”
The qualitative component allows a deeper understanding of the assessments made at the previous stage. It makes it possible to measure the dynamics and the customer satisfaction index (“customer satisfaction index” – CSI). CSI is the average of all the factors that you think affect customer satisfaction. When choosing factors, it is better not to start from your own assumptions, but to form a focus group and conduct a factor analysis. This approach will provide an opportunity to identify the most valuable aspects of your proposals from the point of view of the audience. Believe me, the opinions of consumers can be very different from each other.
Once the factors are selected, it is worth setting weights for them. Let’s say the satisfaction of airline passengers depends on the absence of delays during departure, fast customs clearance, security, availability of snacks during the flight. Of course, not only the availability, but also the quality of food on the plane affects the mood of the passenger, but it is unlikely that it is as important as the time of departure and the level of safety in the sky.
The Satisfaction Index can be based on a unique set of factors that you know have the most impact on customer satisfaction. However, it is not necessary to create your own rating system, you can use the existing index to further adjust the attitude towards your company.
The American Consumer Satisfaction Index or the British National Customer Satisfaction Index is quite common in the world. These approaches allow you to get a single estimate based on several factors. These include customer expectations, quality, value, complaints, customer retention, customer loyalty, and willingness to tolerate price changes.
One of the main advantages of these tools is the use of the same questions in the research process. Despite the fact that they change slightly according to the characteristics of the industry, any manager can compare his company with other representatives of the industry.
Recently, there have been many more tools for analyzing the situation in business. Quite often they do not require serious financial outlays. So, many entrepreneurs use reviews on forums, social networks, and also post news about themselves there.
All the information you need is already stored on the Web, and since it hasn’t been processed by researchers yet, you have a great opportunity to find out what consumers are saying about you. It is here that you will find the most accurate information about the real state of affairs in business. To do this, evaluate the tone of statements in the messages of your buyers.
Instructions for organizing long-term relationships with clients
Algorithm of work with the client:
- Prepare a list of your proposals .Divide offers into one-time and long-term, involving support. There are always many firsts. Your goal is for the interviewee to agree to work with you for a long time.
- Stay connected .Find out which of your services the client is interested in at the moment. It happens that a person himself does not assume that one of them can solve his problem. Do not forget that any entrepreneur can face a variety of problems: low profit levels, personnel issues, security difficulties, etc. That is why the client must be aware of the entire list of your proposals. Tell him what task a certain item allows you to cope with. Ask what other services/products your interlocutor needs.
- Create a client card .It is a kind of reference for each person. In this document, you fix all the stages of working with the buyer, here you can find out what interests him.All services should be divided into easy, basic and expensive. The first ones are quite simple, which cost about 15 thousand rubles – this is an initial consultation, audit, etc. During the acquaintance, it is important to interest the client in the main type of service, and then you can start selling more expensive offers.
- Test the needs of the consumer . Build on customer insights to tailor your list of offerings to their needs, which is most important when building relationships with customers in the service industry. Prepare to communicate – Decide how you will upsell new offers.If a person made a purchase, did not respond to your offers and never returned, it is worth considering what the reason is. Most often, he did not think about it, since he did not have a need formed. This means that you need to work on it: you must carefully lead the interlocutor to the desired thought during the first purchase.From your first meeting, the client should leave determined to continue working with you. While preparing for the first communication, you should understand what is interesting and beneficial to the interlocutor. At the meeting, you will have the opportunity to talk about how you can make it easier for him to run his business. Then, after the first transaction, he will be ready for the next one.
- Offer long-term services .This is the main stage. Form a list of services, a subscription fee that you can offer to your client. For any businessman, stability is important, guarantees that a good result awaits him, the growth of key indicators. And if you can not only convey to him, but also prove that all his goals are achievable through regular cooperation, you can count on developing a long-term relationship with the client.
- Get feedback and work with the consumer of services . Ideally, 9 out of 10 of your customers should turn into long-term partners who are ready to purchase your offers. Therefore, constantly stay in touch, processing problems, needs. In parallel, you must work on your own skills, improve the quality of offers. And if the improvements are really worth it, you can raise the price without a shadow of a doubt.You must understand that in the process of building relationships with customers, the goal you set plays a key role. A completely different job awaits you if you want to make a one-time profit or need permanent partners who can and should make regular sales. In the second case, it will be much easier to sell.
Long-term relationship with clients: rules and sequence of action
Long-term customer relationships are an investment whose benefits no one will dispute. It has long been known that retaining old customers is much more profitable for the company than attracting new ones (which, however, does not negate the need for the latter). However, it is not enough to have a good product – other actions are needed to make the buyer come back to you again and again. And here there are different approaches: some are timeless classics that should never be forgotten. Others are based on modern trends in the development of society. In our article, we will talk about all the tricks in these directions and give a list of mistakes that you need to avoid in order to build trust with customers.
Relationships with clients: principles for building long-term relationships
What is customer relationship and why is it so important Customer relationship is a systematic interaction between the seller and the consumer over a long period of time. Good relationships refer to value that money cannot buy. They are built on frequent communications that cannot be created in one meeting. Why is it important to strengthen relationships with customers and partners? The success and prosperity of the business depends on it. Regular customers bring more income than one-time ones. And with systematic cooperation with the same partners, you can count on mutual benefit. It is long-term cooperation that provides the company with a stable income.
Such connections are the basis of profit. When attracting new customers, the company incurs time and financial costs. It is necessary to study the needs of potential visitors, plan an advertising campaign, inform the audience about the goods or services offered, and spend money on a presentation. If the client becomes disposable, that is, will not continue cooperation, the costs will not pay off. That is why it is so important to build long-term relationships with customers and maintain them for a long time. Stages of customer relationship Building a relationship with a client goes through 5 stages, which Francis Battle identified in his unique book “CRM Concepts and technologies”: Awareness . At this stage, the customer understands what product or service a particular seller provides. Activity occurs when attention is attracted by advertising. Exploration . The client tests not only the quality of the product, but also the potential of the seller. If something does not suit him, the relationship ends there, that is, they remain one-time. This stage is compared with the demo version of the product or with the trial period of the service. Extension (expansion) . At this stage, the number of interactions between the parties grows, interdependence is formed. Commitment . The stage is formed from trust, shared values, confidence in the opposite side. As an accompaniment, all processes between the parties are automated. Termination (dissolution). Not all relationships go through the stages before the commitment stage, most of them immediately go to the last stage. Termination can be a unilateral or bilateral process. Building long-term relationships with clients doesn’t always end well. The client may end the relationship for: changes in product requirements; the appearance of an analogue that is superior in quality and technical characteristics; dissatisfaction with the services provided. Useful and harmful phrases for sellers Arms crossed, heavy sighs, monosyllabic answers – you know what a disgruntled customer looks like. How to deal with difficult buyers, read the article of the magazine “Commercial Director”. How to communicate with a client Regardless of this, building relationships with customers leads to the fact that the company receives a large number of loyal customers who become permanent. They not only consume products or services themselves, but also recommend it to relatives, acquaintances, colleagues, this is a kind of advertising that works more effectively than specially designed commercials, banners, and other methods. Customer Relationship Strategies To maintain and develop relationships with customers, you need to adhere to a certain strategy. Here are some guidelines that are suitable for any type of business. Make a list of offers to clients and partners Offers can be one-time and long-term. There are always a lot of one-offs. But the goal of the company should be for the client to agree to work for a long period of time. Always stay connected This is essential to the successful maintenance of a long – term relationship with a client . The client must understand well what offers are available to him at the moment. In addition, it is important to monitor what other goods, services are of interest to the interlocutor. Create a customer card This is a kind of reference for each consumer. It fixes the stages of work with customers, marks what specifically interests each client. Based on this document, it will be clear what, to whom and when to offer. Test customer needs This will help to tailor the list of offers to the needs of customers, which is especially important in the field of sales and service provision. If a consumer made a purchase on a hot offer once and never returned, it is important to think about what could be the reason. Most often, these customers do not have a specific need. This should be worked on, leading the client to the desired solution already during the first purchase. It is from the first meeting that the client must be ready for the next one. Offer long-term services The attitude towards customers must be loyal if the company is aimed at long-term cooperation. You can create a list of services for regular customers, for new customers. Every business needs stability. The more regular customers, the higher the monthly revenue. Customers need to be conveyed a simple truth that with regular cooperation they can get big discounts, bonuses, the right to participate in loyalty programs, etc. Get feedback to work with consumers It is not enough to always stay in touch if there is no way to get feedback. Ideally, 9 out of 10 clients with whom two-way contact is established remain constant, they are loyal to the company they chose once. With feedback, it is always possible to send out the hottest offers, offer goods and services at a discount, etc. How important is it to build relationships with the client when making sales and providing services? One reliable strategy is email marketing. As experience shows, the conversion from this type of marketing is 40 times higher when compared with advertising on social networks. The tool serves as the basis for building relationships with customers. Until recently, email marketing and customer relations were two different things. To date, these concepts have been combined. The process of such relationships allows you to create such advertising campaigns that will really attract the attention of consumers. What techniques to use when sending letters: Use the news as bait . The priority direction for the development of relations with the client is mailing letters. But according to statistics, only 12-16% of consumers open a letter. In order for the message to be truly read, you need to start with news about industry trends that are relevant to customers. A letter can be personalized by telling the addressee that they immediately thought of him when reading some news. The letter should contain relevant and important information, and most importantly, a proposal for assistance in solving a new problem. Always have ready-made templates and tools at hand. Trusting relationships with customers are built if the consumer can be helped in some way, simplifying his task. To do this is quite simple by sending ready-made templates and tools that will help the client complete the job much faster. Potential customers will see that they have an industry expert in front of them and will begin to trust the company even more. Create personalized email newsletters. About 80-90% of customers don’t open emails. If the mailing list is developed for everyone, no more than 10-20% of users will read it. When setting up an email newsletter individually for each user, it will be possible to attract his attention, and he will follow the link contained in the letter. Building relationships with clients using this technique will be successful if: segment the list, taking into account the demographics and interests of the client; create an email template; in each template, change the introduction to meet the needs of a particular segment; create an interesting subject to increase the likelihood of reading the letter; make a monthly review to maintain the relationships built with customers. Email can be used to invite customers to review their experience with a company’s product or service. When concluding an annual contract, it is important to conduct a customer survey a couple of months before the end of the subscription period. To arouse the consumer’s curiosity, it is worth asking a few questions in the letter. This is a guarantee that the recipient will finish viewing the review. Develop a referral program. Building long-term relationships with clients based on a referral program will allow you to offer a winning strategy for 3 parties: regular customers, potential customers and the company. The referral program can include discounts, offers for the provision of free services additionally. Mention this in the subject line of the email. In order for the client to start acting, the program sets a deadline. Say “Happy birthday.” Every day one of the clients celebrates his birthday. The equal treatment of all customers is not only in general offers for discounts, bonuses, sales and other profitable promotions, but also in the fact that the company will send warm wishes to each consumer on the occasion of his birthday. These letters usually open. If a client is sent a gift for a personal holiday, the probability that he will buy something or use some kind of service increases by 5 times. Offer timely promotions. If something has changed in the product line, the company has introduced new products, services, functions into the assortment, it is necessary to inform customers about the timing of the promotions, which help to familiarize consumers with everything new at lower prices. This will strengthen the personal relationship with the client, increase revenue and make consumers more loyal. It is important to consider that the terms of the promotion should be limited. How to analyze the attitude of customers towards the company Good customer service is the key to the success of any business. Companies that plan to develop must systematically replenish the consumer base. To do this, you need to conduct a customer satisfaction analysis in order to get an assessment of the services provided. In other words, to determine how satisfied customers are with the purchase experience, the product itself, and the services provided. This refers to business analysis, which companies rarely use. But thanks to the information received, you can understand exactly what people value in the company’s offerings. Conducting a satisfaction analysis relieves consumers of all the difficulties that may arise when buying and using a product, allows you to build partnerships with customers. This increases the likelihood that people will return to the company again and become regular customers who bring in the most profit. It is much more profitable for a company to retain existing customers than to attract new ones. For this reason, you need to periodically evaluate customer satisfaction in order to build competent and long-term relationships with them. Monitor customer satisfaction on a monthly basis. Business analysis will strengthen relationships with customers and notice all threats in a timely manner. The viability of the business depends on it. But at the same time, it must be borne in mind that there will always be dissatisfied consumers; without them, business is impossible. Dissatisfaction does not belong to a globally negative factor, the main thing is that it must be noticed in a timely manner and resolve the existing situation, try to build relationships. Business analysis helps to find out: did consumers get what they wanted; Are they satisfied with the level of service? how well the company’s staff works with customers. Satisfaction refers to a subjective phenomenon. The same actions of a manager cause different reactions in people. Therefore, the analysis should be carried out in a combination of quality and quantity studies. The quantitative component will allow you to determine the temporal trend of satisfaction, for example, people are asked to rate the quality of products on a scale from 1 to 5, where 5 is the highest satisfaction rating. The qualitative component will help to understand the assessment obtained at the previous stage. Dynamics and customer satisfaction index (“customer satisfaction index” – CSI) is the average value of those factors that affect customer satisfaction. Here it is important to conduct a factor analysis by forming a focus group. This method will help to identify the most valuable aspects of the company’s offerings in terms of the audience. All factors are weighted, for example, the satisfaction of airline passengers will depend on the absence of flight delays, fast customs clearance, flight safety, availability of quality snacks, etc. The satisfaction index has a direct impact on customer relationships. If the consumer is completely satisfied with the provided services or goods, service and maintenance, he will return to this company again. If a businessman, conducting a business analysis, finds out that customers are dissatisfied, this will allow him to urgently take the necessary measures to eliminate negative factors. How to Build Customer Relationships: Improvement Tips and Principles Why is partnering with a customer important to increase sales? Regular consumers are loyal to the company and, if necessary, purchase a product or receive a service, they always choose a trusted and reliable supplier. In this regard, companies form client bases in order to build a system of constant interaction. By investing in a customer relationship management system, the value of transactions is guaranteed in the future, which in turn leads to increased profits. The principles that help improve customer relationships and use CRM systems effectively are as follows: First principle. The client must be perceived not only as a consumer, but also as a living person; for this, an individual life context should be included in communication. Second principle. Expand the boundaries of interaction beyond the limits of loyalty assessment. Relationships are based on a strategy of constant interaction. It is not enough just to evaluate loyalty on a monthly basis, you need to provide such types of communication that will be aimed at retaining regular customers. Some relationships are built around the social, emotional needs of the customer. Other species may be directed to utilitarian purposes. Any kind of relationship will eventually lead to increased profits. The figure shows a map of customer relationships. The third principle , it is based on the fact that the company takes responsibility for the relationship with the client. Much attention should be paid to business relationships with conflicting components, if managers have set themselves the goal of retaining customers by any means. Your regular consumers need to be encouraged with promotions, discounts, give small gifts and presents. There are several more ways to understand how to build relationships with customers. Among them: Analyze the portfolio of relationships. At this stage, you need to fix the types of relationships. For this, in-depth interviews or an ethnographic approach are used. The analysis allows you to understand what consumers give special preference to, what rules apply within the framework of a cooperation agreement, how customers react to violations of these frameworks. Develop a strategy . At this stage, the target group is determined for work on the generated values. Relations with clients are built, focusing on all segments, and not just on the audience that brings the maximum profit to the company. Find the right job options for each type of relationship . At this stage, a system is formed that allows finding an individual approach to each client. The manager must determine which rules lead to an increase in profits, and which ones contribute to a decrease in sales and strictly observe them. This allows you to keep regular customers, make them more loyal to the company. There are also a number of basic rules that apply when building relationships with customers at 100%. Let’s consider them below. Show interest in the client , rarely express your own opinion. The employee needs to learn how to conduct the right dialogue with the client. In this case, the chances of establishing long-term partnerships with customers increase dramatically. Do not rush to complete the sale . The process of interaction with the buyer is not easy and multifaceted. The client cannot set limits and impose his own conditions. The task of the manager is to arouse interest and keep the intrigue. In this case, further cooperation is possible. It is important for the client to make it clear that he himself formed his opinion and that he was not forced to buy. Take care of the company’s reputation . Word of mouth works better than any advertising company. This is especially noticeable with the development of social networks. The company must maintain its reputation, be friendly to customers, give them the maximum amount of time, and quickly extinguish negative situations. This will keep old customers and attract new ones. End the conversation in such a way that the client understands that the company is ready to continue the relationship. The manager should introduce himself, at the end of the conversation, advise the buyer to contact again if there are any problems, promise to provide additional services at reduced prices. This will ensure long-term relationships with customers, as they will remember well the friendly attitude towards them and will not go looking for goods elsewhere. Keep emotions and feelings under control . The main thing that a manager should remember is a smile. Clients have no desire to continue working with consultants who have a detached expression on their faces. Take responsibility for your own actions . If a person sees that they care about him , he will not refuse to continue the relationship. If the manager makes it clear that for the sake of profit he is ready to give up any principles, in this case, communication with the client will be the last. No one wants to continue a relationship if they understand that profit is important for the company, and no one cares about the interests of the consumer.