How to have a better relationship with your customers online

One thing can be especially true when it comes to conceptualizing and building an online store: it's easy to get caught up in the financial side of things. Profit is obviously a very important factor in building your online store, so it's natural to think about profit from the very beginning. Even if everything goes well, ensuring the long-term success of your business means connecting with your customers and building an e-commerce store with services and business ethics that leave a resounding positive impact on your customers and online store visitors. Working with a business model focused on extracting more money from your customers can seem sleazy and can discourage them. Building a relationship with your customers that goes beyond a cold sales transaction is key to learning and understanding your customers' needs, an understanding that is also crucial to obtaining return customers, referrals, and increased long-term profits. Brands that can maintain great customer relationships have an advantage in the e-commerce world, and by focusing on building great customer relationships, they build a strategy aimed at long-term success. The advantage for small online businesses is that their size allows them to build better relationships, connect, and reach customers on a personal level. This strengthens customer relationships and can give them an edge over e-commerce giants. This article is about how to create an exceptional and lasting customer relationship, how to nurture it, and how to keep it strong.

1) Reward them

When you reward loyal customers, it gives them an incentive to keep coming back to your store. One thing you can do is implement a rewards system or loyalty program to encourage your customers to shop with you. When you implement a loyalty program in your store, you're setting up a rewards program that offers your customers rewards, coupons, discounts, merchandise, etc. Think of it as a way to buy appreciation for your customers because you value them and their loyalty. A great example comes from the leading online shopping company in Southeast Asia called Shopee, which rewards customers with daily points for visiting their store. Shoppers who visit the site seven days in a row earn more points, which are equivalent to currency. They also run games on their site to earn points and give out free shipping coupons a few times a month. This tactic has led to hordes of shoppers visiting their site daily, earning points as they plan their future purchases. Another great idea your store can try is a simple points system where your customers can earn points every time they complete an action on your site or make a purchase. Points systems are a super effective way to encourage your customers to return to your store, as increasing their points is an incentive in itself. Points can be equivalent to cash that customers can redeem for discounts, freebies, or VIP benefits. Creating a way to reward your loyal customers can be a great way to give back to your customers and can actually make the online shopping experience more enjoyable, giving them more incentive to shop with you over a different brand.

2) Communicate

In any relationship, we all know that communication is vital, and this also applies to e-commerce stores to develop better relationships with your customers. One of the biggest sources of frustration for people is when they approach a company with a concern, only to receive a generic, unhelpful, and automated response, or never hear back from the company at all! This is enough to make anyone abandon their previous loyalty and find another business with better and more responsive communication channels. And it really does happen. One great thing you can do for your customers is offer them a live chat option. Live chat is great because it's a quick and easy way to resolve your customers' issues. Live chat is also the preferred platform for connecting with companies because it's convenient and saves everyone involved from awkward phone conversations. Customers are reportedly more satisfied with live chat because it saves them a lot of effort in contacting the company. Live chat isn't just great for your customers, it's also great for you, especially if you run a small online store and conduct business in a very hands-on manner. Offering live chat on your dropshipping website can be a great way to increase revenue and gather useful customer information. Chat also allows for instant support, allowing you to quickly satisfy customers.

3) Ask for information

Asking your customers for information isn't just about asking them to write a review for their latest purchase. When you care about customer information, it's a way to engage your shoppers in small but meaningful aspects of your store. It's a great way to show them that their opinions matter to you and your online business. You can collect feedback from your customers through surveys, monitoring your comments and messages on social media, encouraging reviews and testimonials, and having a rating system on your product page. A great example of involving your customers in the decision-making process is introducing polls on social media, such as Instagram Stories, so your customers can vote and feel valued for their opinion. The poll can be as simple and banal as whether your customers prefer a range of new pastel or neon T-shirts. When you give customers the opportunity to interact with you through feedback, it means that, as a company, you care about them and want to provide them with excellent service, without shying away from your customers' criticisms and wishes.

4) Social media

Think of social media as your way to reach your target customers. It's the best way to connect these days, especially when you run an online-only store. Social media is absolutely crucial these days, not just for posting ads, but for connecting and engaging with your customers. To successfully build a better relationship, you'll need to be prepared to engage on a variety of social media platforms. Think about Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and other social media platforms where you know your target consumers like to gather. An example of a brand that's currently booming on social media is Netflix on Instagram. It uses witty captions under its photos and responds to customer comments with equally witty comments. Their interactions on Instagram are natural, almost as if they were written by one of their online users or customers. The result is that people love what Netflix is doing on social media, commenting on their posts and often giving feedback, which the brand often responds to, creating a great environment for engagement, fun, and two-way interaction. With that in mind, it's time to start doing some research to build your social media strategy, and one of the best ways is to look at brands that are already doing it well, using these platforms to connect with their customers.

5) Be honest and transparent

Another important aspect of any relationship is honesty and transparency. Today's customers are particularly well-informed about their purchases and demand fair practices, which translates into shoppers craving honest brands more than ever. Think of brands that have falsely advertised and blatantly lied to their customers, like Nutella, Vitamin Water, and every cigarette company in the past. Today, such brands would be sued for their lies and false claims, because customers are now better able to spot false claims. Remember that trust is the foundation that leads to deeper engagement with your customers; it's what builds a strong business and a brand's reputation. It's important that when you do things like write product descriptions and advertisements, you don't trick your customers into making a purchase with false promises that your product won't deliver. Customers are loyal to brands and companies they trust. If you can't deliver on your promises through your brand and service, this will give your customers valid reasons to distrust you and look for a better, more reliable store elsewhere. Remember, the point isn't to defraud your customers to boost your profits. Transparency in dealing with customers is also important. Another important aspect of communication means providing clear and honest answers to any customer questions or concerns. Transparency also means providing customers with reasonable expectations for your products and delivery services. One way to simplify this is to create a FAQ page, allow customers to track their orders, and include detailed product and service information on your product pages. It's your duty to keep customers informed and properly educated about their purchases.

Conclusion

Remember that the most important thing to building a great relationship with your online customers is simply showing them you appreciate them by rewarding them for their loyalty, asking for their feedback, maintaining open communication that includes honesty and transparency, and making yourself more easily accessible through communication channels like live chat. In today's online world, where e-commerce and online shopping are constantly growing, focusing on developing better customer relationships is more important than ever. The work you put into building and maintaining these relationships can help you build a lasting online store, as you'll be supported by your customers' loyalty.

Get in touch

Building better relationships with your online customers is a key to ensuring the long-term success of your e-commerce business, building customer loyalty and generating more sales. What do you think of our article on customer relationships for your e-commerce business? At Yastime, we love discussing future plans for your online business ventures and sharing practical solutions to help you achieve your e-commerce and dropshipping goals. If you have a project in mind, feel free to start a conversation with Yastime today: https://www.yastime.net/contact/

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