Communicating with Customers: Finding the Best Ways to Get Your Message Across

Your customers keep your business afloat and your bottom line in the black. As a small business owner, they’re clearly your biggest asset and one you need to retain at all costs. Doing that isn’t always easy though.

One of the main reasons a small business can lose customers, or never get enough of them in the first place, is a lack of communication. Knowing how to communicate with customers doesn’t always come naturally, but it’s a huge part of building a successful business.

Use this guide to help you learn how to communicate with customers more effectively.

Simplicity Matters

When you’re dealing with customers, getting your message across in a simple way is incredibly important. Go through e-mails and cut out any unclear or unnecessary wording. Use images or photos whenever possible. An image is worth a thousand words.

The simplicity of your message will keep customer confusion at bay and let them know where you stand right from the outset.

Get to the Point

Contacting customers, especially if you’re doing any sort of marketing or e-mail blast, is an essential way to draw existing ones back to your business while finding new customers. However, you need to clearly and quickly communicate your message without dancing around it if you want it to be effective.

Keep marketing messages and e-mail blasts short and sweet. Let customers know about sales or deals, but make sure they know what you really want from them. Direct language clearly spells out your call-to-action is best.

If you’re looking for a simple email marketing system, check out these do-it-yourself email blasts.

If you’re looking for more of a turn-key service, check out this customer retention program.

Respond in Kind

When you’re trying to figure out how to communicate with customers, at least in a technical and practical sense, let your customers take the lead. If they e-mail you a question, respond via e-mail. If they seem to be leaving you voicemail messages when you’re out of the office, call them back and leave messages for them if they don’t answer during business hours.

It seems simple, but too many small business owners don’t do this. Do what’s convenient and preferred by your customers and you’ll notice communication becomes easier and more effective.