The holiday season could be tough for shoppers, retailers, and companies alike so as a business owner, it’s important that you know how to keep new and existing customers happy. Contact us.
During the holidays, you might get a ton of new customers. Customers will be more than happy to make a big one-time purchase from stores that they normally wouldn’t frequent because they’re looking for a special gift for their family and friends. As a business owner, this is a golden opportunity to help you achieve your sales goal for the year.
And even if the holidays are already over, you’re still likely to be dealing with a lot of customers who are much more stressed and busy than usual. Shipping and moving deadlines get intense and customers feel neglected. They may take out their frustrations at you and you’ll have to think of ways to make doing business with you more convenient and worthwhile for them.
Take note of these 4 strategies which can help you win more customers and keep them happy throughout the rest of the year.
- Keep your cool
Since shoppers will likely be stressed as they seek the best products and services, they may tend to raise issues with your business more than usual. What should you do during these situations? De-escalate the situation calmly by following these tips:
- Take a breath. Many experts say that it takes two to fight. If you are responding to a customer’s frustration with calmness, it’s much harder for them to continue to escalate it since they will immediately know that you are with them in solving the problem.
- Apologize. Even if you didn’t do anything, saying something like “I think there’s been a miscommunication between us; how can we help you with the problem?” can be a polite way to show that you didn’t mean to do anything bad intentionally and would like to make things better for them.
- Question yourself. Are you doing all you can for the customer? If your customer has a legitimate grievance, it’s your responsibility to do everything you can to make it right.
After the situation has been resolved, make sure to take a moment to breathe before working again. Bringing your frustration into the next encounter with a customer or co-worker will only cause more problems.
- Be inclusive
For many Christians, the season of Advent and Christmas is very important to their religion. For others, such as Chinese families, celebrating the Chinese New Year is paramount. Other people will have a different religion or beliefs, so some may not consider your holidays as an important event, and you need to respect that.
As businesses that have customers and employees coming from different walks of life, being respectful of their observances ー religious and secular ー is key. Instead of waiting for employees to ask for time off during the holidays, be proactive. Remind them that updating their leaves and schedule ahead of time will help the business plan for staffing levels.
Moreover, having happier employees who can spend time with their families when they want to or are required to will translate into better customer interactions. Great employees can keep customers happy and help the business grow.
- Offer special gifts
Some strategies are classics because they work. Even if some customers don’t celebrate gift-giving occasions, they still enjoy getting something for free. Giving away branded promotional items, coupons, and extra discounts and services to be used in this new year or the coming years are tried and tested ways of drumming up business and thanking customers for sticking with you throughout the year.
To make this work, however, you need to offer something that the customer wants, which can be hard to anticipate. Some online retailers figure this out by offering a selection during the check-out process where the customer can choose between several different free sample options.
Take this as an opportunity as well to make use of excess inventory of products. You won’t be wasting items because you can invest in getting loyal customers by making them feel valued.
- Focus on existing customers
It’s very tempting to try and get new customers with all the extra foot traffic that may be turning up in your area. This is understandable, but it’s actually more profitable over the long term to focus on your existing customers first.
Thank them for shopping with you, encourage them to let their friends and family (or work partners) know about your excellent service, and reward them with loyalty coupons or special sales.
By focusing on your existing customers, you help build a steady stream of business as you head into the new year. This will help you even out your cash flow and support your business through the lean times.
Now while you grow your customers and business during any season, there will still be risks along the way, so you better get business insurance to make sure you and your assets are protected. You wouldn’t want your customers to miss you this holiday.
If you would like to know more about how insurance can protect your business and what types of insurance you might need, get in touch with us at CIII Insurance Services. We can also help you with securing your policy so that it’s easy and efficient!
CIII Insurance Services provides a broad range of Commercial, Employee Benefits, Bar, Restaurant, or Tavern Protection and Management Liability products. We even partner with some of the finest carriers to deliver these products to you at your convenience. Contact us.
