As a small or medium-sized enterprise (SME), you know how important it is to attract and retain customers in a competitive market. You also know how challenging it can be to stand out from the crowd and offer something unique and valuable to your customers. That’s why you need to adopt a customer-centric approach in your business.
A customer-centric approach is a strategy and a culture that puts the customer at the centre of everything you do. It means understanding your customers’ needs, preferences, emotions, and expectations, and delivering products and services that meet or exceed them. It also means creating a positive and memorable customer experience that builds trust, loyalty, and advocacy.
A customer-centric approach can help you create a loyal and satisfied customer base that not only buys from you repeatedly, but also refers you to others, gives you positive feedback, and supports your growth. In fact, according to a study by Deloitte, customer-centric companies are 60% more profitable than companies that are not focused on the customer.
So how can you become more customer centric as an SME? Here are some ideas that you can implement in your business:
One of the best ways to create loyal customers is to show them that you appreciate their business and value their relationship. A customer loyalty program is a great tool to do that. A customer loyalty program is a system that rewards customers for their actions that benefit your business, such as buying your products or services, referring new customers, giving feedback, or engaging with your brand.
A customer loyalty program can help you increase customer retention, loyalty, and satisfaction by offering personalised and exclusive benefits that match your customers’ preferences and needs. For example, you can offer discounts, freebies, vouchers, points, cashback, or other perks that your customers can redeem or use. You can also offer special access to events, content, or services that enhance your customers’ experience.
To create an effective customer loyalty program, you need to:
Customers today are not only looking for products or services that solve their problems or fulfil their desires. They are also looking for brands that share their values and beliefs, and that contribute to social or environmental causes that they care about. According to a study by Accenture Strategy, 62% of consumers want companies to take a stand on current and broadly relevant issues such as sustainability, transparency, or fair employment practices.
Communicating your values and mission to your customers can help you create a deeper connection with them and differentiate yourself from your competitors. It can also help you attract new customers who share your values and beliefs, and who are willing to support your brand.
To communicate your values and mission to your customers, have these key points and questions in mind:
Customer service is not just about resolving problems or answering questions. It is also about creating positive and memorable experiences that make your customers feel valued, respected, and appreciated. According to a study by PwC, 86% of customers are willing to pay more for a better customer experience.
Providing exceptional customer service can help you create loyal and satisfied customers who will not only buy from you again, but also recommend you to others. It can also help you reduce customer churn, increase customer lifetime value, and improve your reputation and brand image.
Do you aspire to deliver superior customer service? Presumably, anyone running a business would want to do so, but have these points in mind in order to do so:
Customers today are inundated with marketing messages from various sources and channels. To cut through the noise and capture their attention, you need to personalise your marketing and communication. Personalisation means tailoring your messages and offers to each individual customer based on their behaviour, preferences, and feedback.
Personalising your marketing and communication can help you increase customer engagement, loyalty, and satisfaction by offering relevant and timely messages that address their pain points and interests. It can also help you increase conversion rates, sales, and revenue by creating personalised offers and recommendations that match your customers’ needs and desires.
To personalise your marketing and communication, you need to:
We understand that adopting a customer-centric approach is crucial for SMEs to succeed in today’s competitive market. By providing funding solutions, we can help you build a stronger customer service team that can deliver exceptional experiences to your customers. Our personalised approach means that we can tailor our funding solutions to meet your unique needs and goals, and help you achieve success.
If you’re looking to create a loyal and satisfied customer base, leverage customer data and insights, and provide exceptional customer service, we are here to help. Contact us today to learn more about how we can support your business growth.