Farida Yahya: Use Technology to Expand Your Client Base

Using technology to reach your customers can make or break your business. Although it allows you to easily connect with some segment of your customers, it can also turn off others who enjoy a personal experience. However, incorporating a personalized technology method can boost your company’s overall customer experience and create more personal interactions that will strengthen customer loyalty.

So, how can your brand leverage technology?

Develop A Suitable Opt-In Component

Thanks to technology, your brand can easily establish a relationship between you and your customers. However, building that relationship requires you to acquire their specific demographic information so you can keep in touch via blog posts, newsletters, product updates or case studies. The rule of the thumb here is to provide value so that your potential or existing customers can opt-in as your brand focuses on creating a long-lasting relationship.

Use Video Conferencing

For example, instead of handling all customer inquiries and complaints via phone calls, why not switch to using video calls? Here’s why: your customers would easily engage in this method because they can see you speak, see your facial expressions, or see your hands wave in the air as you speak with them. While it’s not the same as being in the same room, it’s far better than phone calls.

Ensure Social And In-Store Brand Consistency

As a business owner, the social look, tone, and feel of your brand must be consistent with your customers’ experience. This will help you avoid confusion and increase visibility, engagement, and loyalty.

Use A Lead Form

Businesses can implement a lead form on their website. This will allow customers to ask questions directly from your website and give a personal touch as customers can easily interact with a professional. Additionally, it would give you access to more customer information to enable you to create your customer profile and tailor the website experience to suit their needs.

Take The Focus Group Virtual

Use software tools to facilitate video-recorded usability sessions with customers. This allows you to get direct feedback from consumers on their experiences with websites, mobile apps, and prototypes, along with insights into their research and purchase behaviours. It is great for bringing scale and efficiency to the traditional focus group model.

Be Personal

We only see technology as a delivery tool. However, you should remember that the most successful message that connects with customers is a personal, one-on-one conversation with them. If you speak to your target audience in the first person, you eliminate the anonymity. They must know that you care and are not just trying to sell them something. This will create instant trust and inevitability lead to brand loyalty.

Give People A Peek Behind The Scenes

Think about all the time and effort you put into creating a great product and an attractive office. You should share that with real candid photography, video and live streams. People always want to be a part of the magic. Remember that technology does not reach out and work with customers — people do.

Use Social Live Features

Thanks to social media and technology, many brands, big or small, can utilize Facebook Live videos to connect with their audiences. This will help brands feature different team members, show a behind-the-scene, a question and answer session, inquiries, and complaints, show their company cultures and personalities, as well as get instant feedback.

Pick Up The Phone, Video Call Or Meet

If possible, meet your clients or encourage your team to meet the company’s clients in person, have a phone/video call with them. Email can be the worst for client communication –things are often written poorly or simply misunderstood. I recommend that everyone try to meet with clients regularly. If clients are not in your city, then try to have a video call with them.

Build Your Personal Brand On LinkedIn

LinkedIn does not really allow people to be anonymous, so this eliminates the opportunity to do or say things in cyberspace that you would not say elsewhere. But the real opportunity on LinkedIn is to become a thought leader and person of influence.

Here you have it! This year, you have no excuse not to build a better client base.