As Director of Client Relations, it’s my job to ensure our team at Kester Search Group is exceeding our clients’ expectations, anticipating their needs, and building lasting relationships.
Why is this important?
- Companies that focus on building customer relations are 60% more successful than those that do not.
- You have a 60-70% chance of making a sale with a returning client versus 5-20% with a new prospect.
- Depending on the scope of your business and industry, it may cost 7 to 10x more to acquire a new client.
- 65% of a company’s business comes from existing clients.
- 89% of companies see customer experience as an essential factor in driving loyalty and retention of customers.
3 ways to improve customer relations:
#1 Put your customers first and at the core of your business.
This strategy is known as customer-centricity and creates a positive experience and builds long term relationships.
- Get to know your customers. Meet them in person, utilize video conferencing, and schedule weekly check-in calls. Learn about their goals, challenges, and what is important to them. I doubt your competitors are taking the time to do this.
- Anticipate their needs. Tim Cook, the CEO of Apple, says it best, “Our whole role in life is to give you something you didn’t know you wanted. And then once you get it, you can’t imagine your life without it.” Sounds simple, right?
- Deliver value with every interaction. Share industry trends and best practices in each conversation. Provide free content on your social media and website through original blog posts and podcasts.
- Be extremely easy to do business with. Simplify how you deliver your products/services and communicate efficiently. It’s your company’s job to make your client’s lives easier so make the process as easy and frictionless as possible.
- Focus on the partnership versus a transaction. Sure everyone needs to make money to stay in business, but focus on forming a mutually beneficial partnership. Transactional relationships are cold and create zero loyalty.
#2 Hire the right people and treat them well
One person alone can’t be the “face of your business”, so everyone you hire needs to share your company’s values and be a positive representation of them.
Think back to the best job you’ve ever had. Chances are you were working at a company where you felt valued and engaged. This not only boosts morale, increases employee retention, and develops a positive culture, but it also increases productivity. Employees are willing to go above and beyond for their customers when they feel their work truly makes an impact.
#3 Translate your company values into customer outcomes
No matter your industry, product or service, people want to do business with people that share their same values. It’s critical to identify which specific values define your organization and share them externally through organic conversations and strategic marketing efforts.
At Kester Search Group, our goal is to improve lives. The outcomes of this can vary. Whether it’s partnering with a growing healthcare organization that is expanding their sales team or helping a candidate navigate an important career change, we aim to help that individual get closer to their goal and to make their life better.
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In summary, client relations aren’t a one-time conversation. They are thoughtful actions throughout the entire customer lifecycle. If you focus on this, you’ll retain more clients, develop more meaningful relationships, and take your orgnaization to the next level.
How else do you focus on client relations? I’d love to hear from you!
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