19 Sep

A Few Important Steps to Build Your Client Loyalty

Last Updated on September 19, 2022 by Yasmin Estupinian

Building client loyalty is essential for any business which wants to create a long-term, successful relationship with its clients. There are many ways to build customer loyalty, but there are three primary methods that should always be used: creating customer value, providing great customer service, and maintaining communication. By using all three of these strategies, businesses will ensure that their customers will remain loyal for years to come.

It’s easy to put on paper many methods to guarantee customer’s loyalty, however, to put it into practice is completely different because customers should feel what we are offering is honest and sincere. Even though each niche has its process at the end the purpose is the same, which is to build client loyalty, however you need to take into consideration that for each niche the process may change a little bit because the target audience is different.

⦁ Creating customer value  

Unwritten rules are always appreciated. There are unwritten rules that always customers appreciate and even if customers are not telling us at every moment and some of them never mention them, the reality is that all of them appreciate and are key aspects for which they are still with us and return without thinking when they have the chance. 

Facilitate their purchase. You can maintain their process to acquire a product or service. We may have a variety of products or services however if it’s really complicated to acquire any service/product purchase, your clients may feel frustrated. On the other hand if clients can really get what they need, they’ll feel happy and return to you every time they need your products.  

Promotions for current customers. In most cases businesses try to invest in getting new customers, however this will cost more than retaining the current customers we have. According to The European Business Review “Studies have shown that acquiring new clients is five times more expensive than keeping an existing customer”.

It is rather common when customers ask:

⦁ Do you have any promo code?
⦁ Can I get the 50% OFF that is shown on your website? 
⦁ Is there any discount if I place the order in the next three days as you are offering in social media? 

Cases mentioned above are quite common and even though you already know they can run away at any moment businesses do not measure the impact this could have on the total revenue. At the beginning it could sound that you are losing just $15/monthly of one customer, however if in a month we lose 50 customers with an income of $15/monthly we are losing $9.000/yearly, so, if this behavior continues the same in a couple of years your business will go into a tailspin. 

Get customer reviews. Always pay attention to what customers say, since what they express will be what also makes you a good reference or an awfully bad experience for others. You might not know exactly who is on the other side buying your products or services. YouTubers, influencers and TikTokers have become experts in a spreading the word and everybody may have access to a phone with internet and social media to get this information easily and make it viral.

⦁ Providing great customer service

“It’s not what we say but how we say it”.

Businesses have sold the idea that the customer is always right, unfortunately this is not true. You must be objective and give judgment to businesses which are putting effort to have success in it, stop or block customers who want to take advantage of the phrase “customer is always right”. Nevertheless, even if they are not always right, you cannot fight a battle that does not make sense. So there is the reason because there are bunch of polite phrases you can use to show respect to others in this case respect to those difficult customers. Acknowledge customers by showing you have paid attention to their concerns.

⦁ For example, I understand your point, however our customer policies do not allow me to proceed in that way.  

⦁ Thanks for bringing this to our attention, just allow me to explain our process…

⦁ I know the situation seems frustrating to you, what happens in this case is that we are not allowed to move forward because…  

So, using some of the phrases provided above could make them understand that even if you want to put your effort in, or give the extra mile in the situation there are cases that are simply impossible for us to do.  As you may noticed in the phrases you are not even apologizing because you do not have to do it, what you are showing is respect and explanation why it isn’t possible to help.  

⦁ Maintaining great communication 

Communication. Communication will always be what allows us to have a good feedback. There are also diverse types of communication channels to follow and develop. Among the most common channels are:

⦁ Email
⦁ Chat
⦁ Newsletter
⦁ Phone
⦁ Face to face

As a conclusion

Trust in your business, develop processes and make your company client-friendly and you will retain your customer loyalty for many years to come. If you require a reliable online presence and cloud hosting infrastructure, just opt for professional SoftSys Hosting assistance today.

16 Sep

How to Start an Online Business That Will Grow in 2023? 

Last Updated on September 16, 2022 by Yasmin Estupinian

Having the desire to start an online business is becoming a little bit easier with the time passing. In this article you will discover everything you need to know about setting up an online business. You will learn how to choose a hosting company, get started with online sales via eCommerce platforms such as nopCommerce, WooCommerce and much more.

Since the Internet has become a daily part of our lives, it has also opened a window of opportunities to people who want to do business online. So it is easy to start your own business without having to rent or lease a shop in town, just by using your computer and creating an account on a social media site, where most people are residing, you will be able to launch your own business. 
The big question is how to get started? We will advise step-by-step so you can take into consideration each step and succeed in your online business.  

Decide on a business niche

We can have many options available. However, it is also important to handle the niche we will choose or at least to have a person that could be an expert in the area. There are different options, but not all the options fit people’s skills.  
Some examples of a business niche could be:  

Sell a service such as consulting. Think in what area you are a master so you can work on consultations, in the area you feel comfortable.  

Website developer or app developer. There are many people looking for someone who can develop their app or website, so offering your service as a developer is a great idea to start monetizing.  

Freelance. If you are still afraid of putting all your efforts on working full-time because there is a field that you do not know, you can start working as a freelancer, so you know how things work, you get familiar on where to offer your services, etc. Once you feel comfortable and you have clients you can move little by little to work full-time.

Online courses. There are always people looking to learn something new and different. Sometimes people do not value all the skills they have, but these skills can help people empower others and at the same time earn money. So, let’s think about what you are good at to start selling your services and providing courses.  

Online store. There are so many products you can sell and there is no need to have a physical store. This allows to save money because you will not spend on bills and everything that implies having a physical presence.

Business Name

Once you have chosen the niche, it is important to think of a name for your business. You can check if the name you have in mind is available, clicking on domain registration. You can confirm if the name chosen is available to proceed with the registration so nobody else buys it. The annual costs are incredibly low so this is something that  you can manage.  

Choose a CMS

Also, you do not have to spend a lot of money on a web developer and can start with free and open-source content management system (CMS) such as WordPress by using the Elementor plugin features for free. Also visual composer starter theme, Joomla CMS and nopCommerce platform are available. 

Hosting Provider

Then the next step will be to look for a hosting company where you will have your website up and running. For example, at SoftSys Hosting you will have a few options to choose between a self-managed server or fully managed servers. If you don’t have any technical background, we suggest going for a fully managed option so you do not have to do anything on your end and the technical team can handle everything for you.

Conclusion

Choose a niche that has room for growth, you do not want to get stuck in an industry that is already saturated and has no trending potential. Choose among the most viable online business options for 2023 mentioned above and grow your business to the new heights.