A kind and caring brand is more important in some industries than others, but it’s always something that people will look for. They want to know that they’re going to be treated as people who have their own lives and their own thoughts and feelings. This is especially important if your business provides any personal services, whether you offer personal training or funeral services.
But even B2B companies should make an effort to show that they care about their customers and want to work with them to ensure they’re satisfied. Demonstrating that your brand is kind and caring can take time, but it’s worth it if it helps to create loyal customers. There are plenty of things you can do to achieve this goal.
Image from Pexels – CC0 License
Express Clear Values
If you want to ensure your customers think of your brand as caring, the first thing you can do is make sure they hear it straight from you. Having strong brand values is important for many reasons, and one of them is to tell your customers what your brand stands for and what they can expect from you. Letting them know that one of your brand values is to treat your customers well and ensure their satisfaction can help to make things clear. Additionally, your values might express that you care about things beyond your business and customers, such as the environment, your local community, or another important issue.
Be More Available
Being there for your customers is a must if you want to show that your brand is kind and caring. It’s difficult to show that you care about your customers if they can’t get a response from you when they need it most. One of the ways you can make sure you’re available is to offer different ways to get in touch with your customer service team. A customer service phone line might be one option, but there are other ways people could get in touch too. You could have a web chat for website customer service so that customers can easily get in touch online too. When you don’t have customer service reps available, a chatbot could provide answers to common questions or ensure someone contacts the customer when someone is available.
Email is another option you could offer and social media also works as a customer service channel. Additionally, you can offer self-service customer help with a knowledge hub that customers can access at any time.
Solve Problems Quickly
When a customer has a problem, they don’t want to spend a lot of their time trying to get it fixed. They want answers quickly so that the problem can be resolved and they can get on with their lives. Aiming to solve any customer issues as quickly as possible is one of the best things you can do if you want to show that your brand is kind and caring. You could have a team dedicated to resolving any issues, who could be separate from those who deal directly with customers when they get in touch with customer service. Having a set process for dealing with any problems or complaints could also help to speed things up. It’s smart to track the progress of complaints too so that everything is followed up and resolved.
Make It Personal
For many people, dealing with a company can be rather impersonal. They feel like they’re not really being treated as an individual but rather just a number in the list of customers. But if you want to craft a caring brand, you can show that you’re able to form individual relationships with each of your customers. Even if you have thousands of them, you can still communicate with them in a personal way and manage each of the relationships that you have with them. One of the most important things you can do is use a customer relationship management tool to get this right.
But it’s not just about being organized and using the right tools. It’s also important to make sure that when your staff is communicating directly with customers that they have permission to treat them like people. For an extreme example, take a look at how Zappos encourages their customer service representatives to do whatever it takes to create great customer experiences. This could mean talking to a customer about something that isn’t directly related to a sale or offering a generous returns window.
Be Compassionate
As well as thinking about how to make your brand’s approach more personal, consider the value of showing compassion. There are many times when being able to show empathy and compassion to customers is beneficial for your brand and its reputation.
Perhaps you offer a subscription service or long-running product and you sometimes need to deal with cancellations due to the death of a customer. This is one occasion when showing compassion to loved ones who may need to deal with this is essential. Showing compassion not only includes being empathetic and kind but also ensuring you have an efficient process in place for dealing with this issue. It’s one that will inevitably arise, even if it doesn’t happen often, and it makes things easier for everyone if there’s a predetermined way to sort it out.
Another example might be if a customer is late paying a bill or invoice due to financial problems. Being compassionate and offering solutions such as delayed payment or a payment plan could ensure you keep them as a customer and boost the reputation of your brand.
Treat Staff Well
To create a kind and caring brand, it’s not just your customers you need to think about. Treating your staff well is important too, and it’s something that your customers are increasingly concerned about. Many people don’t want to frequent a business where the staff isn’t paid well or treated fairly. Creating the right company culture and treating your employees well not only helps to attract the right talent but also shows your customers that your company cares. There are many different steps you might take to ensure you treat staff well, from offering fair pay to being generous with time off or being understanding of any personal issues that they might experience.
Know How to Apologize
Many companies can be reluctant to admit when they make a mistake. Even when they correct something that goes wrong, they don’t want to admit liability and would rather focus on the fact that they solved the problem. However, being able to admit that you got something wrong and apologize for it can be a lot better than trying to pretend that your brand never makes mistakes. People generally understand that no one is perfect and things can go wrong sometimes. Being able to apologize sincerely and in a timely manner can do a lot for your brand. It shows customers that you care about them more than you care about being in the right all the time.
Educate Your Customers
Your customers will often appreciate information that helps to make their lives better. Many brands use a blog for this purpose or might put out some other kind of content such as videos or a podcast. This can include content that focuses on your products and services, and how to make the most of them, but you can go beyond that too. For example, if you sell lawnmowers, some of your blog articles might be about how to use and maintain them. However, you could also provide more general articles about lawn care and gardening so that your customers get even more value from your content. Not only does this show you want to help out your customers, but it can also be a great marketing tactic.
Show Your Appreciation
Everyone appreciates a “thank you” now and then, especially your customers. Showing appreciation for them demonstrates that you understand your business wouldn’t exist without them. There are many ways to show appreciation for customers, whether individually or as a whole. From simply saying “thank you” to extending special offers and discounts or offering loyalty rewards, you can choose to recognize your customers in any way that works for you. Your customers will love that you recognize how they contribute to your brand, its culture, and its community. They’re more likely to remain customers if they feel that you appreciate them.
Raise Their Experience
There are often ways you can improve a customer’s experience. On some occasions, you might do this as an apology for something that has gone wrong. But there are other times when you might do it to show your appreciation for a customer. You could provide an upgrade or throw in a freebie as something to show that you care about them having the best experience. You might even extend invitations to special events to some of your customers to give them a continued experience with your brand and go above and beyond.
You can show your customers that you really care in various different ways. Think about what they want to see from your brand.
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