Aviation Leadership Sales Training - Building Customer Trust and Loyalty

» Considerations Related to Building Trust in Sales with Improved Communication
» Building Trust in Business Relationships

Sofema Online (SOL) www.sofemaonline.com considers key aspects of building strong & effective communications with corporate and private customers.

Introduction

Building customer loyalty and trust is not only a worthwhile goal for any business, but it is also particularly important in a business-to-business (B2B) environment.

Trust and loyalty go hand in hand and are the fundament of a solid customer base.

» Earning customer trust doesn’t require a complex strategy.
» Maintain excellent customer service.
» Ensure that the customer support team knows the importance of their roles.

Essentially, the goal is to put your customers first and to make sure that those customers know they’re your top priority. When you accomplish this goal, you can be confident that customer trust and loyalty will follow closely.

Building a Better Customer-Focused Company

The following features should be part of building an effective customer-focused relationship:

» Deliver Excellent Customer Service
» Share Customer Reviews and Testimonials
» Show Transparency in all activities
» Request and “act on” feedback
» Create a Loyalty Program
» Be reachable by your potential customers
» Prioritize your customers (consider the 80/20 Rule)
» Work to Cultivate Relationships
» Always take ownership of issues & Problems

Deliver Excellent Customer Service

We should all recognize that the extent of the customer service we provide has a significant impact on customer loyalty and retention.

Exceptional customer service and commitment show your clients that your company cares about them and that they are motivated to achieve the customer’s objectives. Moreover. It lets them know they are in safe hands and that you can be trusted.

» Ensure that support staff is competent to engage with customers expeditiously and to a high standard
» Ensure that customers receive a consistent and timely response
» Develop response guidelines for answering customer queries
» Provide guidance & support to answer difficult questions
» Work to consistently offer an efficient & consistent service
» Provide a friendly and personal touch
» Focus on delivering the information each customer requires and ensure these needs are met

Share Customer Reviews and Testimonials

It is generally accepted that positive reviews and testimonials make them trust a brand more. When your customer enthuses about your product or service it serves to shine a positive light, consider the following:

» Consumers will almost always trust other consumers more than companies.
» Customer testimonials and reviews demonstrate the value placed by customers in your products and service.
» Encourage customers to share their experiences and use this information to build a testimonial page.
» Customer feedback will help you understand exactly how your customers experience your service or product and fixing their concerns will lead to an improved client experience.
» Customer satisfaction leads to customer retention.
» Instantly giving a customer a solution to their dissatisfaction is an opportunity to win a client back.
» Repeat customers are often easier to sell to and will be more likely to purchase products and promote new business.

Show Transparency in all Activities

Keeping customers over the long term can often be a challenge due to various factors including changing expectations. Customers typically have multiple options at their disposal and can be quick to source another option if they are not happy.

Ideally, each customer should fully understand what is in the offer before signing a contract or placing an order.

» Maximize customer retention by maintaining customer loyalty
» Always strive for maximum transparency
» Be unambiguous and straightforward to ensure accurate customer expectations
» Never over-promise
» Avoid at all costs to under-deliver
» Where possible benchmark deliverables for example through a Service Level Agreement

Request and “Act On” Feedback

Customer feedback is essential to provide the business with the necessary data to understand both the pain points and opportunities to improve, including the need to develop new products or change existing products. Feedback will support the following:

» To measure customer satisfaction among current customers
» Use feedback on a continuous basis to forecast the long-term success of your business.
» Use customer feedback as a driver to adjust the business to fit their needs accurately.
» Customers want to feel empathy that the supplier genuinely cares about their opinions and needs.
» Feedback should be requested on a continuous basis

o Have your products and services met expectations
o Are the customers able to receive the support they expect related to their questions
o Are they satisfied with their overall experience with your company?

Create a Loyalty Program

Customer loyalty refers to the behaviour of choosing a particular company’s products and services consistently over its competitors. When customers are loyal to a certain company, their buying decision is not so strongly influenced by the price or availability.

In a highly competitive market, where customers quickly switch their service providers or suppliers to another on facing any inconvenience, customer loyalty programs provide a reason to remain with the current provider

The consensus is that customer loyalty programs can drive sales as well as lead to increased customer lifetime spending.  Loyalty Benefits may include:

»  Third-party promotions

o Cinemas / Spas
o Hotel and Accommodation discount
o Retail vouchers
o ‘lifestyle’ perception with an emotional connection to customers to your brand
o Potential for personalization with an opportunity for stronger impact.

Be Reachable by your Potential Customers

It is quite common for potential customers to “check out” your websites & Social Media Presence. Positive Interacting on social media can help your company’s brand stand out and drive customer confidence.

Prompt customer service is a major element of ensuring a great customer experience and building long-term relationships. Customers need to have confidence that we can be relied on.

Consider the following opportunities to engage:

» Over the Phone
» Viber / Skype / What’s APP
» Live Chat
» Social Media

Note - platforms will depend on your brand and activities - examples include Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and Pinterest.

Prioritize your customers (consider the 80/20 Rule)

The rule is often used to point out that 80% of a company's revenue is generated by 20% of its customers. Viewed in this way, it might be advantageous for a company to focus on the 20% of clients that are responsible for 80% of revenues and market specifically to them.

Earning customer trust is dependent on our ability to provide customers with what they expect. Consider the following:

» Build a company-wide customer-centric culture.
» Consider how all employees can engage in a positive way with the customer experience

Building trust is easier when our products and services reflect an emphasis on customer needs.

Work to Cultivate Relationships

Customer relationships are very important and become influential for the business with the following comments:

Strong Customer Relationships can:

» Boost sales,
» Decrease customer attrition,
» Provide marketing Opportunities,
» Grow employee morale,
» When you regard yourself in a long-term relationship with your customers, all types of positive results ensue. The customer knows they’re more than just an avenue to profits.

Driving customer’s value by:

» Showing that you genuinely care
» Adapting to the pace of the Customer
» Let the brand provide the essential guidance and direction
» Focus on your preferred behaviour
» Remember that relationships are built over time

Regarding Communication

The more important a message is the more times you need to say it & for most people it takes repetition to remember and internalize what they have heard or learned.

Always Take Ownership of Issues & Problems

Taking ownership actually means accepting responsibility and ensuring the customer’s problem gets solved.

Taking ownership involves accepting responsibility for finding a resolution, It does not need to mean that you personally solved the problem.

Ownership is not about accepting blame, it's a process for steering away from blame and focusing on finding a solution.

Use Ownership Language:

» Let me see what I can do to help you.
» Acknowledge the problem and the customer's feelings so the customers know you're there to help.
» Let's see how we can solve this.
» Many problems can be quickly fixed if just one person accepts ownership for finding a solution.

Next Steps

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Sofema Online introduces a new series of courses focused on the development of Soft Skills Aviation Leadership and Management Skills Development – see here for details of our Aviation Leadership Diploma. For additional comments, questions, or suggestions please email team@sassofia.com.