Building strong relationships with customers is essential for any business that wants to succeed. To gain insights into how to do this effectively, we interviewed two members of First Page’s Digital Strategist Team: Beth Ng and Eugen Kim.
By examining their valuable insights and experiences, you can gain practical and actionable tips that can be applied to your business in order to establish and maintain stronger customer relationships.
Establishing Trust Is Key For Customer-Centric Relationships
Eugen, Head of Strategy, emphasises that trust is one of the key components of a successful client relationship.
“Trust is not just telling others what they want to hear but also telling them what they don’t want to hear,” he shares.
Clients appreciate receiving accurate and unbiased information that helps them make informed decisions, according to the 34-year-old. By providing honest feedback, the Sales Team is able to position themselves as experts in their field.
Beth, a Senior Digital Strategist, echoes this sentiment. She states that asking sincere and open questions about the client’s business helps her to pick up necessary pointers and build rapport with customers.
“Always be sincere. Where you genuinely want to value add, it frames your perspectives and therefore the delivery of what you share with the client,” the 27-year-old explains.
“This demonstrates that you’re interested in their business and here to provide a value-adding consultative experience during the call, and not just to ‘pitch’ to them,” she adds.
In both responses, we can see that the key to customer-centric selling is providing valuable advice that enhance the customer experience. By openly discussing concerns or limitations, both the company and client can work collaboratively to find solutions or alternatives that can better meet the client’s needs. This proactive approach demonstrates a commitment to customer success and fosters a problem-solving mindset.
Turning Difficult Clients into Loyal Advocates
Working with clients can sometimes be challenging, especially when dealing with difficult personalities or conflicting expectations.
Beth emphasises the importance of understanding her clients’ behaviour and why they might be behaving in a certain way. Through that, she’s able to calm prospects down and help them to get into a productive frame of mind. She also always asks questions about them and their business with a sincere and open attitude.
“I take on the approach of being neutral and responding with facts, not feelings,” Beth further explains.
Meanwhile, Eugen sees First Page as a “missing puzzle piece” to the client’s problems. The client may already have various elements in place but are lacking a crucial component to achieve their desired outcomes or address gaps that they are facing.
As seen from the Digital Strategist Team’s responses, handling challenging clients requires a combination of empathy and clear communication. All members have successfully built strong customer relationships even in difficult situations by practising empathy and understanding the client’s perspective.
Managing Expectations
Managing clients’ expectations is also crucial to customer-centric selling.
According to Beth, results may vary during SEO or PPC campaigns and it is not always within her control what happens. She explains that the Account Managers, along with insights from the Execution Team, provide insights and justifications to the client.
However, in some instances, clients may reach out directly to her to express their frustration and disappointment. In such cases, she checks in with the team at First Page to understand what has been done and their understanding of the client’s expectations before she listens to the client’s perspective. She then bridges both sides of the story to see how they can align better and propose steps to remedy the situation.
“Ultimately, it is a matter of just listening, and communicating the next steps. A client will always have their reasons for having certain expectations and frustration,” Beth emphasises.
Adding to that, Eugen stresses the importance of “not solely saying ‘yes’ to everything”. Instead, it’s better to think of what would be a better approach to bridge the gaps in the client’s campaign.
Building Long-Term Relationships With Customers
Building long-term relationships with customers is crucial to the success of any business. The Digital Strategist Team at First Page believes in going above and beyond to keep clients satisfied and keep coming back.
“I find it helpful to set up ‘Contact’ tasks for clients you have built rapport with that might not have the budget or resources to invest in First Page yet and reach out to them in 3-6 months to follow up and seek new opportunities again,” says Beth.
By going the extra mile to keep in touch even after a long time, a strong foundation for a long-term relationship can be built.
Insights On Building Strong Customer-Centric Relationships
Our interview with First Page’s Digital Strategist Team reveals that establishing trust, practising empathy, and having effective communication are critical to successful customer-centric selling. Understanding their needs and managing expectations are also essential components down the road.
We have established that building strong client relationships is crucial for any business, but it is equally important to demonstrate how one’s services can make a difference in the client’s business. This is where success stories and testimonials come into play. By showcasing how First Page has helped businesses grow through various digital marketing strategies, potential clients can gain confidence in their abilities to provide value.
For example, the success story of Cat & The Fiddle Bakery shows how First Page increased their website traffic through SEO. Similarly, the successful case study of Avene skincare products demonstrates how First Page Digital marketed their products effectively. These real-life examples not only showcase the capabilities of First Page, but also provide proof of our ability to create long-term client relationships.
Visit our learning centre for more case studies and insights. Or, if you want to get started today without spending anything, sign up for a free SEO audit!
At First Page, we are committed to providing our clients with the best possible service and building solid relationships that last. So if you’re looking for digital marketing experts that value relationships, trust, and results, contact us today to learn more about our services.
