A retailer builds a brand solely for the customer – to fulfil their needs, and to keep them happy. Customer satisfaction decides how successful a retail business will be – the more you make customers happy, the more will you prosper.

The equation seems pretty simple, but too often business owners forget the steps when trying to solve it. They often equate “success” with “profits”, and hence put all their time and energy on widespread marketing and increasing sales in any way possible – and not on customer retention, who form the backbone of any company.

In order to make your customers know you appreciate them, you need to invest in a technology called Customer Relation Management Software – or CRM Software, in short. It is used to manage a business’s interactions with both current and potential customers. It helps plan methods to ensure productivity of the company and satisfaction of the customer – two of the most important things any retailer would want.

A good CRM software is very powerful when it comes to providing a comprehensive view of the business. Here’s a guide on how you can use this technology to let your customers know that you genuinely care for them:

 

Have their voices heard

Nothing is worse than having your thoughts and sentiments completely ignored. Therefore, always make sure your customer’s concerns and queries are heard.

CRM software makes this process easy by carrying out many functions at a time. You can use it to deliver quick responses to complaints or questions in different forms like a survey, email, text messages, etc. You can also use it to get customer feedback in the form of email alerts or feedback reports. This organised way of receiving customers’ thoughts and sentiments after interacting with your retail business helps put a lot of things into perspective: where are your strengths in terms of customer service, where do you lack, and how can you improve?

Being quick to acknowledge and correct any drawbacks is also something that puts your business at an advantage; customers begin considering your business as professional and responsive – vital things most customers relate to a successful establishment. This way, you’re not only listening to your customers, but also agreeing to them. Your customer will automatically begin trusting you and your business.

 

Send Updates on the daily

To get new customers is one thing, but to keep them for the long run is entirely different.

This requires syncing with the customers’ feelings – and the perfect CRM software like Oscar helps accomplish that. By creating customer profiles consisting of their likes, dislikes and purchasing patterns, you can send emails and/or messages relevant to their preferences – this includes any discounts, offers, new products or bundles.

This gives the impression that you want only the best for your customer. In turn, your customer believes that they were literally on your mind, which further strengthens the bond of trust. In practical terms, you’re also saving extra money spent on random, widespread marketing tactics. Targeted marketing helps solve that, thanks to the personalised information saved in the CRM database.

 

Take it personal

And we mean it – businesses can completely change the tone of their customer service once they make it a habit to send sweet-nothings to their customers in a timely manner. This can be as simple as a birthday wish, holiday greetings, or even a “thank you” message!

CRM software make this easy by sending automated personalised messages and emails that you can edit and customise however you like. This shows that even in the buzz of the business world, your humble retail store did not forget your customers, and that you appreciate them to the fullest extent. Strengthening your bond with them through personal interactions lasts a lot longer than monetary things.

“By using data effectively, you can also drive sales from an existing customer base, rather than spend a lot of money on trying to attract new clients,” says Jason Nash, Microsoft’s CRM product marketing manager.

This basically sums up what CRM software set out to do: they create sales from existing customers, and not only new ones. This is done in a very efficient, sophisticated way, such that value is never removed from the customers – in fact, value is added to them, by giving them the right attention.

Therefore, a perfect CRM software lets you appreciate your customers for investing their time, energy and hard-earned money in your retail business. Building this kind of personal bond between you and the customer spells only success for your retail store.