Businesses change. It’s a simple fact of life. Some changes are sudden and short term, while others are lasting and pre-planned. But how do you keep customers informed?
Whether you’re making short-term tweaks or long-term upgrades to the services you offer, communication is vital. In this article, we’ll explore how to keep customers informed about changes.
5 Ways of Keeping Customers Updated
The 5 steps we’ve highlighted below should be easy for any business owner to put in place.
1. Use Notifications on Your Website
This is a simple, non-intrusive way to keep customers in the loop. Simply place a static message or pop-up notification on your website to highlight significant changes. If the change is easy to explain, then that should cover it. For instance, a message like:
‘We now offer free delivery to anywhere within the UAE’
speaks for itself.
But what if you’re making a more complex change? Use a few words to grab a reader’s attention, then provide a link to a dedicated page with more details.
Tip: You do have a website – right? If not, then our domain registration and web hosting services will help you get online fast.
2. Get Social
How do you keep customers informed if they don’t visit your website regularly? Social media is the perfect solution – and it also allows you to reach beyond your current customers.
Remember to keep social media posts short and to the point. If needed, you can always share a link to a more detailed update on your website. Don’t forget to monitor your social media accounts closely. This way, you can answer any questions or comments that customers make in response to your posts.
Tip: Social media works best alongside a website, not instead of a website. Our recent article on websites vs social media looks at this issue in more depth.
3. Use Email Updates
When you need a sure-fire way to keep customers informed, nothing beats email. At the click of a button, you can instantly send out a message to your full contacts list. Alternatively, you can segment your mailing list and contact just a certain group of customers.
It’s also easy to create tailored messages for different groups. This way, you can inform customers only of the changes that most affect them. It’s worth remembering that the more relevant your emails are, the more likely the user will open and read the email.
Tip: A professional email address can add instant credibility to your messages, and could even boost your open rates. Our email hosting will help you present the right image to your customers.
4. Write a Blog Post
Social media posts and emails are great for keeping your customers updated about easy-to-understand changes. But short, snappy messages don’t always cover all the bases.
Your blog is the perfect place to provide a more detailed explanation. You can then share links across social media (or through email) to draw attention to these important customer updates.
5. Get Personal!
Nothing beats the personal touch when it comes to keeping your customers updated about the most important changes. Messaging apps like WhatsApp allow you to connect with specific customers individually or in groups. You can also address questions or concerns on a one-to-one basis, if needed.
Clearly, this approach isn’t right for every business. But if your customer base is small, it’s the ideal way to show how much you care about personal service.
The Easy way to Keep Customers Informed
Using the steps above will enable you to keep customers informed about changes to your business. If the changes you’re making are pre-planned, why not consider automating email notifications and scheduling blog posts in advance? This way, you won’t need to tie up a lot of your time messaging customers when you’re mid-way through a restructuring project.
Good communication is the keystone of good customer relations. Give a little thought to getting it right and you could benefit from a good return on the extra effort you invest.
