As a business owner, you know how important public relations is to your company. You want more sales, and to achieve that you need more customers. You can’t find them unless you reach out and present your company in the best possible light. Here’s where public relations comes in. Read on for some tips to improve your company’s public presence.
Build a persona
Your first public relations efforts should focus on building a persona for your company. Work on presenting your business as friendly, helpful and able to meet your customers’ needs. Emphasize customer service and communication in your marketing materials. Just don’t go overboard and come off as fake. You should be genuinely interested in your customers and their concerns, so make sure they know that.
Track your customers
If you’re going to reach out to your customers, you’d better know who they are. Convenient sales software can help you keep track of what you’re selling and who is buying. Keep a list of customers and potential customers with their contact information, and use it for promotional efforts. Be respectful, though. If some of your customers would prefer not to receive messages from you, then honor that.
Update your website
Your website is one of the first ways many customers learn about your company, so it should be stellar. If it’s not, update it. Redesign the front page so that it clearly shows what your company sells and does and provides easy-to-find contact information. If you offer shopping and purchase options online, make sure that customers can search quickly and find and order what they need in only a few clicks. You can add a blog to your website to provide updates and helpful tips and tricks about your products, too, and don’t forget to create a page that tells the history of your company and features your employees. This puts a personal face on your business, and customers will relate to you better.
Make good use of social media
Social media is everywhere these days, and you might be tempted to dismiss it as unimportant to your business. However, it’s actually an excellent means to reach out to your customers. Keep your social media pages up-to-date and packed with interesting information and the latest news. Respond to customer comments promptly as well, but feel free to delete anything that is obnoxious or rude. You might send the person a private message to work out the problem, but your other guests don’t have to be annoyed by such comments.
Provide exceptional customer service
Finally, your public relations will flourish if your company provides exceptional customer service. Your customers should always feel that they are important and that their concerns count. Handle all complaints promptly and with tact, and do your best to make things right if at all possible. Train your employees to be polite and helpful at all times, and model that behavior yourself. Also, consider starting a customer loyalty program that allows customers to earn points for repeated purchases. They might spend those points on discounts or prizes, but they will certainly feel appreciated.
Focus on safety
Customers are especially concerned about safety these days, especially for their personal and financial information. As part of your public relations campaign, then, highlight your security efforts. You might talk about the cyber attack prevention plan you’ve put in place or the levels of data encryption you use on your website and in-house network. Assure your customers that when they shop with you, their information will remain completely confidential to the best of your ability.
Your customers stand at the heart of your business, so make sure that your public relations are stellar so that your sales can be, too.