Maintaining Customer Rapport | Home Based Business Australia

Introduction by Barbara Gabogrecan

I love the simple yet effective results on how to build customer rapport, discussed by Ashley. He is so right about how important it is to build rapport to keep a customer. Recently my son ordered a particular Apple computer from the retailer. He was given an approximate time for delivery. He actually rang to check if it had arrived at the due date. He was told ?no?.

The following week he rang again and was told that it was arriving on a specific date. He rang on that date and was told that the shipment of computers had arrived but had not been unpacked. This was on a Friday, so on Monday he rang again and was told it was not there. This time he asked to speak to the manager who informed him that it had never been ordered!

So, he cancelled the order, rang another supplier and the computer was delivered to his door in three days. The good outcome is that the owner of the store rang to apologise and to ensure him that staff would be better trained in the future in customer relationships.
Barbara Gabogrecan
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?By Ashley Collins?

Once you create rapport with a customer or potential client, you must then maintain it every chance you can.? There are a number of simple ways you can do this;?

Look after your contacts
Your clients need to feel that you care enough about them to put their interests first. As you get to understand their needs, source products and services that will satisfy those needs, by solving their problems. Hopefully some of the solutions will be solved with your product, but don?t be afraid to recommend other appropriate product if you do not have anything suitable.

Set boundaries and have realistic expectations
I realise that an important way to maintain rapport can depend on how well the rules of engagement are established right from the ?word go?. Make sure you have sensible expectations at the very beginning of your relationship. It is also important that you both have a practical idea of how you will progress and what each can expect from such an opportunity.? Get this right early on and it is less likely that a misunderstanding will occur.

?A retail example
If a customer wants a product that is out of stock, what should you do ? what are the expectations? You want to make a sale and to do that you need to build the confidence of the potential customer for the salesperson to apologise, order replacement stock and check on its arrival time, while the customer is still there. It adds to your credibility if you actually call the supplier for these details.?

Now the customer knows that an order has been placed and when it is due to arrive. The next step is to call the customer when it arrives. Place this in your diary to ensure you remember the action you are to take. If it is delayed, then ring both the supplier and the customer again.

Keeping customers informed is a great way to build rapport and living up to their expectations.? You don?t want the customer to think that the sales person has let them down. If they do not get what they expect, they might just cancel the order and get it elsewhere.?

By building and maintaining customer rapport, by meeting the customers? expectations and doing what you promised, you are much more likely to keep the customer coming back again and again.

Source: http://homebasedbusinessaustralia.org/blog/2012/09/maintaining-customer-rapport/

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