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By Amiri Baas
Do You Know Your Customer’s Love Language?
We all want to keep our customers, right?
There’s a secret to doing this, and it is so, so simple:
The most effective way to keep your customers is to make them as successful as possible in using your product or service.
In the Age of the Customer, as a business owner, you have only a few ways to set yourself apart from the easily accessible and numerous competitors available right at their fingertips: Having a Customer Success Plan and learning your Customer’s Love Language are two such ways.
A long-term business strategy for maximizing company profitability is to implement a Customer Success Plan.
It has also been scientifically proven that consumers often make purchases based on an emotional connection to the brand or the product offered.
Customer Success in Business
Now, what is a Customer Success Plan and how can you use it in your business?
Customer Success is a proactive approach to business that ensures customers achieve their desired outcomes while using your product or service.
The customer success framework is built around the customer lifecycle through their entire journey with the company. In short, it looks like:
-Brand Awareness
-Customer Acquisition
-Onboarding
-Adaptation/Value Realization
-Analysis and Loyalty
-Upsells/Expansion
As you might be able to tell from the list above, Customer Success is an integration of Marketing, Sales, Professional Services, Training, and Support. It is a solution-oriented process that addresses customer acquisition, retention, and expansion.
Customer Success strategies were first created to address the needs of B2B entities, however, over the years, it has been proven that the methodology can be implemented by B2C entities as well. While the customer journey for a B2C entity might be more speedy, it is equally as important.
The most highlighted benefits of including a Customer Success strategy are:
- Increased customer loyalty and retention
- Reduced customer churn
- Stable renewal of sales,
- Easy Up-sell opportunities
- Word of Mouth promotion
It is important to note that the Customer Success strategy will vary based on the business model, ie: B2B or B2C. Let’s take a look at how customer success can differ based on the business model and how it can be achieved by each.
When offering a B2B product that resolves a specific problem in your target company, you would understand their pain points, decision-makers, the roles in the company, and their daily challenges. You add value by reducing costs or maximizing profits. You would also have spent some time in the industry or in roles that your product or service is targeting.
A B2C product is very straightforward and handy and is targeted at a larger audience. You don’t need industry experience and it usually solves common everyday problems. The complexity of the product is usually lower since it is providing a solution to common problems.
Customer Success In B2B
Bringing brand awareness to a B2B business involves taking into consideration key decision-makers in the company and understanding the issues they face.
The relationship-building process is far more in-depth and requires more time to be put into it.
Since the customer base is much smaller and profit margins are higher, it is important to have a dedicated team of account managers to walk your customer through the stages of the customer journey. It involves nurturing your relationship with your clients monthly to retain them for the long term ensuring their success with your product or service.
Frequent communication with your clients allows you to resolve issues quickly, proactively offer solutions before problems arise, and keep the door open for new opportunities. In my experience, you will also receive lots of referrals!
Some might say a Customer Success strategy is not necessary for a B2C model. I’ll show you how it works for this business model and yes, while the steps in the customer journey are the same it can look very different.
Customer Success in B2C
With so many businesses available online, it is very easy for existing and new customers to choose a competitor. Creating an emotional connection (Know their Love Language) and ease of access is one of the quickest ways to create a loyal customer base.
Think of yourself when shopping for a new product. You’ll most likely shop from a website that is well developed, has easy-to-read fonts, has clear product descriptions, policies, and FAQs. You want information and you want it now! Prices are visible and discounts and coupons are easily understood and applied.
This is what Customer Success looks like for a B2C business:
- Ease of Access – easily find information (FAQs, policies, and contact information)
- Easy to Order – a seamless checkout process
- Order Tracking is easy, turn it up a notch by sending shipping updates
- Instructions, video tutorials, and customer demos (this can vary by niche)
- Review requests and customer experience surveys
- Discount offers for repeat purchases
- Paid referral programs
- Readily available and easy to access the Support team
As you can see, if all the above are properly implemented, we can say that your customer has successfully interacted with you and used your service.
How many times did you change your mind about shopping with a brand because of a lack of one or more of the above?
Your Customers’ Love Language – Developing an Emotional Connection!
Even if you haven’t read it, there is a high chance you’ve heard of The 5 Love Languages: The Secret to Love that Lasts by Dr. Gary Chapman.
If you’ve never read the book, the author speaks about the 5 universal love languages:
- Receiving Gifts
- Quality Time
- Words of Affirmation
- Physical Touch
- Acts of Service
Yes! These love languages were initially intended for interpersonal relationships, however, these love languages can be used for any type of relationship and I think it is critical that they are implemented in your business model.
Let’s take a look at how you can integrate the love languages in your Customer Success Strategy.
Receiving Gifts
Who doesn’t like receiving? In the phase of brand awareness, you can gift your customers first-time discounts, freebies, or access to a newsletter.
After the acquisition, you may offer a variety of options. Here are a few:
-Monthly discount offers, I previously advised a client of mine to offer a discount package at the first of the month to their members, the sales went through the roof at the first of every month. The customers loved it! What was great about this offer, is they could buy the service and use it at a later time.
-Special discounts on new products or subscription renewals
-Free Trials and free consultations, eBooks
-Free exclusive webinars and events.
Quality Time
Quality time does not have to mean going on dates or watching a movie together! Haha!
Throughout your customer journey, here are some things you can do to spend quality time with your customers:
-Having an available support team, who is friendly and patient
-Providing in-depth video product demonstrations
-Responding to social inquiries, liking and responding to posts, hosting Live videos, and posting regularly on social media
-Set proper expectations, creating an easily accessible website with policies and FAQs
-Spending time with your customers where they hang out on social media
Word Of Affirmation
Consistent blog posts, email marketing, and social media engagement are ways to reach your audience with your words. You can also send simple personalized thank you notes or emails to let your customers know they appreciate you.
Additionally, you may:
-Shoutout a customer on social media, some brands may repost their customer posts
-Send emails to congratulate them for completing milestones such as onboarding or course completion
Physical Touch
Obviously, this love language shouldn’t be taken literally!
You can reach out and touch your audience by creating a community… Creating a sense of inclusion and unity in your customers is extremely important. You’ll have lasting customer loyalty by creating passion around your core base.
You can host online webinars, have virtual events and conferences and customers love BTS videos!
In-person you can host conferences and allow your customers easy access to test your products.
Acts of Service
Have you ever supported a company because of its humanitarian efforts? I have! I enjoy buying from Amazon Smile so I can easily support my favorite charities.
I also love to shop from other brands that support a cause. I love that they are getting involved in causes that are important to me and you can do the same with your customers.
Displaying the act of service can also involve ease of access for your customers. How easily can they get in touch with you, how quickly can you resolve their issues, can they find help online without having to contact you?
When you anticipate your customers’ needs, you figure out what they want/need before it happens. By giving them what they need before they even realize they need it, you will help create a positive and valuable experience for your customers.
Here are some things you can do:
-Send reminders for subscription renewals
-Send order updates such as shipping and delivery updates
-Sending video tutorials and value-added infomercials
-Check-in with your customer to ensure they are receiving the perceived value they need from your product
While you can implement a little bit of each love language in your business, you may need to zone in on a few. This may require A/B testing to figure out which ones your customer gravitates to.
Need help creating a Customer Success plan that ensures not only your success but that of your customers?
I have over 11 years of experience in Customer Service and have worked with multiple businesses from major corporations to startups. I believe every business can succeed by using a customer-first approach. Book your Free Consultation to discuss the steps needed to take your business to the next level.
About the Author: Amari Baas believes every business can succeed with the right strategy and a customer focused approach.She helps new and small businesses implement systems, strategies and tools to create or improve their customer support framework resulting in increased revenue, customer loyalty and improved brand image. You can find her (Amiri Baas Co) at www.amiribaas.com and on socials @amiribaas
