5 Reasons Why You Need to Keep Your Customers Well-Informed

In this day and age, we’re lucky that there are multiple ways to keep customers up-to-date and informed. Before the instantaneous abilities of the internet, social platforms, email and SMS, there was only the postal service, telephone calls and your local newspaper or billboard available to get your message out in 3-5 working days.

Although online capabilities are fast, in general, the space is so busy. Inboxes are choc-a-bloc with unread emails and it’s so hard to stand out from the crowd. At least with direct mail or a newspaper, there was more chance your customer would read what you had to say. With an email and SMS, you have to be clever for an open click. And with social media, you have to hope the algorithm Gods are shining down on you by putting your information in front of the right people.

So is it worth it? Is it worth the time it takes to weave an irresistible open-worthy subject line? Is it worth plastering an illuminating post across all your social platforms? Because with so much information out there, do people really care about what you have to say?

Yes!

Your customers and those sitting on the sidelines contemplating your brand do care about what you have to say and are waiting intently to read about it!

Here’s why!

1. Your customers like a good scroll.

A business that shows up among friends on social media will be seen as a friend also. And with friendship comes loyalty.

It’s natural to be curious about what’s going on in the world, and with social media it’s easy to find out. Of course, while you’re there you can have a nose to see what your friends have been up to while you’re scrolling through.

Seeing friendly faces makes us feel connected to the outside world, and reminds us that we’re human and that there are other humans out there. People crave to feel a part of something. So when a business like yours appears on social media newsfeeds in a natural (non-salsey) way, you can make them feel included in your world as well as you being included in there’s. Two great feelings for the price of one!

As long as you aren’t posting too much (just a few times a week can be enough) you will always be floating around in your customers’ minds as a company they respect and may buy from in the future. But whilst you’re being all human-like, don’t forget to slip in that new promo, deal or product that will really help them out!

2. Admit you messed up!

Keeping your customers informed when it comes to problems that directly or even indirectly affect them is an essential method of building trust.

Nothing is more relatable than someone who has made a mistake and respect is given to those who admit it. As a business you will make mistakes and your customers will appreciate and even sympathise with you if you hold your hands up when the situation calls for it.

Of course, telling your customers that you are aware of a problem and are working hard to fix it might upset some. But equally, news travels fast when a business is honest and transparent about its fallibility. This can only go towards improving your brand’s trust rating.

The benefit of informing customers about an error is that it will give you a grace period to fix it. Neglecting to explain issues to your customers in the hope they won’t notice (they will notice though!) will give rise to feelings of anger, distrust and the potential loss of a lot of business.

3. People are inherently lazy.

Just tell people what they need to know and why, in a friendly yet direct manner. People love FREE information if it benefits them.

The standard setting of the human race is to follow the path of least resistance. People generally don’t want to spend time and energy doing something they don’t have to (or want to do). This means that you can never rely on your customers to search for the information that they need from you, even to the detriment of themselves.

Classic examples of laziness can be found all over social media, and we’re all guilty of it! Ever read the posts that start, can someone tell me…? Can someone point me in the right direction…? Does anyone know…? These people don’t want to find the answers they seek by themselves. Even when it could take potentially seconds to get what they need from Google (and longer for people to comment). Sometimes people don’t even realise they have a question until you tell them the answers. And people who do want the answers want you to display them immediately in front of their faces. Customers will thank you and remember you the next time they want to purchase something if you oblige and keep them informed at all times.

4. Sharing is caring.

People love a bit of feel-good good news, as long as it benefits them in some way, of course!

Reading about someone’s good news is bound to put a smile on anyone’s face. And on social media, it encourages people to engage with a congrats, or that’s awesome! And we all know that engagement means you’ll get seen by more people. So go ahead, tell your audience that you’ve a new product, tell them you’re expanding, and tell them that you won an award. You could even tell them exciting things from your own life to give off a relatable vibe.

However!

When you keep your customers informed about all of those fantastic things, make sure that you highlight how that fabulous news benefits them. Because if you don’t then if they aren’t a fully engaged customer then they probably won’t care. They won’t click and will just scroll past or hit delete.

5. Make everyone feel special.

When you keep your existing customers informed on promotions and offers, they feel special and appreciated.

If you run an offer that you don’t actively tell your existing customers about, you run the risk of letting them find out on their own and thinking that you were trying to hide it from them to save money. This goes for any aspect of your business too. You never want your customer to question, well, how come I didn’t know?

Whether we admit it or not, we all want to be made to feel special and valued sometimes. For a customer that feeling comes from being the first to know about things, being part of something that feels exclusive and being rewarded for their loyalty.

So whatever you need to say, make sure you keep your existing customers informed about it first. It will demonstrate that your company puts its customers first which will only add to your positive brand reputation.

At SwitchboardFREE we like to take a variety of approaches to keep our customers up-to-date with regard to our latest offers, new services and product updates.  We regularly use social media, email campaigns and banner advertising on email alerts. 

Another format we use to keep our customers informed is also available to SwitchboardFREE customers and is crazily underutilized. We’re talking about custom and professional prompts. You can record your message, or have it done for you by one of our professionals so that your customers are greeted with any information you need them to know. Be it a sale, promotion, new product or any issues you are having, your customers will learn about it before they are routed to one of your team.