Change can be scary, particularly for a business owner. Not only do you need to convince your staff and shareholders to change their ways, but you’ll also need to ensure that your customers remain happy and satisfied as well.
Businesses need to change and adapt if they want to remain viable and see long-term, sustained success. However, this needs to be handled with extreme caution. Rushing into things could put your customers off and see them turn to a competitor. Read this guide and find out how to encourage customers to get on board with changes.
Don’t Forget About Your Existing Customers
Changing your business can be an exciting time. It comes with the promise of new opportunities and untapped markets and demographics. However, change shouldn’t come at the expense of your existing customers. After all, without them, you wouldn’t be in a position where your business can change and grow, so keep them in mind as you move forward. Incentivesmart, as an example, runs a customer loyalty programme solution that is perfect for rewarding your existing customers and ensuring they stick around as your business changes. Click here to check it out.
Introduce Changes Slowly
As we touched on earlier, change can be intimidating, especially when it seemingly comes out of nowhere. To avoid leaving your customers and business partners feeling blindsided, introduce your changes incrementally rather than all at once. This will give everyone a chance to get used to each change before the next one and can allow for business to continue in an efficient and effective manner during the process. Customers will react far more positively to small changes introduced at regular intervals than one massive shift that changes the face of the business completely.
Keep People Informed
A changing business can cause a lot of disruption if the process is handled incorrectly. To minimise potential damage to your company, you need to make everyone aware of any upcoming changes. Social media can be the perfect tool for this. It will allow your customers to gain an insight into what changes are coming and why and when they are expected to take place.
Listen To Feedback
One of the most effective ways to change your business successfully is to listen to customer feedback as you proceed. This will give you invaluable information and opinion regarding which changes are working and which aren’t. You can then harness this information and use it to influence your decisions moving forward. Additionally, allowing customers to give their input will make them feel a lot more involved and appreciated. They will feel as if they are an integral part of the business change and will be far more positive about it.
Conclusion
Changing your business can be scary, but with a few simple steps, you can ensure your customers stick by your side. Introduce changes incrementally, keep customers informed, listen to their feedback, and implement a loyalty programme to retain your existing customers as your company grows.
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