In the information age, many consumers expect the businesses they patronize to keep them in the know. After all, if you expect people to provide you with brand loyalty, it’s only reasonable that you be expected to keep customers educated and informed about the latest developments within your business.
4 Easy Methods for Educating Customers
There’s no shortage of ways for businesses to ensure that customers always know what’s going on. So, if providing your customer base with pertinent updates is a priority for your business, consider the following ways to keep customers educated and informed.
Engage with Your Audience on Social Media
In 2022, businesses that regard social media as unimportant are practically setting themselves up for failure. Although many people use social media platforms as vehicles for keeping up with current events and staying in touch with friends and family members, modern consumers also use social media to keep up with their favorite brands and businesses. As such, if your business’s presence on social media is currently minimal to nonexistent, you’re doing yourself – and more importantly, your customers – a disservice.
To get the most out of your social media efforts, create accounts for your business on the web’s leading platforms and update them on a consistent basis. While the ideal update schedule varies from platform to platform, you’d do well to update each of your business’s social media accounts at least once a day. Additionally, in the case of platforms that are built around short-form posts – i.e., Twitter – multiple daily updates are preferable.
When crafting engaging posts for your audience, make sure to include plenty of eye-catching images and useful information. For example, any upcoming sales events, changes in hours of operation or alterations to existing policies should be made clear via social media.
Social media outlets can also be fantastic vehicles for connecting with customers and addressing individual questions directly. That being the case, you should actively encourage your followers to come to you with any questions or concerns that your posts fail to address.
Hire a Dedicated Social Media Manager
If neither you nor any member of your staff have the expertise or bandwidth to manage your business’s social media efforts, consider hiring a dedicated social media manager. As the title suggests, this individual will be responsible for managing and overseeing all things social media-related within your business. From composing posts to interacting with followers to determining the best times of day to update your various accounts, a good social media manager can be a boon to your efforts to keep customers informed.
Consistently Update Your Website
Posting new content on your business’s website can be a great way to keep customers in the know while providing them with incentive to visit your site on a regular basis. Even a weekly blog post or feature article can result in a noticeable increase in web traffic and potentially improve your overall search ranking.
If you have little to no experience creating such content, you may benefit from working with freelance writers and other content creators. This will enable you to provide customers with engaging, informative content without placing a strain on your time or energy.
Send Updates Via Text and Email
Not every customer is active on social media or inclined to check your website on a regular basis. For individuals like these, a slightly more personalized approach may be necessary to keep them informed. With this in mind, encourage patrons to provide you with their respective phone numbers and email addresses. Having their contact info will enable you to send them messages whenever a promotional event is occurring or an important change is taking place within your business. Good customer resource management software – like CRM for insurance agents – can also prove helpful on this front. Additionally, sending out a regular email newsletter can be a great way to ensure that no piece of information escapes the attention of regular customers.
It’s easy to see why so many modern consumers want to stay up to date with their favorite brands and businesses. Not only does this ensure that they’re kept abreast of special offers and important developments, it also helps them foster a strong personal connection to various businesses. So, if your small business has yet to make customer education a priority, now would be a good time to start seeking out the best ways to keep customers educated and informed.
