So, How Are the Kids?

"Talking to your customers is a key strategy to weathering bad times," says Jennifer Berkley in a post at the Customer Experience Optimization blog. "It's a great way to keep your finger on the pulse of how loyal your customers are and to increase their loyalty to you—a very critical factor in times like these." Why so critical? Berkley offers a bunch of reasons:

You stay relevant by keeping close tabs on the evolving needs of your customers, which have almost certainly changed in some way.

You learn which cutbacks will have the least-negative impact.

You create a sense of stability. By engaging customers in dialogue, you send the implicit message that your company will be there for them, now and in the future.

You earn an additional level of loyalty by showing genuine interest in the challenges your customers face.

Berkley provides several methods for opening lines of effective communication, but says getting started is as easy as picking up the phone and calling one of your best customers for a conversation. "Now, more than ever," she concludes, "you cannot afford a mass exodus—or even a slow leak—of your current customer base."

The Po!nt: Get them talking. During an economic downturn, customer dialogue becomes an all-important strategy for customer retention.

Source: Customer Experience Optimization. Read the full post here.

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