28 November 2013 is Business Hug Day and your chance to show your customers that you care.
Are You Up For The Challenge?
Customers are what makes business work. Without a steady stream of customers, at best you have a hobby that brings in a few bob and at worst you are on the fast train to bankruptcy!
Whatever business you are in there will be a customer at the end of your sales process.
Customers buy the things that are a solution to their PAIN (Problems Aspirations Issues and Needs), therefore it follows that in order to know what their PAIN is you have to HUG them.
That is Hear what they are saying about their PAIN, Understand what this means in terms of your product or service and Give back incredible value so that they want to do business with you over and over again.
Customers are more discerning and the business landscape is littered with companies vying for your customer’s attention so the key thing is that you stand out in the crowd and differentiate yourself from others in the crowded marketplace.
Your Business HUG sets you apart and is your way to stand out in the crowd.
Before the advent of the World Wide Web and 24/7 global connection at the touch of a keyboard (and now a touch screen on a mobile device) information heralded by the rise of Google as King; customers had to rely on what business owners told them about their products and services.
Moreover, comparisons of goods and services and unbiased opinions weren't readily available. Such things were limited to weekly consumer programs (how many of us remember "That's Life") and consumer journals like What PC, Which, etc. Interaction with customers was one-directional - from the business to the consumer.
Initially, the internet gave businesses even more access and opportunity to broadcast their message to the consumer with mass marketing via emails, pop-ups that interrupted your browsing and dominance of the content.
However, the rise of social media coupled with customers finding more and more ways to block out broadcast marketing has created a new business environment where the customer is more powerful and Know-Like-Trust is a prerequisite to them doing business with you.
66% of customers use the internet to research businesses and 58% of customers say that positive online reviews make them trust businesses more (Homestead.com 2013). Customers now rely on the opinions of other customers, friends and family to make decisions about where they spend their hard-earned cash and expect to have a two-way conversation with a business that builds a relationship.
Consequently, if you are not engaged with them you will not have a voice in the conversations and you are less likely to get them to buy from you.
A Business HUG is simply taking the time to Hear, Understand and Give back value to your customers. A Business HUG is your business solution to:
Engagement
Rapport
Relationships
Trust
Customer retention
The bottom line
Customer loyalty
Happy customers
Word-of-mouth referrals
Repeat business
A Business HUG is designed to foster customer loyalty, interaction and long-term engagement.
What's more, the great thing about a HUG is if you give a good enough HUG you will always get a HUG back. And when a customer HUGs you back it will always lead to more sales.
So start thinking about how you can demonstrate that you are a HUGgable business and join 1000s of businesses on Thursday 28 November for Business Hug Day, an opportunity to celebrate and appreciate the customers in your business.
For more detail visit the Business HUG Day website
How do you HUG your customers? Have you received a Business HUG lately? Please share your experiences in the comments box below.
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