If you’re a customer service professional, you know that customers are your lifeblood and livelihood.
You likely also know about the traditional methods of gaining and retaining customers. Smart tactics in marketing, advertising, and social networking are all effective ways to attract and keep customers.
However, there might be another asset you or your customer service reps might be overlooking. We’re talking about your blog. Blogging is one of the most underutilized tools customer service managers can use to boost and improve customer satisfaction, engagement, and retention.
Why Blogging Can Be a Customer Service Manager’s Dream Tool
At its most basic, a blog on your business website can inform your visitors about who you are and how you are committed to customer service. But that’s just the tip of the iceberg as to what a blog can do for customer engagement. Blogging is an effective resource in sharing your integrity and work ethic with potential customers. It’s a powerful platform to notify your audience about your business’s offerings and special events. It can also provide visitors with information about discounts and upcoming promotions.
A blog can turn into a customer retention magnet because it will keep your visitors current. Keep your customers updated with the latest news, information, and exciting activities surrounding your company. Furthermore, you can blog about trends in your industry. Or, consider blogging about how your business is engaged in charity or community events. Informative blog posts can entice visitors and get them interested in working with you or buying from your business.
What’s important to note here is that a blog on your business website should be fresh, informative and should also provide significant value to your visitors. The more you give to your audience and keep your blog current, the more your visitors will appreciate how committed you are to their satisfaction.
Tips to Creating a Blog That Engages and Retains Customers
In order to use your blog for customer retention, there are a few guidelines you might want to follow for best success. Read further about some suggestions on how your blog can make you and your business stand out from the competition.
Keep it Evergreen
As mentioned, it’s crucial to keep your blog current and relevant. A blog with spotty content that hasn’t been updated in the last 12 months is an immediate turn-off for most online shoppers. Alternatively, a bright, fresh blog with regularly added content is extremely appealing. Providing visitors with regular content tells them that you care about their experience. This action also proves to your customers that you are concerned and care about providing excellent service.
Make it Reliable and Secure
As a customer service pro, you can put out the best blog on the internet – but if it’s buggy or sluggish, then all your hard work is for naught. Make your blog work best for you and your visitors by obtaining managed WordPress hosting. Managed hosting can boost your website’s blog speed which is imperative for a satisfactory user experience. Furthermore, this service can also keep your shoppers and your website safe from hacks and attacks. This gives your customers peace of mind, and you’ll thank yourself for the extra layer of security online.
Employ Smart Navigation
If you’re adding regular, valuable blog posts it’s important to keep all that information relevant to your visitors. You can accomplish this by implementing a search feature on your blog so your potential customers can easily find the information they’re seeking. Additionally, think about adding internal links throughout your blog content. This encourages readers to click on other posts in your blog that might be pertinent to their needs. Lastly, include a section at the bottom of your post with image links to other related articles. All of these tricks to blog navigation will keep visitors cycling throughout your website, and can result in converting your blog into a customer retention magnet.
Keep Your Customers in Mind
Anyone in the customer service industry knows the best way to deliver excellence is to know their customer’s needs. The same rule applies when building a blog that improves customer loyalty. Write or add content that contributes to the lives of your followers. Providing valuable tips or information that actually improves your audience goes a long way towards winning their patronage.
The Last Word on Blogging for Customer Retention
While it’s true that blogging does require some time and effort, it’s totally worth it. Blogging is a powerful way to ramp up your customer service game and retain customers. The more you invest in the quality, care and attention of your blog, the more likely you are to attract die-hard customers who return to your business far into the future.
