There’s a myth that you need to have a large email list to be able to achieve success in your business. But it’s not true. Yes, I talk a lot about email list building on this blog, because having an audience is important. But there’s actually something far more important – deepening customer relationships.

It’s not the number of people in your audience, but how we strengthen client relationships that matters.

It’s easy to be a recluse in our businesses. I mean, apart from daily walks to improve my health (you can see those on Instagram), the summer holidays have mostly included a bit of binge-watching. Hello, Bridgertons! I was completely swept up in the period drama in high society London with princes and dukes.

My nan used to talk about England’s Royal family like they were part of our family.

“Did you hear what Fergie got up to this week?” “Oh, poor Di. She’s had a tough week”.

I grew up partly believing I knew them well. We get pulled into their world.

That’s a big part of what we need to do with our marketing. We need to pull people into our world. When we write, capture video or create audio, they need to feel like they’re sitting across from us, enjoying a cuppa and a chinwag.

Like the ladies of Bridgerton, they want to leave feeling they gained something. Maybe not gossip in our cases, but knowledge or a skill that will help them take one more step forward.

One exercise is to start looking at how you can create deeper relationships by opening up your world.

The reality is, it’s not how many people you know when it comes to marketing. That’s a myth. It’s how deep those relationships are that really matters.

Here’s how to improve client relationships or your connection to your audience this year:

1. Show clients you care

This doesn’t have to take a lot of time or effort, but simply replying to someone when they reach out ensures your followers know you care. This is part of providing a great customer experience.

I had a client recently who had someone leave a snide remark on her Facebook post about how she said there were three questions in her quiz, not two. It’s easy to be snide back or to even become rude with these type of comments. But it’s an opportunity for you to also show you care.

In her case, she responded with a simple: “Yes, you’re probably right. Good pick up!”

Even if someone doesn’t agree with your opinion, you don’t need to dismiss it. Instead, thank them for taking the time to share their opinion. One of the most challenging things about text is that it’s super easy for us to read into a comment more than what’s really there.

Showing you care goes beyond social media though.

Check in with old clients by sending an email or picking up the phone. I remember when I started out in my blogging journey in 2010 that Problogger’s Darren Rowse suggested finding a reader to pay personal attention to. The idea was to build one fan at a time by showing your blog readers you care.

You could use this strategy in any area of your marketing. You’re not asking for something, but rather reaching out to say hi.

You can also apply this to when someone just purchases – contacting them to thank them for their purchase. I do this every now and again for digital sales and the response is quite heartwarming. The reality is, this is just good customer service.

2. Be open and transparent

One of the greatest tools in your digital marketing toolbox is storytelling. If you can open up your world by using business storytelling, then people feel they’re part of something and will aid in deepening customer relationships.

You can paint mental pictures that allow them to see what you see and know what it feels like to experience a transformation as part of your customer journey.

Some stories you might want to tell  for strengthening client relationships include:

Your Why Story

This story will allow people to understand what it is you do and why you do it. When you allow people to see that you’re not providing a service purely to make money, but rather to change the life of at least one person, people are far more attracted to you.

Everyday Life Story

You can use a story from your everyday life to help illustrate a point or share a lesson with your audience. What this does is help someone understand what might otherwise be a complex idea to them by bringing it back to something they know and understand. The other reason is that you’re letting someone into your everyday life.

Case Study Story

This isn’t “your” story so to speak but it’s telling the story of one of your clients and what they were able to achieve when they worked with you. You don’t need to share a story of someone who’s had the biggest results, but rather a story of a client who your ideal client would relate to. They want to feel that “if they can do it, I can too”. Otherwise, this is where case studies can sometimes backfire.

For example, due to my background in mum blogging, I attract clients who have some incredibly huge audiences. This means they often have massive results after a launch. However, my ideal client doesn’t have a huge audience, so these sorts of stories would only deter them from wanting to work with me.

We don’t want stories that sell, not deter sales.

So why bother telling case studies? Well, the key reason is that people will gravitate towards you if they feel you can genuinely help them, like you’ve helped others.

You can learn more about storytelling in the Business Storytelling Guide.

3. Be fascinating to others

Picture yourself at a time, cuppa in hand and you’re chatting with a client or potential client. How do you speak? What stories do you share with them? What nuggets do you know will provide an aha for them? How are you differentiating yourself from others?

This is the way you need to think when you’re marketing online. Too many people slip into what’s simply dull information or content that doesn’t provide any value to someone’s life. 

Your first thought might be “I’m boring though. Who would want to hear about what I have to say?” My question back is: “why are you in business?” 

You might think you’re boring, but what you do is fascinating to others. Let them in.

By using the storytelling strategy mentioned above, you can help people see what your values are and how you’re different from others out there.You can’t deepen customer relationships if you first don’t attract their attention. 

4. Create opportunities for two-way conversations

Don’t fall into the trap of always talking AT your audience. This will do nothing for deepening customer relationships. Ask them questions when you can. Sure, you might pop something up on Facebook and no one responds. Don’t let that deter you from trying again.

When you finally do get someone to “speak to you” online, make sure to reply. An example was on New Year’s Eve, a friend my mum blogger days I hadn’t spoken to online for a while put a comment on a post I’d uploaded. I replied “in real time” rather than waiting to reply later, and it led us to a long conversation online. I felt connected to her again.

In those early blogging days, this was part of how we built our audience – by reaching out, leaving a comment and then starting a conversation in real time. Not responding to someone two days later when the moment has passed.

I’m not saying you have to be online all the time. No one has time for that when you’re running a business. But pick moments when you can really connect to the people you most want to serve.

Don’t just think you have to have all conversations online though. Pick up the phone. Send an email. Visit a shop (if you have the ability to). A business owner last year laughed when I mentioned picking up the phone. But can I tell you how effective it is to hear someone’s voice and know exactly what tone they’re using. To hear that they actually care.

I use phone calls a lot in my business because I deal with local businesses as well. They prefer talking on the phone or seeing you face to face.

5. Keep in regular contact for deepening customer relationships

Consistency is the holy grail of marketing to deepen client relationships to create customer loyalty. I can’t stress enough how important this one thing is. Yet it’s the thing I see business owners struggle with the most. I get that. There’s so much to do when it comes to marketing.

But setting up systems is your secret weapon here. And ensuring your marketing activities are achievable for you. Otherwise, outsource them.

While we can’t guarantee people will see your posts regularly on social media, unless we advertise, writing a business newsletter allows you the opportunity to at least regularly appear in their inbox.

You can go one step further by using personalisation, which can help here too. There was a little girl getting into some mischief at the shops and her mum was getting rather annoyed. Finally, in a loud enough voice for us to hear, she said “Ella. Stop”.

My daughter – named Ella – couldn’t help but turn her head and look in that direction.

It’s human nature for us to react to hearing our name. The same applies online.

Ready to strengthen client relationships?

Whether you have existing clients you’re looking to improve client relationships with, or you an audience of people you know you need to connect with more deeply, these steps can help put you with your relationship marketing strategy.

We’re all busy, so it’s easy to make excuses for why not to do some of these tasks. But what we need to keep in the back of our heads is that without an audience and clients, we have no business.

Today, I’d like to challenge you to stop doing the passive tasks. Instead of throwing out a generic Facebook post, putting together an ad that talks “to” people or writing a dry, white paper style blog post, try connecting in a deeper way.

Pick one of the tasks on the above list to tackle today to ensure you’re deepening customer relationships and strengthening your business in the process.

How do you intend to develop your client relationship?

If you decide to use storytelling, make sure to grab a copy of the Business Storytelling Guide to help you.