Connecting with your customers is one of the most important parts of building your small business brand, but it can also be one of the most difficult. Few modern small business owners have a traditional storefront that allows them to have an actual conversation with the people who buy from them. Others may have a traditional business with a physical location, but find that it is still difficult to find time for that human touch. Here are a few tips for making the connection with your customers.

How to connect with your customers video

Ask open-ended questions.

Whether you are interacting with your customers in person or via a social networking page, ask questions that will get a thoughtful answer. In general, these include any question that cannot be answered with a single word. This will allow you to start a meaningful conversation, gaining important information about your consumer base while also making a valuable connection.

Examples of open-ended questions:

• How is (health care reform, globalization, changes in regulation, other contemporary issue) going to affect you?
• What product is your favorite and why?
• How do you plan to spend this holiday weekend?

Think outside the workplace.

Neither you nor your customers exist in a bubble. There is a whole wide world out there, with trends, news, and generally lots of stuff going on. You can set yourself apart by discussing some of these issues as they affect your business. Avoid being opinionated about overly controversial topics, however—this will turn many people off. Stay professional, but stay up with the times.

Good topics for conversation:

• News related to your business.
• Advocacy and need.
• Humorous topics.

Be a person.

It’s not unusual for people to feel that they must be 100% professional at work and leave their personal life at home. This is the American way of business, and we are trained in it from the day we start our first job. However, many people patronize small businesses for that human touch. It’s okay—and even beneficial—to let your customers see that you have a very human life outside of work in small ways: by posting your child’s drawing in the office, including a little personal detail in your ‘About Me’ webpage, or otherwise.

Use your new knowledge.

The great thing about making a connection is that it goes both ways. As your customers come to know more about you and your business (encouraging them to choose your brand), you also will learn more about your customers. This will allow you to guide your business toward a more customer-friendly brand and tap into needs before your competitors even see them.

Engaging your customers is more difficult than it sounds. You will usually have to reach out multiple times before you begin to get meaningful responses. Further, what works with one set of consumers might not be effective with another. This is an area where a little experimentation can pay off immensely. People long for that personal touch, but few business owners take the time to give it to them.

We went to the local mall this morning to buy a birthday gift for one my daughter’s friends.

After selecting the gifts and paying for them, the sales girl behind the counter gave us a huge smile and said, “Would you like to take this opportunity to buy something from our 20% discount items?”.

This made me think. Online businesses rarely try this kind of tactic. The smaller ones anyway. None of my websites sells anything to the customer after the primary sale is done.

Starting tomorrow I will try and update all my thank you pages to cross promote my services or products.