As International Customer Loyalty Month, April is a great time to focus on the clients who recommend you to others or use your services on a regular basis. They are the life blood of your business! To generate even more repeat business and referrals, you owe it to yourself to establish stronger relationships with all of your clients.

One of the current trends in customer relationship management (CRM) is getting to know more about your clients, and using that insight to engage with them more often and more meaningfully, reports CRMTrends. A number of tools are available to help you get organized and create a plan to build better client relationships and ultimately, increase your return on investment. You’re probably using some of them already.

Get Organized

Organize all of your contacts so they can be accessed from one place, rather than spread out through various services. Create one master contact file using whatever program works best for you. I like Outlook, but many people simply use Google—it syncs with all mobile devices, is easy to edit, and a number of third-party apps work well with Gmail and Google Contacts.

Once you’ve done this, import your contacts from your various social networks and email programs into the service. Once your contacts are organized in one place, sync the database with your Android or iOS devices, so you can easily access them on the go.

Keep Track of Birthdays

You don’t want to forget the birthdays of your friends and family members, but what about your clients? Take time to remember them on their special day—it’s a great way to enhance the relationship. Facebook is the social networking tool that many of us look to for birthdays, and you can import that information right into your Google or Apple Calendar.

To do this, log into Facebook and go to the Events page. In the settings gear at the upper right-hand corner of the page, click “Export” to export your friends’ birthdays. Set up alerts to be notified a few days ahead of time. For special clients, take it one step further and order flowers. This gesture is sure to be remembered, and it will help build rapport and loyalty with them.

Opt-in Newsletters

Opt-in newsletters are still important for building better client relationships and reaching prospects, but it’s essential to provide value in each and every one to keep them reading and wanting more. Consider your audience and write about something that is sure to pique their interest, rather than focusing on thinly veiled sales attempts. Try one of these email newsletter services to get started – my personal favorite is MailChimp.

SendOutCards

No matter how great your content is or how strategically you place that opt-in form, not everyone is going to sign up. Use a program like SendOutCards to stay in touch while improving the quality and quantity of your client relationships. You can create a personalized card that includes a photo for a single recipient, or send it to hundreds using your contact list.

SendOutCards can be tailored to read, “Thank you for your business,” “Thank you for taking the time to meet with me,” “Happy birthday,” or for any reason at all. This can help keep your name on the top of your clients’ minds and stand out from your competitors. You can even create a campaign that automatically sends promotional cards, thank you cards, holiday cards and more.

How do you build relationships with your clients?