Marketing isn't just about attracting new customers, it's also about maintaining a relationship with current customers. You can focus your strategy on bringing in new customers, but if not done strategically, you can lose sight of the customers you already have. This can cause you to lose those customers and ultimately, lose revenue. To keep your current customers, you should ensure the relationship you already have with them is ongoing and nurturing. Below you'll discover a few ways to improve your relationship with existing customers. Communicate With Them In any relationship, communication is a crucial factor. The same goes for your relationship with your customers. It's not always best to just take their money and move on. Keep the relationship going by communicating. Have conversations with your customers and don't just tell them about their business. Ask them about their specific needs. Ask them in what ways can you improve your product or service. Then, you can show them you have a solution to their problem.Instead of waiting for customer service to become a problem, be proactive in the customer experience. About a week after a customer has purchased your product, send out a survey to see how their experience went and how they think your company should improve it. By asking for feedback, you're not only gathering information about your customer's potential problems, but you're also showing them you value their time and that you're willing to communicate with them to make their experience better. Connect on Social Media If your company has a social media account, you can further build a relationship with your existing customers. Whether on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter or LinkedIn, there are various ways you can connect with your customers in an informal way. On your posts, you can let your followers know you want to answer any questions they may have. By answering these questions, you're showing them that you're not just out to make a sale, but that you actually want to help them. This opens up a line of communication and makes them feel comfortable coming to you for help. Send Personalized Emails If you've ever gone into a store or visited a website to make a purchase, then you've likely received an email from that company. By making sure your customers don't forget about your company, you can keep contact with them through email and invest in marketing resources such as MailChimp. This is how you build a relationship with your customers and ultimately, keep them coming back to you.You can also personalize your emails and tailor them to your customers' needs. For example, if they visit your website or a particular page, it will create what's called a cookie that remembers their visit. This allows you to track that customer's online behavior. By doing this, you can learn about that customer and their preferences. Once you've gained enough insight about that customer, you can personalize your message to them. This not only increases the likelihood of them making another purchase, but it also shows that you care enough to understand their needs and preferences. Put Their Needs First Another great way to improve your relationship with customers is to value their needs and do your best to meet them as satisfying as possible. You may be faced with a difficult situation that may require you to make a tough decision. For example, let's say you give refunds to customers for up to two weeks after purchase. However, your customer is unhappy with the product, but waits to ask for a refund after the two weeks have passed. The customer has told you that they hadn't gotten around to trying the product until a week after purchase. They want a refund, but you don't want to break your policy. Since this customer is dissatisfied and didn't use the product until later, it may be a good idea to make an exception in this case. This shows that you're willing to put their needs first and value their business.Maintaining a good relationship with your customers is only half the battle. The other half is improving that relationship and building brand loyalty.