In today’s competitive global business environment, pleasing customers is no longer just about providing quality products and services. Winning customers’ loyalty requires you to engage them and stand out from the sea of other businesses. This is the key to success, and it’s no secret – Nine out of ten American CEOs say they are are building stronger client engagement programs, according to PWC.

As you grow your business, it’s critical that you do so in a direction that your customers will appreciate. Here is a look at some of the ways you can expand your business and please your customers at the same time:

Humanize Your Brand

Branding is more than logos and flashy commercials — it’s a way of communicating your values and identity in a memorable way. As you begin to grow as a company, it is important to summarize your company’s philosophy in a clear and concise way and to communicate this philosophy to your employees as well.

Create a brief list of values that lay at the core of your company’s identity and make sure you and your employees exemplify these values. Set aside a brief moment every day to address just one of these values and how it is part of your business. This helps you make sure they aren’t just something that come up at annual shareholder meetings.

Keep Your Online Face Fresh

Extend this humanization of your brand to all aspects of your business, especially your online interactions. How you present your brand to customers online can make the difference in their loyalty. Business 2 Community reports that 97 percent of consumers found that a positive online experience influenced their decision whether or not to deal with a company.

Social media is a perfect way to keep your brand personal and fresh, so capitalize on its power. In the social media sphere, a small team of employees can maintain a wide-reaching demographic of customers and build real loyalty.

Streamline Your Processes

A bigger business means you need to be aware of more systems. This makes it critical to streamline your day-to-day operations. One vital step is to make your sales staff as efficient as possible. You can easily do this by improving your enterprise resource planning systems, or ERP. Companies like Sage offer systems that let your sales staff check accounts while on the road, instantly invoice with the touch of a button and let you have better insight into inventory. Efficiency makes it easier for you to serve your customers, which translates to a better overall experience. Remember, good customer service starts in the back room.

Be Fast

Streamlining doesn’t just come down to having all your systems operating at top efficiency — it also means your interactions with customers need to be optimized. As you expand and grow as a business, make sure your employees work directly with customers and provide them with a positive experience.

Furthermore, customers expect you to provide services at the speed of modern technology. Make sure your website is updated and that your customer service representatives have the tools they need to do their job to the fullest extent of their abilities.

Photo credit: 5oulscape / Flickr