14 proven ways to communicate with customers

Today, there are more ways than ever to connect with customers. There's email, social media, mobile devices, meetings, focus groups and trade shows. The list goes on. But which forms are the most effective?

CIO.com asked dozens of business owners, managers and customer relations experts to find out. Here are the top 14 recommendations on how to connect with customers, and what makes these methods effective.

Note: The success of any method depends largely, if not entirely, on the business you're in and who or where your customers are. While social networking sites, e.g. Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, work very well for some organizations, they may not be the best option for others. Similarly, while some customers prefer to be contacted by e-mail, others may want or appreciate a phone call or face-to-face meeting.

Therefore, before investing too much money or time in a particular approach to customers, ask them how they prefer to be contacted or engaged. As far as potential customers are concerned, all the experts we consulted suggested that organizations try out several forms of disclosure and identify the one that worked best.

1. Survey your customers. "Surveys enable companies to identify users' needs directly," explains Reuben Yonatan, CEO, analyst and editor-in-chief of GetVoIPwhich provides advice and support to VoIP users.

"Once customer needs are known, companies can target their offerings to meet those needs," he says. "Surveys are also a good tool for attracting potential customers close to a product / service, i.e. surveys can be used as a platform for potential customers to express their wants / needs," explains Yonatan.

2. Use newsletters. "Send out a newsletter about 10 times a year," explains Stan C. Kimer, President, Total commitment advice from Kimer. "It should have a table of contents ahead of time so people take at least three seconds to scan, and articles five to six should be short (two to three sentences) and include links to useful resources."