In today’s e-commerce landscape, there’s more competition than ever for business-to-consumer companies. Customers have near-infinite options on how and where to spend their time online as well as multiple choices when it comes to most products and services. The leaders of a B2C company must develop effective strategies to both reach their target audience and persuade consumers to choose them rather than a competitor.

While most companies prioritize keeping up with the latest marketing trends, there’s more to building strong customer relationships than placing clever ads. Below, seven members of Business Journals Leadership Trust share their best B2C outreach secrets. Follow their advice to stand out from the competition and engage with your customers.

1. Show your true self on social media.
After seeing all those clever ads, people still need to know who you truly are. Social media is a powerful tool in this regard. Customers want to know who they are doing business with, and they want to feel comfortable with that person or brand. Show them your real self. – Kris Lindahl, Kris Lindahl Real Estate

2. Respond to comments, messages and reviews.
Connection is at the core of successful businesses. In today’s digital world, social media presents a unique opportunity to build relationships, loyalty and trust with your customers by maintaining an open, two-way conversation. Be sure to respond to comments, messages and reviews on social media for a personal touch that humanizes your company and inspires a sense of transparency. – Melea McRae, Crux KC

3. Build a community forum.
Creating a strong community forum or a customer council for continuous feedback is a foolproof solution. Providing customers with early access to new products can help you eliminate a host of problems before you bring a new product to market. – Donna Michaels, LMGPR

4. Treat your prospects like human beings.
If you’re focused on building a strong relationship with your prospects, you must treat them like human beings. Present yourself and your business as a solution to the pain points of your customers. – Alina Clark, CocoDoc

5. Provide exceptional solutions.
An exceptional solution to your customer’s problem is an easy and efficient method for building lasting relationships. Customers will inherently want to engage and trust an organization that helps them solve their problems. – Rachel Namoff, Arapaho Asset Management

6. Define your brand’s impact on consumers.
To achieve brand loyalty, a brand or product must truly make a positive impact on consumers — for example, by making their lives easier in some fashion. The ultimate goal is the lifetime value of the customer. You want them to return over and over and also become an ambassador for your brand, singing your praises to other consumers in their network. – Jessica Hawthorne-Castro, Hawthorne Advertising

7. Encourage customer reviews.
To build relationships with new and existing customers through marketing, don’t forget Google customer reviews. New and existing customers of your business utilize internet search constantly to validate or discover a vendor. Carefully building your business’s Google customer reviews and rating is one of the least expensive and most powerful ways to build trust. – Jason Dunn, DACS Asphalt & Concrete