If you are one of the small businesses, you may grapple with how to gain customer loyalty. You know that loyal customers are an asset, and according to an Adobe study, when they return to your business, they are nine times more likely to convert than first-time shoppers. Customer loyalty is a widely misunderstood term. While it is generally believed that customer satisfaction and customer loyalty are the same, there is a wide difference between the two. It’s believed that customer satisfaction inevitably leads to customer loyalty, but this assumption may not always be true.
Increasing and enhancing customer loyalty is an essential component of business success. It is the X-factor that has the power to turn one-time buyers into repeat customers. The only problem is – there are no shortcuts and easy methods to inspire loyalty. Constant sales pitches and sharp self-promotion can only take you so far. This is not to say that you are powerless. Far from it – you can rely on many tried and tested strategies.
Loyalty marketing is evolving beyond encouraging consumers with the point that they can cash in for free items or discounts. It is becoming more experiential, more closely linked to brand values, and more personal through advanced analytics. If you are looking for real ways to build and maintain customer loyalty, consider implementing some of these strategies:
1. Give Something Back
In addition to build community around your brand, you can participate in community events, sponsor youth activities, and volunteers your time. Members of your community will recognize your commitment and may choose to do business with you because of it.
Also, consider the support reasons that your customer base believes in and that you are passionate about. This connection can affect customers who want to spend their money with merchants sharing their values.
2. Provide Fantastic Customer Service
Customer service can significantly impact a brand’s ability to keep its customers, not necessarily for the reason you think. Customer service is more likely to infuence your retention efforts than help you.
A Harvard review from 2010 suggests that customer service has relatively little effect on increasing customer loyalty, but it has a high impact on losing customer loyalty once it is not enough.
What makes customer service sound? It’s simple: make customers’ lives easier and remove obstacles. You don’t have to go out of your way to surprise and delight your customers; what you need to do is give them what they are looking for and fast.
3. Reward Your Customers
Rewards are shortcuts to customer loyalty. Your consumers love surprises and gifts in all forms. A personalized thank you card or access to a special event, or an increased loyalty point are a few ways that demonstrate your gratitude to customers for your business. Surely, we can do a lot more than just marketing campaigns that send discount coupons to entice customers to buy.
4. Create a Killer Value Proposition
Come up with a compelling value proposition. Explain who you are in detail and what you stand for. But, instead of writing a general offer, note that you are better off targeting the specific buyer persona.
For good measure, doing competitive research to confirm your proposal is truly unique. You can also do some A / B testing of your proposal to make sure it really resonates with the target audience.
Basically, after reading the text, people should be tempted to buy your products and realize that they want to be part of something bigger (i.e. your brand’s mission).
5. Measure Your Churn rate
The percentage of your customers who cancel your product or service or do not renew their membership is your churn rate. This metric is especially important for SaaS or membership companies that pay regularly to their customers.
When analyzing your churn rate, look at it through the lens of customer satisfaction. Try to highlight why customers are leaving with a canceled survey or request a one-on-one interview.
6. Encourage Referral System
The “Refer a Friend” program is an effective way to reward your current customers while also acquiring new ones.
This could be something like “give $ 10 and get $ 10”, or you can give a reward point for every friend that your company’s current customer suggests. You can also use social media to make people aware about the same. If someone “likes” one of your loyal customers, you can send them a unique link to a special promotion that’s just for them.
Referral programs allow you to get creative because there are unlimited ways to share the love.
7. Deliver On Value And Quality
One of the obvious ways to build brand loyalty is to fulfill what you have promised and reach the highest level of that standard. Never let them down. The services and products you provide must also be of the highest quality – this quality is to be maintained in everything you do so that the value you provide is never questioned. Understand what satisfies your customers and focus your energy here. If you can exceed your customer’s expectations, there will be no reason for your customer to look elsewhere in the direction of your competitors.
8. Provide Excellent Customer Service
It seems obvious, but it deserves mention again because excellent service builds lifelong customers, avoids negative word-of-mouth, and sets you apart from the competition. This is how MNC’s have built such a loyal following. But, how can you improve your customer service?
For starters, listen to customers and address their concerns promptly. Make it easy for buyers to get in touch with a representative. Display email addresses, phone numbers, and social media accounts. You have to “wow” them by going above and beyond.
9. Ask for Advice and Listen To It
Sometimes businesses react to customer feedback like a teenager. They don’t want to hear valuable advice – especially if it’s something you don’t want to hear. Every business should try to collect feedback from customers and listen to it.
If customers complain about the poor layout of your store, you must have to fix it. Once the improvement is done, let customers know about it. It’s a great way to show customers that you are reading their feedback and working on it.
If you have tried some other authentic ways to generate customer loyalty, please let us know! Contact us to learn more about how we at Zytal Info Pvt Ltd try to keep our customers happy. Our loyalty marketing experts will give you a free consultation regarding the same. Call Now!