Earning and building customer loyalty is an essential part of business success, allowing you to retain your current customers, and bring in new prospects. So, here are 5 simple-yet-effective ways that you can improve your customer loyalty.
- Develop a customer reward or loyalty program
Customer loyalty programs are one of the most effective ways to reward customers for being reliable and dependable. By rewarding your customers for being loyal thus far, this can further increase their loyalty going forward, and earn loyalty from new customers.
What kind of loyalty program that you develop depends on what you think will work best for your business. For example, a points program from a retailer can allow customers to gather points with each purchase, which can be transferred to a monetary reward. You might also consider a:
- Spend program – the more you spend the more you earn
- Tiered program – different reward levels depending on spending habits
- VIP program – special benefits for a monthly or yearly fee
- Improve customer experience
When customers are treated poorly, struggle to use your services, or have a generally poor customer experience, then it goes without saying that they will not come back. After they have had a poor customer experience, they will likely remember and tell everyone they know, leading to a loss in business and revenue.
However, when a customer experience is good, this can lead to increased customer loyalty, sales, and even a potential increase in revenue. In fact, 1 in 4 people are willing to pay up to 10% more in most industries for the guarantee that they will get excellent customer service.
- Ask for feedback (and actually listen to it)
One of the most useful ways that you can increase customer loyalty is to make the customer feel important, showing them that you value their opinions. Thus, one of the best ways to improve and retain customer loyalty is to ask for customer feedback.
This can be done using surveys, ratings, reviews, and asking a quick question at the end of a phone call. Ensure that you listen carefully to the feedback that you are receiving, taking on both the negative and positive comments. Most importantly, take this feedback on board, using it to improve your customer experience.
- Go the extra mile with your customer experience
In order to earn customer loyalty, you need to give the customer a reason why to be loyal. This means looking at the whole picture, including not only the way customers interact with your products, but also how they interact with the brand as a whole.
- Adapt your communications to best suit your customer
Ensure that the communication channels you use are the most suitable for your customers. For example, if your customers have stated they work full time, adapt towards sending an email rather than a phone call so as to not interrupt their day. Many customers will also prefer an instant messaging service or social media direct messaging compared to a phone call.
By following these tips, you will be able to ensure that your customer experience is positive and memorable. In doing so, your brand will be better equipped to earn, build, and retain that all important customer loyalty.
