5 Key Ways to Build Customer Loyalty
Did you know that increasing your customer retention by just 5% can boost your profits by 25% – 95%? Customer loyalty is important for any Business, no matter the services or products on offer. Building a loyal customer base will earn you repeat business; saving you time, effort and cost via customer retention. Existing customers are much more valuable than new prospects, and 82% of companies agree that retention is cheaper than acquisition, so here are 5 key ways to keep your customers loyal to your brand:
1. Deliver on Your Promises
This is rule number one when building customer loyalty and gaining customer trust. You must deliver a great customer experience, from your customer service and the delivery of service / product all the way through to the aftercare, in a consistent manner. This may mean you need to invest in some team training, additional resources, or perhaps just a review of how well your current processes work. Remember, never over-promise and under-deliver as this will have a negative impact not only on the customer but on your brands reputation.
2. Offer a Personalised Service
Take every opportunity to personalise your service, whether it’s via personalised customer emails or by putting a face to your brand. There are many ways to personalise your service. Some ideas include:
- Use your Customer Relationship Management (CRM) database effectively to manage and refer back to the activity of each customer. This will also allow you to personalise every communication you have with a customer; simply using their first name in an email is a great way to begin building loyalty!
- Add team photos to your ‘About’ page on your website
- Send a follow-up email after a purchase has been made
3. Deal With Problems Promptly
If a mistake happens, take responsibility and correct it as a soon as possible. Don’t bury your head in the sand as this is a sure fire way to lose control of the situation. When faced with an issue, such as a complaint or negative review, remain professional, factual and polite. Always respond to feedback that has been left on public domains (i.e. Google, Facebook etc.). Poor feedback is something that should be acknowledged and embraced, because it can pinpoint the exact areas that need improvement.
4. Reward Customers for Loyalty
To build customer loyalty, it helps to incentivise repeat purchases with special offers, discounts or other perks. Loyalty programs help your customers feel valued and appreciated, while also providing valuable customer data you can use to improve your customer experience. You could consider creating your own customer loyalty programme, such as a points-based system or other additional benefits. By giving your customers a reward, you make them feel good about purchasing whilst motivating them to keep coming back to you for more.
5. Ask for feedback (and acknowledge and act on it!)
You should be asking your customers for feedback every chance you get, whether it’s asking for a Google Review, a written testimonial or a Facebook review. Taking customer feedback seriously shows your customers and prospects that you care about them and are committed to providing a good experience. This can help increase satisfaction and build loyalty. Make sure to acknowledge any and all feedback you receieve, acting on any areas where improvements could (and probably should) be made.
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Building customer loyalty is all about building relationships. As with any relationship, it takes time and effort to establish trust, and an ongoing investment to maintain the relationship. Loyalty and retention have to be earned. You can get started by looking at your current customer experience and delivering your services / products in a way that makes your customers’ lives easier at every step of their journey with you.
Do you want to build a brand that customers are loyal to? We can help! Let’s chat. Simply get in touch with us here.
