How To Build Customer Loyalty
Having loyal customers is like following a healthy diet and getting 30 minutes of exercise every day: everyone thinks it’s important, but not everyone will actually do the work it takes.
How does your business define customer loyalty? Do you know why your customers stay or leave? Who is even in charge of ensuring that your clients get the absolute best care so that they will come back again and again?
Jim Barnes, author of Secrets of Customer Relationship Management, says, “A typical business only hears from 4% of its dissatisfied customers—the other 96% leave, 91% for good.”
How can you address the issue of customer loyalty? Here are a few tips that may help you begin.
1. Build an integrated CRM strategy.
Marketing is a multi-faceted effort that takes a wide variety of skills. You need great branding, web development, social management, content creators, paid and organic search strategies, and analytics to measure and refine it all. A solid Customer Relationship Management (CRM) strategy is no less expansive. Before you begin, create a solid plan for how you will work with specific marketers and other vendors to put an integrated plan into place.
2. Get support from the CEO.
There’s not much point in working to develop and implement a great client loyalty program if management doesn’t believe in it, or won’t fund it. The best CRM works across organizational boundaries and you’ll not only need a great connection between departments or areas of specialization, you’ll want the backing of the executives at the top.
3. Know your target market.
Part of a laser-focused business is a clear consensus on who the customer is. You should know the primary characteristics of your target market: things like age range, gender, socioeconomic status, education, etc. You should also know where to find your target market online. Knowing your customer will help you understand how best to build their loyalty.
4. Tier your customers according to value.
Businesses exist to make money. Some companies make the mistake of targeting customers who don’t actually provide revenue, build business, or add to the strategic value of the company. There’s little value in marketing to people who don’t — or won’t eventually — buy your product or service, or who actually cost you money (and you’d be surprised at how many companies do it!).
5. Dialogue with your top tier people!
Set up means to engage in a dialogue with your existing and potential clients. Surveys, polls and other similar online tools are great beginning points, but your social media platforms are also great places to listen, ask, and interact. Consider comment cards, letters, phone calls, emails, and intentional face-to-face inquiries (when possible).
6. Know which factors drive customer purchases.
You absolutely must know why your clients come to you if you want to build customer loyalty. Maybe you have top rank on search engine results pages, or offer a less expensive version of a pricey product. Maybe you have a spokesperson whose blog posts or other content really draws in traffic. Maybe there’s only one click involved for your client to purchase rather than a lengthy multi-page process. Name your key performance indicators (you should discover new KPIs as you dialogue with your top tier) and prepare to build on those.
7. Deliver product quality, always.
Be prepared to evolve your product based on the feedback you receive. Sales and loyalty gimmicks will never make up for poor product quality or bad service.
Stay tuned for Part 2 of Building Customer Loyalty, coming soon!
Need help building client loyalty? Contact Calvert Creative today and start getting results.
