Best practices for generating loyal and lasting customers
Abe Dearmer
Dec 14, 2020
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12 min read
Customer-Service
This article provides insights into the best practices for generating loyal and lasting customers. It emphasizes the importance of customer loyalty and explores strategies such as providing a superior customer experience, staying in touch with customers, delivering amazing customer support, using thorough onboarding practices, and asking for feedback. By implementing these practices, businesses can foster brand loyalty and improve customer retention.
Key Takeaways:
- Retaining existing customers is more cost-effective than acquiring new ones, making customer loyalty crucial for business success.
- Happy customers are more likely to be loyal customers, leading to increased sales and revenue.
- Providing a superior customer experience, maintaining regular communication, delivering excellent customer support, implementing effective onboarding practices, and seeking customer feedback are key strategies for generating brand loyalty.
- Utilizing customer relationship management systems can help nurture leads, maintain engagement, and improve customer loyalty.
It is well-known industry knowledge that retaining existing customers is much cheaper and more efficient than finding new clients for your business. This is where brand loyalty comes in. It can be described as a sense of allegiance or bond that customers may feel towards your brand, generated through a number of ways.
It is no secret that happy customers are loyal customers. Finding and maintaining loyal customers can be great for your bottom line, brand reputation, customer churn, and customer satisfaction rate. In fact, research done by KPMG shows that the most significant driver for retail revenue is client retention.
While the importance of building brand loyalty is clear, the next question is - how to create customer loyalty and lasting relationships. Here are some of the best practices for generating loyal and lasting customers for your business.
Providing a superior customer experience
Creating the perfect customer experience is a rapidly growing factor that contributes to generating brand loyalty. It has quickly become one of the top drivers of purchase decision-making.
Customer experience includes any kind of interaction that a brand has with their customers, which encompasses support and sales calls, time devoted to the customer, onboarding practices, benefits of your products and services, frequency and means of communication, and much more.
Be empathetic and try to understand what would make your experience with a company better and make you trust them more. If you want to make clients feel valued and seek their loyalty, there is no better way than applying the same level of attention as you seek, to your present clients. Show them that you are in a mutually-beneficial relationship as partners and always take the time to hear them out.
Always stay in touch with your customers
Constant communication is essential when it comes to creating brand loyalty, as it helps you stay on top of your customers' minds. Even though this is such an easy win, many companies don't take advantage of the benefits it has to offer. The main goal of having healthy communication with your clients is to make them feel involved and up to date with what's happening in your company.
Keep them in the loop by mailing monthly or quarterly newsletters or posting on your social media about product and service updates, new launches, content additions, changes within the company, and much more. You can also work towards creating a stronger relationship with your customers by reaching out to them personally from time to time.
Make a call, send an email, or check in with them on social media to see how things are going with your product and if they need any further assistance. These quick check-ins wouldn't take more than five minutes of your time, but will ultimately create a big impact on your customers and result in exponential brand and customer loyalty down the road.
Deliver amazing customer support
Customer support is of the utmost importance when it comes to having satisfied customers for your business. If a client has bought a product from you and needs assistance with it, they will need it instantly and not after several delays. This is where delivering amazing customer support comes into the picture.
It is essential that customers can get in touch with you easily and quickly so that they can resolve their issues and not get held back due to long wait times for replies and calls. Having to wait days to get even a simple answer can be frustrating, leading to the customer not doing business with you again, and even bad-mouthing your company to others.
On the contrary, if you resolve their issues quickly and effectively on the first try, they are more likely to feel valued by your brand, thus increasing loyalty. Delivering superior customer support also provides you with the reputation of a customer-centric company that offers real value to their clients. There is no doubt that instantly resolving customer support creates a huge impact on brand loyalty as customers appreciate brands that value their time.
Use thorough onboarding practices
Start building brand loyalty right from the beginning as you acquire a new customer. With a thorough boarding process, you can make a great first impression and set the standard and tone for your relationship in the future. A customer's journey with your company doesn't just end when they've made a purchase. That is just the beginning!
To leave the right first impression with new customers, don't just leave them hanging after the purchase. Instead, create a relationship by developing and implementing an effective and robust onboarding program that helps them understand your brand and products, as well as get the needed insights and best practices for using it.
Always make sure to set your customers up for success from the beginning to instigate loyalty towards your brand. Additionally, if they are able to completely understand how to utilise your product or service, they are likely to stay with your company longer as well!
Always ask for feedback
Feedback from customers is imperative if you want to stay relevant and ensure you're keeping up with what your customers want. Make sure you focus on making customers feel like they are a part of your company's future vision by periodically asking them for feedback and suggestions. Sending customer satisfaction surveys at least once or twice a year can help you stay in touch with how you are faring in your clientele's eyes.
Always take note of these suggestions and compile them to analyse which are the most common responses and see what stands out. The most important part of the process is to proactively make changes depending on the feedback given to you. This is important so that your customers know that their opinions and inputs are valued and applied where required.
Make sure to also communicate to customers where and how these changes have been implemented so they can stay in the loop. Notify them via email or website banners so they know that your company values their time and opinions. This ensures a heightened sense of loyalty to your business and entices customers to stick around for longer with you, providing long-term and reliable profits.
Customer retention and brand loyalty are extremely important when it comes to ensuring your brand does well in the market. All the above points tie back to creating the best experience for your customers with your brand and thus brand loyalty relies heavily on customer service and experience. Understand what your present customers want and make sure to deliver on that.
With so many competitors in the market, it is easy for a customer to leave your brand for another. Building brand loyalty requires using certain customer management tools that can help you nurture leads, provide a bird's eye view of all your customers, as well as their details and previous communication.
Contact FIVE CRM to know more about Customer Relationship Management systems that can help you stay engaged with your present customers and maintain loyalty!
FAQs: Generating Loyal and Lasting Customers
Q: Why is customer loyalty important for a business?
A: Customer loyalty is important for several reasons. Firstly, retaining existing customers is more cost-effective than acquiring new ones. Additionally, loyal customers tend to make repeat purchases and spend more, contributing to increased sales and revenue. Moreover, loyal customers can serve as brand advocates, promoting your business through positive word-of-mouth.
Q: How can I provide a superior customer experience?
A: Providing a superior customer experience involves various factors. It includes offering exceptional customer support, being responsive and attentive to customer needs, personalizing interactions, and ensuring a seamless and user-friendly experience across all touchpoints. Consistently delivering value and exceeding customer expectations are key elements of creating a superior customer experience.
Q: How can I stay in touch with my customers effectively?
A: To stay in touch with your customers effectively, utilize communication channels such as newsletters, social media updates, and personal outreach. Regularly update customers about product/service enhancements, company news, and relevant content. Additionally, leverage customer relationship management (CRM) systems to manage and track customer interactions and ensure timely and meaningful communication.
Q: How can I deliver amazing customer support?
A: Delivering amazing customer support involves being easily accessible to customers and resolving their issues promptly and efficiently. Offer multiple channels for customers to reach out to you, respond to their queries and concerns in a timely manner, and provide helpful solutions. Prioritize customer satisfaction and aim to exceed their expectations when it comes to support.
Q: Why is onboarding important for building customer loyalty?
A: Onboarding is important because it sets the tone for the customer's relationship with your brand. By providing a thorough onboarding process, you can make a positive first impression, educate customers about your products/services, and help them derive maximum value. A successful onboarding experience increases customer satisfaction and loyalty.
Q: How can I ask for feedback from customers?
A: Asking for feedback can be done through surveys, questionnaires, or feedback forms. Regularly seek input from customers about their experience, satisfaction levels, and suggestions for improvement. Actively listen to their feedback, analyze it, and make necessary changes based on their input. Communicate the changes implemented to show customers that their opinions are valued.
Q: How can customer relationship management systems help with customer loyalty?
A: Customer relationship management (CRM) systems can help nurture leads, track customer interactions, and maintain engagement. They provide a centralized database of customer information, allowing businesses to personalize interactions and provide targeted communication. CRM systems enable businesses to understand customer needs better, anticipate their preferences, and provide proactive support, all of which contribute to fostering customer loyalty.
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