Many brands spend astronomical sums on customer acquisition strategies while forgetting to include in their marketing an essential element: customer loyalty.
Acquiring new customers is certainly essential for the good development of a brand, but the issue of customer satisfaction is equally important. A solid marketing strategy cannot do without this vital tool! How do you put it in place to get all the benefits? If you don’t know how to do this, we give you the steps to follow in this article.
Why build customer loyalty?
Retaining a customer costs about 4 to 5 times less than acquiring a new one. This allows you to make sales while reducing your marketing costs. In addition, a successful loyalty strategy allows you to turn your customers into true brand ambassadors! In fact, a satisfied customer promotes your business to those around them. The result: in turn enriching your acquisition strategy.
As you can see, the effectiveness of a customer loyalty strategy is well established. For your strategy to be effective, it is essential that you focus on one key point: customer satisfaction. On the other hand, it is an excellent engine for growing your business and increasing your acquisition and conversion results. Do not hesitate to bet on user-generated content (UGC) for this: it is about content produced by your customers around your brand (ratings, customer reviews, sharing on social networks …)
How to keep a customer?
We give you 4 tips designed to increase customer loyalty. However, keep in mind that each brand is unique. The best methods are the ones you’ve tested with your audience. However, these tips can be generally applied regardless of your business sector.
1 / Send satisfaction questionnaires
To know how to satisfy your customer, the best solution is to get the information from him! In other words, ask your customers directly. It’s important to know what they think about your brand and your products. Their feedback will allow you to find new areas for improvement and know the effective elements of your strategy.
In a very objective way, consider negative and positive opinions! Having this information is key! You need to know where your strengths and weaknesses are. The more accurate the feedback, the better you will be able to find solutions to overcome existing problems to offer your customers an increasingly smooth and personal experience.
To maximize engagement rates and get as many responses as possible, don’t hesitate to thank your customers in exchange for their time with a promotional offer. It is your duty to connect with your customers and motivate them!
After reading your customers’ opinions, the challenge is to turn your satisfied customers into loyal customers.
2 / Loyalty programs
Loyalty programs are true loyalty drivers. Your customers feel valued and have a real reason to come back to you. So, to avoid losing happy customers to your competitors’ tempting offers, reward your customers’ loyalty! Offer your customers discounts or other exclusive benefits. For example, you can send invitations to events or private parties, and give loyalty points to receive additional discounts.
To create an effective loyalty program, use your customer’s purchase history. The more the user buys, the more they are rewarded and encouraged to buy again. This is a positive cycle and therefore you can increase your turnover!
3 / Coupons and Gift Cards
Running an effective loyalty strategy is all about rewarding your customers for doing what they already do. It doesn’t matter if you’re a small business or a big corporation—you want to create an atmosphere where people feel like their patronage is appreciated, and the best way to do that is to offer incentives.
One of the most effective ways to do this is through coupons and gift cards. Coupons give your customers something tangible that they can use in your store or elsewhere. It doesn’t have to be anything major: just enough to make them feel like they’re getting something special for being loyal. Gift cards are great because people love them, but sometimes it can be hard for small businesses to manage inventory when demand goes up over the holidays (or any time really). But gift cards can be redeemed for discounts on future purchases which will increase not only your customer’s satisfaction with the brand but your profit too.
4 / Have impeccable customer service
Satisfaction does not necessarily come only by purchasing. Providing quality customer service is also essential and plays a crucial role.
Be accessible to your customers and always try to find the most appropriate solution to their problems. Responsiveness is a defining criterion. Consumers like to be heard and feel that their problem is valuable to your brand. You need to show your customers that their satisfaction is your top priority! Customer service through e-commerce helps you build an unmistakable reputation with your customers.
To summarize If you want to run an effective loyalty strategy, you need to show your customers that you care about them—and that means being loyal to them. Sometimes it’s as easy as offering a discount on their next purchase, and sometimes it’s as complicated as creating a program for repeat customers that rewards them with VIP status or other special perks.
But at the end of the day, all loyalty strategies are built around one thing: showing people that they matter to you. You can do this in any number of ways, but if you’re trying to build customer loyalty through discounts and rewards, make sure they’re tied directly back into the product or service that made the customer loyal in the first place!