There’s nothing better than getting a long-term customer. Someone who buys from your brand and then goes on to buy again, and again, because they love the way you treat them. It’s worth investing in these customers as much as possible—they can be worth 10x as much money than their first purchase, according to Bain & Company.
In short: building brand loyalty is a worthwhile endeavour for any business owner or marketer looking to grow their customer base and increase sales over time. In this article, we discuss some ways that you can build loyalty from your customers.
Treat your customers like people & build relationships with them.
When you treat your customers as people and not just a number, it shows them that you care about them and their individual needs. That means listening closely to what your customers say, responding in a timely manner, and being proactive when issues arise. And if you want your customers to stick with you through thick and thin (and who doesn’t?), be sure that there are no surprises along the way: if they pay a lot for something in order to support your business, then make sure everything works out as promised so they don't feel like they've been ripped off or taken advantage of.
A lot of businesses see the customer as an entity that's separate from them, but when you treat a customer with respect, it makes them feel like they're part of something bigger than just being another person who came in to buy something—they feel like they are apart of a community. That sense of belonging is crucial for building brand loyalty.
Give them an experience they’ll love.
One of the most important aspects of your brand is the customer experience. From the moment they enter your store, browse your website or interact with a sales rep, it's what they will remember and associate with you.
Customer experience is more than just the product or service; it's everything that happens in between. This includes:
How quickly they are greeted when they walk through the door
Whether they are met with a friendly smile and asked if they need help or left to their own devices
What kind of welcome message appears on their screen when they visit your website
How easy it is to navigate around your site and find what they want
How quickly they get their order processed and shipped etc
All of these aspects contribute to the overall impression of your business. If you want customers who will come back again and again, make sure your customer experience is top-notch.
Be consistent.
Consistency is the key to building a brand that customers can trust. This applies not only to your products but also to your customer service. For example, if you promise to send out new product information to all of your subscribers on Mondays and then fail to do so one week because of an emergency at work or some other legitimate reason, don't make up for it by sending out three mass emails in one day. Instead, stick with your original schedule and deliver the information when promised next Monday.
Otherwise, you risk losing the trust of your customers and damaging their perception of your brand in general.
Similarly, if a customer contacts you with an issue or question about their account or order history and tells you how disappointed they are with the experience (and it was actually their fault), don't just apologize—try as hard as possible to fix what went wrong! This will show them that despite any missteps on their part (or even yours), both parties are doing everything possible to make things right again—which gives them confidence in moving forward into future business dealings with your business.
Create a community.
Another great way to build brand loyalty is to create a community around your product or service. This can be done through contests, sweepstakes and other promotional activities. Make it easy for customers to share their experiences with the product or service by providing social media links that make it easy for them to post content on their favorite networks. You can also use social media as part of your marketing strategy by sharing information about new products and services that you offer.
Make their life easier.
Your customers want to be able to get the most out of their product or service, and they will be willing to pay more for it. You can make their lives easier by offering them training videos and other resources that are designed to help them better understand how your product or service works. Also, ensure that your support team is available when customers need you so that issues can be resolved quickly.
Conclusion
You don’t have to be a big brand to build loyal customers. You just need to give them the right experience and treat them like people. These are simple things you can do every day, starting with treating your current customers well. It might take some time before you start seeing results, but keep at it!
If you'd like to build up your business skills and learn more ways to keep your customers and operate more efficiently, we'd like to specially invite you to enroll in the Blaze Business Intensive course for entrepreneurs today!
Keyairah L., one of our alumni, had this to say about the course: "Help is very important and necessary. I simply had an idea without knowing how I would start or implement it. I’m thankful I made the investment. It is important for Black entrepreneurs to get the help they need to be successful. This program helps you not to do it all on your own."
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