Creating customer loyalty is important if you’re serious about growing your business.Here are a few ideas about how you can hold onto your customers:
- Unbeatable products and services– create customer satisfaction through quality products and services as well as good value prices.
- Customer incentives – customers come back for freebies, special offers, discounts and competitions. It’s no coincidence that most major companies, including retailers, airlines and energy companies offer loyalty schemes where customers earn points they can redeem for rewards.
- Create goodwill – you can generate loyalty by sponsoring local sporting events, social clubs or schools/educational programmes.
- Support good works – social responsibility is a powerful loyalty builder. Take this example: customers of a children’s clothing company receive a 20% discount off their next purchase when they return clothing their children have outgrown or finished with. The company then sends these items to needy children.
- Offer a money back guarantee – stand behind your product and reap the rewards of trust. If your customer doesn’t trust you or can’t get their money back from a faulty item they won’t be back.
- Know your gold customers – and treat them best of all. The top 20% of your customers can contribute 80% of your sales.
- Make it easy for your customers to buy from you – for example, websites with online ordering facilities make your products and services available to your customers round the clock.
- Talk to your customers – send personalised thank you notes, Christmas cards, service reminders and product news.
- Listen to your customers – find out what your customers want and give it to them.
