Customer loyalty to improve your business, that's the bet you've set yourself? You are in the right place. You will find all the tips to convince your team and your boss of the importance of customer loyalty and the advice to achieve it. Gather your colleagues from communication, marketing and sales, they all have a card to play. Are you all there, ready to receive hundreds of thousands of loyalty wishes from your customers? Let's go!
What is customer loyalty
Let's start from the beginning: what is loyalty? I remember an old wise man telling me about loyalty: "loyalty is not (necessarily) exclusivity, it is knowing that whatever happens the person will return". Well, for customer loyalty it's the same thing: it's about seeing your customer buying your products and services regularly. And of course, he only can does that if he is satisfied with your product / service, but we will come back to that!
What are the benefits for you?
Repurchase
A loyal customer always comes back to you. He buys additional products, adds options to his subscription, goes upmarket,... The frequency of purchase and consumption habits change and intensify as the relationship progresses.
Price resistance
Convinced of the quality of your products or services, a loyal customer will be ready to pay a high price.
Cost reduction
For you, retaining a customer will always cost less than winning a new one. In fact, according to Dawkins and Reichheld, the ratio is almost 5. So a retention strategy will save you a lot of money.
Retention
A loyal customer will be less attracted by your competitors' promotional campaigns! If they feel like they are part of your team, your competitors also become theirs and you ensure a sustainable turnover.
Referral
Not only will this customer bring you more revenue and cost you less (in acquisition and time investment), but he will also bring you other customers by recommending you to their relatives.
3 examples to set up a customer loyalty strategy
A good loyalty strategy is always linked to a good image and a good user and customer experience. It is therefore a long term work, involving several teams. Here are 3 examples of loyalty strategies that are easy to implement.
Onboarding
After their first purchase, your customers already have an initial opinion of you. They may be impatiently waiting for their package, testing their tool or using your product regularly. This is the time to transform this one-time customer into a true ambassador of your brand. To do this, take care of his arrival.
Are you selling software? Make sure they don't have any difficulties in learning how to use it. Offer them email campaigns with help content, check their behavior and be alerted if the customer consults the support, set up training to help your contacts have an unforgettable first experience with you.
You have a B2C online sales site? Take care of the package, a little note with a discount code for the next order (no matter the amount), a little attention, create a surprise! Make sure that the package is tracked and that the delivery service is pleasant too. Then, offer your customers complementary products quickly, so that they think of you if they have any additional need.
The customer service
Throughout his life as a customer, he must be able to communicate with you and find answers to his questions. Whether you have a hotline, a well-stocked FAQ, a contact email or a form, make sure you are clear and transparent. A customer is not unhappy because he has a problem, but because he does not have a solution to this problem. Put forward your advantages (phone hours, product return policy, time to get an answer, possible price of the call to your customer service). All these points are important. Also send them an email afterwards to check that they are satisfied with the way their request was handled. Show them that their opinions count.
The referral program
To encourage referrals, nothing beats a referral program. In parallel to a loyalty program where your customer will earn discounts or gifts following his purchases, a referral program will encourage him to recommend your brand. For example, give him an identifiable code, that the new customer will be able to use only when creating an account for a first order. The new customer will benefit from a discount or a privilege, just like the ambassador!
Customer satisfaction and customer loyalty
Customer satisfaction is directly linked to loyalty. An unhappy customer will not be an ambassador for your brand. Let's see the main points of customer satisfaction and how to measure it.
E-reputation
Today, e-reputation is essential and allows a direct impact of customer satisfaction on your turnover. Indeed, a bad review on Google, TripAdvisor or on a reseller website is a real brake. So take the time to look at your reviews, to answer them and to propose solutions to your customers. Also watch what is said about you on social networks or forums! To avoid bad comments, ask your customers with questionnaires for example. You will be able to get an NPS (net promoter score) which will be very useful!
So, what loyalty strategy will you implement? You have all the arguments and good practices to do it easily and the benefits will come soon!
