The main objective of many entrepreneurs is, above all, to attract new customers to their business. And of course, this is important. However, it is also essential to pay attention to customer loyalty.
Customer loyalty has a direct impact on the company’s profitability. Furthermore, it is possible to notice a difference in behavior and expenses when dealing with a consumer who is already familiar with the brand.
Using this type of strategy, it is possible to optimize communication with consumers, create a closer relationship with them and meet their needs in a personalized, close, and, above all, more human way.
In this article, you will learn how to develop customer loyalty into digital services to have profitable results for your company.
What is customer loyalty?
Customer loyalty is a process that consists of developing a positive relationship between consumers and the company so that they return to buy your products or services.
A customer is loyal from a set of satisfying interactions with your business. In this way, a relationship of trust is gradually developed, which needs to be nurtured over time so that it can be maintained.
One of the main reasons why it pays to invest in customer loyalty is the fact that selling to existing customers is faster and cheaper than doing the entire acquisition process, from marketing to sales. But there are many other reasons to bet on this strategy.
Why is customer loyalty important?
Sell to the same customers
A loyal customer will certainly buy from your company again when they need it. And the best part is that the acquisition cost of this customer, which is already in your base, is much lower compared to that of a consumer who buys for the first time.
Be suitable for friends and family
Your loyal customer has great sales potential. This is because, if he has a good experience, he will recommend his products and services to friends and family.
Have more revenue predictability
One of the ways to do this is through loyal customers. This can be done by studying how often current customers buy, how much they spend, and how many people they refer.
Receive suggestions for improvement
A loyal customer is more willing to share opinions with the company. Since loyal customers often consume your products and services, they can help by giving feedback and suggestions for improvement.
The importance of retaining customers in the digital age
But, after all, why is it so important to value customer loyalty? First, those who work with innovation and digital marketing know-how costly it is to attract new consumers to the brand. Either through social networks or the dissemination and planning of the product.
Customer loyalty and loyalty are essential in the digital age and an effective strategy in terms of better long-term results. After all, consumers’ loyalty to your brand tends to recommend it to others, spend more, and buy other products your business has to offer.
Loyalty is essential as loyal customers are often more willing to respond to feedback and satisfaction surveys.
So you can leverage this data in favor of your brand, as well as use it to accurately map the customer experience. That way you have an idea of what’s going well and where you need to improve.
Tips to keep customer loyalty a must-want feature
1. Have a strong identity
The brand’s identity is built based on its objectives and the banners it raises. You might, for example, have a healthy food store that advocates healthy living or a stationery store that advocates education.
Raise your customers’ banner, represent them and they will be happy to be loyal to your brand.
2. Listen to your customers’ feedback
If the consumer has devoted a fraction of their time to constructive feedback, then the last thing to do is pay attention to the opinion given, assess its feasibility and apply it, if possible and beneficial to the company.
In the case of negative feedback, the rule is the same: the customer is frustrated and would like to be compensated or at least register their dissatisfaction. Consider them carefully, as they can be sources of improvement, and always respond by thanking them and finding an appropriate solution.
This attention given makes it clear to the customer that he is, yes, important and that he can count on your company. And trust is one of the most important elements for a long relationship!
3. Be helpful in customer service
Many people will daily ask for help and clarify doubts with the SAC of a company and receive a terrible service in return. This treatment not only impedes the loyalty of customers but also drives them away.
No one wants to be left with no feedback after sending a Facebook message, for example, or receiving a snappy email response after a long, stressful day at work. Train your team so that it not only responds but solves problems, always politely and sympathetically.
4. Use Content Marketing Strategies
Content Marketing is also one of the main strategies of Digital Marketing. It works to attract customers, capture leads, convert and ultimately retain customers.
Content is one of the biggest contributors to the excellent financial performance of an online business.
5. Interact with your followers on social media
Social networks are amazing customer loyalty tools. These platforms not only allow your message to be delivered directly to them, but they also enable interaction.
Chat, respond to comments, play, help, support. Social media is often like sitting at a table to talk to a customer.
6. Create a loyalty or reward program
Several tools enable a good loyalty program or online rewards. With them, customers can, for example, accumulate points in an application that generates discounts, receive newsletters with exclusive launches, or even have a social network just for them on their website. The possibilities are many and worth the investment.
7. Use customer-produced content
Users on social media love to contribute. They send photos to the media, evaluate companies, share their experiences to comment, and enjoy.
Encourage reviews and study turning some of them into testimonials for the official website. Accept post suggestions for your blog. Ask them to share photos of their products with a hashtag. The ability to contribute and earn a few minutes of web fame is a powerful motivator for people.
8. Use email marketing to build customer loyalty after-sales
One of the most powerful tools to build customer loyalty is email marketing. There are two complementary e-mail loyalty strategies. First, try to serve the customer based on the purchase he/she has already made and anticipate his/her needs. Second, pay attention to each customer’s purchase history
A good idea is to send an email every month or two reminding the customer that they may be out of ink and a link directing them to purchase some ink cartridges compatible with the model they purchased.
Use your customers’ purchase history to anticipate what needs they will have and thus offer solutions before they even start looking for them.
How to monitor customer loyalty?
If you measure all of your company’s actions, customer loyalty should be no different. With monitoring, it is possible to constantly optimize the strategy and know if it is giving results.
Here are some metrics that help measure the effectiveness of this work:
Net Promoter Score (NPS)
NPS is that super famous metric that lets you know quickly if your customers are satisfied with their purchase. So, you can divide your customers into notes:
0 to 6: detractors
7 to 8: neutral
9 to 10: promoters
Then, just apply the percentages of customers in each of these categories in the following formula:
Net Promoter Score = % of promoting customers – % of detracting customers
Repurchase index
The repurchase index lets you know how many of your sales in a period were closed by someone who already purchased your product or service.
In-depth interview
An in-depth interview can also be done with some customers to understand how loyal they are to the brand and why.
In addition to these tips, there is much more you can do to retain customers: identify retention points, decrease turnover and improve long-term retention are some of actions. You can map many of these points even in the purchase process, identifying the customer’s needs and adapting their after-sales.
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