A business does not exist in the absence of customers. Implying that every company needs to have customers flocking around; new or existing. This is the exact reason why several brands keep thinking of new ways to expand their customer base.
While the idea of getting new customers to love your business and patronise you might seem cool, the cost of ensuring existing customers remain loyal to your brand is 5-25 times lower.
Many brands do not know this secret, so they tend to focus on getting new customers rather than leveraging on their existing customers.
Existing customers who become loyal to your brand become a means of advertisement over time. They can become fans who would turn into advocates for your brand and consequently, promoters of your brand.
This entire concept is known as, “Brand Loyalty”. Brand loyalty refers to the tendency of consumers to keep purchasing one brand’s products over others. Even if a brand keeps getting new customers, without learning the concept of brand loyalty and its application, the customers will keep leaving.
After establishing this fact, the next question any business owner would ask is, “what can I do to ensure my customers are loyal to my brand?”
The next section will open your eyes to exactly what needs to be done.
Practical Ways to Keep Customers Coming Back Through Brand Loyalty
• Focus on the Customer Experience
From the beginning of time, humans have always acted based on their emotions. Therefore, if you hope to make customers loyal to your brand, you’ve got to appeal to their feelings. This can be achieved when you focus on the customer experience.
The central theme here is asking the question, “How does my brand make my customer feel?” After requesting and seeing your lapses, then, you can improve. This is the very first step.
• Aim to make your customers happy consistently
Whatever decision you choose to make as a company, ensure it is focused on making sure your customers are satisfied. This way, it wouldn’t be about how good an idea is, but how beneficial it would be to your customers. The way your staff dress, act and show themselves would also be based on what your customers like to see and related to the kind of experience you want them to have. Leaving them lovely notes every time they purchase a product online, engaging them on social media and sending them special greetings on the days that matter most to them would also make them happy and draw them to you.
• Imbibe the use of a point system
A point system essentially means allowing your customers to have a number of points based on the number of products they purchase. A certain amount of points would then translate into something tangible. The reward for the points may be discounts, a cash prize, a trip or something that would get every customer on your list participating.
• Focus on the Value system of your customers
Human acts on emotions, and many a time, feelings are based on beliefs. If a company can capitalise on the value system of its target market, it will draw more customers in. A good way of appealing to the value system, beliefs and consequently, the emotions of your customers by engaging in community projects.
To Wrap It Up
