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James Douglas Burbank

James D. Burbank has been in marketing for more than a decade. He has worked in traditional as well as online marketing and he has seen it all. He is also a huge Utah Jazz fan.

James Douglas Burbank has written 12 articles for SB Informer.
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How to Boost Customer Loyalty without Breaking the Bank

Make your customers more loyal by learning about them, being personal and rewarding them the smart way.

James Douglas Burbank

June 28, 2017


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The modern consumer is a mystery, both in the best and the worst sense of the word. A perfect example of this is customer loyalty. Today's customers are both more and less loyal now than they have ever been. They will get attached to a brand relatively easy and sometimes they will stick with it for years to come. Other times, they will switch brands in a matter of seconds.

Perhaps it is the effect the internet is having on the modern world of business and perhaps it is something much more complex.

It is no wonder modern business owners are struggling to boost loyalty in their customers and it is even less surprise they get less-than-perfect results most of the time. So, what are you to do? How can you boost customer loyalty without spending too much? Can it be done?

Perfect your Customer Service

The first and the most important step in building customer loyalty is the customer service. In other words, your customer service needs to be as good as you can possibly make it. This will entail a lot. This will entail talking to your customers (a lot). It will entail educating and training your employees until great customer service becomes their second nature. It will also entail changing up your practices if you notice that your customers are not satisfied any longer.

One of the most difficult things to do here is to make your employees really care about customers. You need to explain to them that the way they treat customers is directly related to how well the company is doing and how much they are earning. Once they make that connection, they will approach customer service with more engagement.

Be Smart about Rewards

Rewarding your customers might seem like a straightforward proposition, right? You just come up with a reward that will be worth the most to them while also costing you as little as possible? For one, this is not easy to do and even if it were, it will lack the personal touch that the best customer loyalty programs have.

Do some research and find out what kind of rewards would work best for your customers. For B2B companies, these will usually be discounts, while individual customers might prefer digital loyalty programs and perhaps even donations made in their name. If you decide to send them free products, make sure that you are not sending something just because you cannot sell it. People will notice that you are just sending them unwanted stuff.

This great article on customer loyalty from Shopify gives you even more ideas for various giveaways, coupon programs and more.

Go Personal

We live in an age when it is easier than ever before for companies to be personal towards their customers, regardless of whether your business is B2C or B2B. For example, various social networks provide a perfect place for you to engage with your customers, answer their questions and invite them to suggest changes they would like to see in your company.

Another nice way to go personal is to send them holiday cards and other types of email every now and then, showing them that you appreciate their loyalty. If you also add to these with a sweet discount or a deal, even better.

Of course, you will keep the salesy part light.

Learn. Learn. Learn.

Above everything else, you will need to learn if you wish to keep your customers. For one, you need to learn from other companies in your industry which might have more loyal customers. Become their customer and find out how they do it.

You will also want to learn from your very customers. Find out what they are saying about you. Send them surveys where they will write how they feel about your brand. If you run a B2B company, interview your customers who decide to leave you. Find out what you can do.

Finally, make sure to read about customer loyalty in various publications. There are innumerable websites where you can find amazing stuff on customer loyalty and how the biggest brands are doing it.

Learning is the only way to stay relevant.

 

Remember that.


                   



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