A great marketing strategy or strategically optimized lead funnel is great, but is it enough to make a brand successful? Probably not.
There is nothing wrong with prioritizing outbound marketing initiatives. After all, businesses cannot establish new revenue sources without potential customers coming through the door. However, the real challenge occurs after customers make their first purchases, and the business needs to shift its focus from “acquisition” to “retention.”
But getting to this point is often easier said than done. Without the right strategies in place to strengthen customer loyalty and continuously prove a business’s long-term value, customers will soon start flocking to competitors to fill any relationship gaps they’re missing.
Thankfully, there are a variety of proven tactics your business can follow to significantly improve your customer loyalty.
Be Known for Your Reliability
Unfortunately, many businesses have established a relationship for providing subpar products and services to their customers. This has made it much more difficult for modern-day consumers to find businesses worth their repeat business.
When you prove to customers that you’re a reliable business that lives up to its promises and delivers exceptional customer service, you quickly stand out from competitors trying to steal your market share.
To be known as a reliable brand, however, requires more than focusing on product development or responding quickly to support tickets. It’s also about consistently being clear in your communications and transparent with your customers. This means being honest when mistakes are made and always trying to underpromise and overdeliver in as many areas of the business as possible.
Staying Interested in Your Customer’s Interests
Building long-term relationships is critical to establishing recurring revenue streams for businesses marketing their products and services to other businesses. However, to achieve this, it’s vital to understand what matters most to your customers.
Recognizing customer interests is important for more than just strategically aligning sales and marketing efforts. It also shows that you actually care about their business’s success. This helps to turn the relationship into more of a “partnership,” where both parties are equally invested in helping the other succeed.
When you achieve this level of synergy, customer loyalty becomes an organic part of the process.
Don’t Strictly Talk Business
Most business customers aren’t disillusioned with the arrangement they’re in – they’re providing the funding, and the business is providing the solution. However, customer relationships don’t need to be this black and white. Customer loyalty isn’t just attached to the value of a product or service – it’s also associated with the human element.
The term “people buy from people” is a common expression that refers to the importance of human connection, especially in business partnerships. Prioritizing building and maintaining strong relationships, even when there isn’t necessarily a sales transaction at the end of a conversation, creates a much stronger bond with customers.
There are many different ways to achieve this, such as sending an email or making a phone call to check in and see how customers are doing. Asking if there are ways (free of charge) to help them get more value from your solutions or inviting them to company-hosted events are great ways to show them you care more than just about their wallets.
Avoid Selling Customers Things They Don’t Need (120 words)
It’s important to avoid the habit of trying to overly “sell” your customers. No one wants to feel like the business they’re working with is always trying to squeeze every ounce of business out of them. Pushing unnecessary products or services constantly on customers is a quick way to lose their trust and damage the business’s reputation.
Instead of always looking for ways to upsell a customer, become more of an active listener of their “actual” needs. If there doesn’t seem to be a need for any additional products or services – don’t push them. In the event there is a real tangible value that other options the business offers can provide, then causally bring them up in conversations – but never become insistent on their adoption.
Reward Customer Loyalty
Your customers want to know that their business is valued. While there are many different ways to provide this, tangible rewards often have the most significant impact.
Everyone likes to receive free things, especially when paired with appreciation for ongoing support. The great thing is that businesses have a variety of ways to incorporate customer loyalty rewards into their business models.
Providing exclusive discounts on purchases based on the volume of sales purchases is always a good starting point, but there are other, more creative ideas you could explore. For example, consider offering preferential access to new product features as they become available, as well as monetary rewards like cash back in the form of credits or even gift cards .
Ask Customers to Provide Feedback
If you’re looking for effective ways to increase the loyalty of your customers, a simple solution for this can be to ask them directly. While not all customers may be willing to provide overly thorough feedback on their experiences with your business, many will be more than happy to provide you with constructive feedback on how you can earn their business long-term.
The most important element of this process is making it as easy as possible for customers to share their thoughts or suggestions. One way to do this is to send them regular surveys with a short list of questions or encourage them to leave reviews on various business platforms.
Showing interest in your customers’ feedback shows them that you’re regularly working to improve their experiences and are willing to address any concerns that may arise.
Give Your Customers a Reason to Stay
Most of today’s industries are highly competitive, meaning businesses need to focus more than ever on building and maintaining their customer loyalty. By following the tips provided, you’ll create healthy, authentic relationships with your customers, improving your retention rates and minimizing your revenue losses long-term.
Author Name: Cindy Mielke
Author bio: Cindy is passionate about the incentive industry. In addition to her role as Vice President of Strategic Partners here at Tango , she is a Certified Professional of Incentive Management who proudly serves on two industry boards. When she’s not working, Cindy enjoys spending time with her family—including three cats, two dogs, and a horse—and sharing her love of nature as a Nebraska Master Naturalist.
This is a Sponsored Post – the author has requested this post be shared on WE Magazine for Women and WE were compensated for sharing.
