In the war for customer loyalty, you can only win one battle at a time – and never claim victory. Customer loyalty demands constant development.
You want customers to come back forever. After all, loyal customers are (almost always) less demanding, bigger spenders and brand advocates.
One of the most powerful ways to keep them loyal is to prove you’re an ally in making their business, professional or personal lives better.
What to do
Here’s what to do to continually develop and nurture customer loyalty:
- Do more than talk; communicate with customers. They call, email and engage on social media with you – and you respond. Just like every other company can do. Loyalty is borne of proactive customer service and sales. You want to reach out to them at the right time with the right message. That doesn’t mean more freebies or promotions. It means letting them know their product is due for maintenance or it’s a good time to review the safety instructions or you’ve added a new capability that will help them this quarter.
- Focus relentlessly on customers’ needs. Every interaction offers an opportunity for service and sales professionals to cross- or up-sell customers. The first focus needs to always be the answer to what the customer has asked or the solution to what the customer needed. Only introduce them to something new or different when you see their needs are beyond what they have.
- Be a resource, not just a supplier. Customers will come back to people and companies that prove they understand who they are, the challenges they face and what they need. Then you give them information, access to experts and tools to meet those challenges before they’re up against a wall. So it’s vital to monitor what’s going on in their markets and business and look for events that will impact them. Then send them links, information and offers to help before they’re fully impacted.
- Flatter customers. Flattery goes a long way in keeping customers loyal. They need to feel they’ve made a good decision in choosing you and sticking with you, your products or services. Stay in constant touch, thanking them with words, actions and rewards. Comment on and compliment their accomplishments personally and in social media.
