Customer Loyalty
The best way for businesses to survive these days is by developing a good rapport with their customers.
Gaining customer loyalty is how many businesses survive through the slow times of the year and thrive year round.
A business with loyal customers is far more profitable than one without because, studies have shown loyalty programs can generate as much as 20% of a company’s profit.
This can be said for businesses of any size. If you don’t provide a good atmosphere for your guests or don’t take care of them when an issue arises, chances are they will not keep coming back.
Of course you don’t want this to happen! You want your customers to come to your business for all of their needs. At least those you are able to provide solutions for.
Customer loyalty is irreplaceable and although it may take some time to earn their loyalty, once you have it, you should do everything you can to hold on to it.
The benefits for your business are many, and they extend beyond the benefits of having a solid customer base. The reputation of your business can very easily be decided by your customer base.
All of this starts with great customer service, of course. And great customer service starts with great staff members who strive to provide the best customer service possible.
All day, every day!
So be sure you are hiring highly motivated, personable, and energetic salespeople to take care of your guests.
You’ve heard the saying “you are only as strong as your weakest link” right? It can be hard to gain the steady loyalty of your customers, but conversely it can be lost much more easily.
It only takes a few bad experiences for customers to change their otherwise positive opinion about the shops and stores they frequent. And, to make it even worse, customers are much more likely to share a “bad” experience with their friends and family than a “good” one.
It’s hard to wrap your head around isn’t it? It makes sense though. Customers by default expect a good experience when they go shopping or out to dinner. When they have a less than positive experience, they feel they were “robbed” of the good experience they expected.
This is why hiring the right people is so important. But it is equally important you implement concepts and marketing strategies which puts the customer at the forefront of your goals and objectives.
Simply relying on people to “discover” what you have to offer them isn’t a sustainable marketing strategy. You have to get the face of your business out there. The more you are a “household” name the more likely customers will return to your place of business.
This isn’t an easy thing to accomplish and takes a lot of time and effort by your entire team to build a strong rapport with the public.
There are a lot of different ways to cultivate your business’ customer loyalty. Obviously handling your “face time” with them with a strong focus on customer service and care will go a long way in developing customer loyalty.
But, there are many other ways you can develop and bolster loyalty. Creating a “members” club with your customers can do a lot to encourage your customers to keep coming back.
There are many such loyalty programs to model yours after. The goal of these programs is to provide discounts and incentives to your members for joining.
Some more general ways to encourage your customers to frequent your place of business is with unexpected “perks” or things designed specifically to involve your customers.
A small but extremely popular coffee shop near me has a bulletin board customers can pin personalized gift cards for their friends to so when they come in again, they have a little gift left for them.
This is a very cool and personal idea the customers really love. You can tell by looking at the board! It is always full of little envelopes with personal messages to friends written on them. I have actually used it many times.
This or something like it will keep your customers coming back for more! The gift card bulletin board helps both your business through the sale of gift cards and inspires new customers to visit.
If one of their friends bought them a gift card at a local coffee shop they’ve never been to... of course they will come looking for it. And then they will fall in love with the rest you have to offer!
One of the best ways today, aside from great service and products, and happy employees, is implementing a customer loyalty program.
Like the members club above, these are programs you can subscribe to (in RedFynn’s case, it’s 100% free for life) to provide incentives like prizes and discounts to your customers. This keeps them coming back for more!
You want to sell to your customers more often, all the time. A digital punch card or rewards program is highly, highly effective at this because you can reach your customers on their mobile phones.
Having a slow day? Just send out a BOGO or a 15% discount message. Some of your loyal customers will come right on in.
These examples are just a small sample of countless ways you can encourage and cultivate customer loyalty at your place of business.
In the end, it all comes down to your ability to identify your customers’ needs and connect with them in personable ways which resonate with them and encourages them to keep coming back for more! To learn more, give us a call at (888) 510-9871 or find us at www.redfynn.com.
You might also like:
Customer Loyalty