As a brand, the single most important thing is customer loyalty. Without it, everything suffers – not to mention that the effort of keeping a customer is a lot less than the effort of acquiring a new one. Keeping customers as close to your brand as possible is the most effective way of keeping them customers for the longer term.
So, without further ado, here are 6 effective ways to generate loyalty and reward your most loyal customers.
- Deliver on quality
Whilst this may seem very obvious, one of the best ways of building loyalty is the simplest. By ensuring that you deliver on your promises and never letting your customers down, the value you offer will never be questioned. If you can meet and exceed your customers’ expectations, they won’t look elsewhere or in the direction of your competitors.
- Keep in contact
Keeping in touch with your clients helps to strengthen the bond between your brand and your clients’. By taking an interest in your customers as people and not just consumers, you’re sending a message that you care about them on a personal level, something that’s sure to keep them coming back.
Similarly, ask for feedback wherever possible. By listening and applying the feedback you’re being given, you’re also showing that you care.
- Provide incentives
Whilst customer loyalty schemes are a great way to make positive and lasting impressions on your client base, providing other incentives that they’re not expecting helps to strengthen bonds and show a higher level of appreciation.
A popular option for rewarding loyal customers is sending them a message or gift on their birthday or during seasonal events just to thank them for being your customer. A little goes a long way, so don’t underestimate the power in surprising your customers throughout the year.
- Offer referral rewards
A referral reward program encourages your existing customers to introduce people to your business, benefitting both you and them. Essentially, this is hiring them as part of your marketing team and then rewarding them for their efforts. This way, loyalty is generated, and loyalty is rewarded – a win-win situation!
- Give gift vouchers
This ties into providing incentives because customers love it when they receive gift vouchers from businesses they support. It motivates them to remain loyal and can even work for marketing purposes if they pass the vouchers onto others.
Although some businesses only give gift vouchers on special occasions, feel free to be creative with this strategy. Maybe you give away vouchers when a customer leaves a positive review, for example.
- Share customers’ reviews
When you receive positive reviews, ask permission to share their review elsewhere. Customers who are featured by brands they enjoy are not only more likely to return, but they’re likely to get their friends and families to support the business too. This can be a great way to humanise your brand and develop an interest in your brand when others see the reviews from real people instead of advertisements.
And there you have it – 6 effective ways to generate customer loyalty, and how you can then reward your customers for being loyal to your brand.