7 Ways to Make Your Customers Love You
For a business to be successful, it has to have customers. We all know this. If your company is spending too much time pushing its products or services, and not enough time showing appreciation and love towards its customers, you won’t keep them for long. Finding ways to make your customers love the brand you’ve created, and show that you acknowledge them, is vital to your long-term success.
Creating brand loyalty happens when your customers love and trust you. The best way to accomplish this to make sure that they feel special and heard. They’re more likely to continue purchasing or engaging with your brand if they feel a connection with it. They’re also more likely to recommend it to their friends if they feel that connection.
Need a little help setting up a strategy to build brand loyalty? Here are seven ways to make your clients/customers love you:
Have Personal Loyalty Programs
Loyalty programs are marketing strategies created by companies that encourage people to continue shopping their products or using their services. Most loyalty programs offer rewards and keep customers up-to-date with promotions.
What’s the best way to get started? Strategize a specific way your company can create a loyalty program that appeals to your customers. For example, if you are a member of Starbucks’ loyalty program, you reap many benefits. The program offers you free drinks on your birthday, special rewards and offers throughout the year, the ability to order ahead, plus you earn “stars” toward free menu items with each purchase. These are the types of loyalty programs that keep people coming back!
If you are continuous with this process, it will show your customers your appreciation. They will feel seen and heard, and they’ll start to become advocates of your brand. Have you had a really great experience with a brand? Have you shared that with your friends? Think about how that could be applied to your business. What could you do to make your customers feel special?
Say Thanks
A great way to show your appreciation is to say thank you. This seems easy enough, right? But a lot of companies don’t do it.
An easy way to say “thank you” is by simply sending thank you cards to your customers. If a customer makes a big purchase or a client has just engaged you – send them a special, personalized card.
Thank you cards can be digital or you can do it the old-fashioned way and send a handwritten one via mail. Regardless of which method you pick, your customers will feel extra special!
Train Your Staff Well
There’s nothing worse than a great business with horrible staff. The way your staff is trained can make or break your business completely. They are the backbone of your company and one of your most important assets.
Make sure that they are properly trained and know how to treat customers. The reputation of your company heavily relies on how customers are treated. If you have a well-mannered staff, your customers will appreciate it and will want to continue using or shopping with your company.
If you’ve ever been to Chick-Fil-A, you know that they treat their customers with the utmost respect. One reason people continuously go to Chick-Fil-A, even if their prices are a little higher, is that they are shown respect from the staff. The fast-food chain ranks higher and generates more annual revenue than most other fast-food restaurants. Why? Because they usually rank first for customer satisfaction. The staff cleans properly, is quick and convenient, and they are polite.
Just by training your staff to approach people with respect and do their jobs properly (cleaning, being efficient, correcting any mistakes, etc.) can significantly impact the growth of your brand.
Send Promos
Sending out promos to existing loyal customers can be done easily through email for various occasions and holidays. It’s also a great way to get new customers as well. Offer them 10% off their first purchase if they join your email list. You’ll not only build a relationship with that customer for future potential purchases, but you’ll also give them a good first experience with your brand.
Be Easy to Contact
It can be extremely frustrating if something goes wrong or you just simply need to get in contact with a company, but they are seemingly unreachable. We’ve all been there, and it can make us not want to shop with or use that business again. You feel like they simply don’t care.
Make sure that your business is easy to get in touch with. Someone from your team should be constantly checking messages, social media platforms, and emails. Also, make sure your responses are done in a timely fashion.
Develop Relationships with Customers
This is easier for small businesses, but it works with businesses of all sizes. You want to develop a relationship with your customers and make sure they know that they can come to you to resolve any issues.
You should take the customer feedback you receive and data about customer experiences and use this information to develop relationships. Chat with your customers and show them that you care about their concerns, problems, questions, and feedback.
In 2020, it is easier than ever to form and keep relationships with your customers. Social media is a great tool to help with this. Use it to your advantage.
We hope you are able to take these tips and show your customers some love and appreciation. What other advice should customers take into consideration? Let us know in the comments below.
Alyson Pittman is a contributing writer for WBD and a JR marketing associate for Excite Creative Studios, an Atlanta-based creative agency.
Alyson graduated from Kennesaw State University with a Bachelors of Business Administration and a concentration in Marketing. She was in multiple organizations at KSU where she held leadership positions. As a part of the Delta Phi Epsilon Sorority, Alyson held the Social Coordinator position and planned/promoted large events.
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