{"id":545,"date":"2019-10-04T10:16:49","date_gmt":"2019-10-04T07:16:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chatra.io\/blog\/?p=545"},"modified":"2020-10-13T16:35:05","modified_gmt":"2020-10-13T13:35:05","slug":"cultivating-customer-loyalty-for-your-business","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chatra.com\/blog\/cultivating-customer-loyalty-for-your-business\/","title":{"rendered":"Cultivating Customer Loyalty for Your Business"},"content":{"rendered":"

This is a guest post from\u00a0Mindaugas Skurvydas.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Having a loyal customer following is the lifeblood of any business – regardless of its size. Returning customers on average <\/span>spend 33% more on purchases<\/span><\/a> than new customers. And lets not forget the fact that it may <\/span>cost up to <\/span>5 times more <\/b>to acquire a new customer<\/span><\/a> than to retain existing ones. These numbers show just how vital it is to cultivate a loyal following for your bottom line.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Poor customer experience harms your business\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n

Before we proceed to the factors that<\/span> instill loyalty within consumers,<\/span><\/a> I wish to discuss the most basic element – <\/span>poor customer experience<\/span><\/i>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

First impressions count. Customer Reports survey actually found that <\/span>91% of customers would not return again<\/span><\/a> to a business if the first encounter was a terrible one. Lets not forget that those customers will also talk about their experience with their peers. According to White House Office of Consumer Affairs, a disgruntled customer <\/span>will share their negative experience with at least 9 other individuals<\/span><\/a>. Those nine others could\u2019ve been your future customers – well, not anymore.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

As you can see, the <\/span>first<\/span><\/i> encounter can start building your business\u2019 reputation in the customer\u2019s social circles.\u00a0 And that\u2019s not taking into account the possible negative implications of an unfavorable online review.<\/span><\/p>\n

All this can easily be circumvented. Let\u2019s see how you can create loyal customers who adore your business and are inclined to come back for more.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Frequent and meaningful communication\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n

Staying fresh in your client\u2019s mind is something that every business should strive for. One way to achieve this \u201cfreshness\u201d and the <\/span>top-of-the-mind awareness<\/span><\/a> is through consistent and <\/span>meaningful <\/span><\/i>communication.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Take some time to create a nice spreadsheet of all your clients with any relevant information that they have willingly disclosed to you. You may also use CRM software like amoCRM<\/a><\/span>\u00a0to aggregate and manage client lists.\u00a0 This information may include addresses, emails, phone numbers. You can use this spreadsheet as a way to deliver meaningful messages to your clients. Send them a birthday card, a newsletter, or a reminder for a new product launch.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Social media channels may also prove to be useful when the time comes to communicate with a customer. Be sure to keep the communication light and avoid plaguing the client\u2019s inbox with only promotional content.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Follow-ups\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n

How is your customer doing after they have made a purchase from you or used your services? Do you know the answer to this question? If not, then you need to start following up after their purchases. You may even ask them to rate their experiences they had while doing business with you.<\/span><\/p>\n

Follow-ups may also include sending your client a little discount coupon for their next order or purchase. It’s a nice and easy way to incentivize commitment for a future purchase.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Some e-commerce sites have implemented what\u2019s called a \u201ccart abandonment email\u201d <\/span>with great success<\/span><\/a>. You may have encountered this before yourself. Say you\u2019re shopping around online and put a few things into the \u201cshopping cart\u201d but decide against going through with the purchase. Your email notification pings to say you have a new email… it\u2019s a discount for the products you had in your cart only a few moments ago. Not a bad way to coax a would-be customer into taking the final step and making a purchase. It\u2019s a great method to securing long-term customers too.<\/span><\/p>\n

More human interaction when it comes to customer service\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n

Many companies are opting in to <\/span>automate as much of their business operations<\/span><\/a> as possible. It\u2019s a great way to cut costs and reduce overhead expenses, but may backfire when automation is taken too far. What I am talking about here is automating customer service.<\/span><\/p>\n

We all play a role as a customer at some point throughout the day. I am sure a lot of you – including myself – have had the opportunity to talk to a customer service \u201crobot\u201d or an automated machine. Getting predetermined responses to our questions is not always ideal for <\/span>excellent customer service<\/span><\/a>. The ability to talk to a human who can more accurately decypher your woes is something that happens less and less often nowadays.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Of course I am not saying to do away with all automation in customer service – it can effectively supplement it. I only want you to keep this in mind: humans can understand humans a lot better than a machine can.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Honesty is the best policy\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n

Making mistakes is part of human nature, there is no denying that. We are faulty beings and that\u2019s ok, as long as we have the courage to admit our faux pas and not brush them under the rug – especially when it involves customers.<\/span><\/p>\n

If you have made a mistake and it has an effect on your customer, be upfront about it. Admit the error is your fault, and apologize. More brownie points to you if you are quick to resolve the issue without making a huge fuss.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

As I have said before, mistakes do happen. Trying to hide mistakes can create distrust; being upfront about your mistake will <\/span>bolster <\/span><\/i>trust. Emerging trust between your company and a client will bloom into a <\/span>loyal <\/span><\/i>relationship.<\/span><\/p>\n

[Check out our post on Keap\u2019s blog about handling challenging customer interactions<\/a>]\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Encourage feedback\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n

Having access to feedback and understanding how a customer\u2019s experience unfolded while doing business with you is incredibly crucial to loyalty. Asking a simple question: \u201cis there anything we can do to improve ourselves for the future?\u201d to your customers can have an enormous impact on future loyalty of your client base. Even if you made a mistake during the business-client interaction, showing your willingness to improve through feedback inquiries can turn that initial negative experience into a positive one.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Encouraging feedback is also a great way to <\/span>stay intune with your customers<\/span><\/a>. Providing them with a <\/span>variety of methods to leave consumer feedback<\/span><\/a> will lead to not only improving your product or service, but also to increased customer retention.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In the end\u2026<\/span><\/h2>\n

Customer loyalty<\/span><\/a> is a privilege that must be earned. Take care of your customers and understand their needs – they will be happy to come back. As we have learned, creating a customer is a much more costly endeavour than retaining them. Your bottom line may very well be at stake if you are unable to reel back in the old clientele.<\/span><\/p>\n

About the author<\/strong>:\u00a0Mindaugas Skurvydas is a content creator extraordinaire. He is the head of content development at <\/span>InvoiceBerry<\/span><\/a>, an online invoicing platform for small businesses and entrepreneurs.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span><\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This is a guest post from\u00a0Mindaugas Skurvydas. Having a loyal customer following is the lifeblood of any business – regardless of its size. Returning customers on average spend 33% more on purchases than new customers. And lets not forget the fact that it may cost up to 5 times more to acquire a new customer […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":445,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[49],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chatra.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/545"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chatra.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chatra.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chatra.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chatra.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=545"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/chatra.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/545\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":671,"href":"https:\/\/chatra.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/545\/revisions\/671"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chatra.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/445"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chatra.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=545"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chatra.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=545"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chatra.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=545"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}