CUSTOMER LOYALTY
A Competitive Advantage for a Business
What’s one of the biggest bonuses of running a small business?
The ability you have to build 1:1 relationships with your customers.
Research conducted by the US Chamber of Commerce found that 68% of customers stopped using a business because they didn’t feel valued! That’s a massive number of people who basically feel ignored by the companies they’ve given their money to at some point.
And we’ve ALL experienced this. We start working with a company or a provider and we’re both in the ‘honeymoon phase’ of that relationship and it’s great! But after a while, we start to hear from them less and less. The annual reviews drop off. The birthday wishes die out. The gratitude disappears. There are two major reasons for this:
the provider of the product or service is what we call a ‘hunter’ rather than a ‘farmer’. They prefer to spend their time finding new customers rather than taking care of their existing ones
there is no system in place to help automate customer care
So how can you keep this from happening in your business? How can you PREVENT the lion’s share of your customer attrition?
Simply by creating some sort of system or process that lets your customers know they’re still important to you long after the initial sale. Let’s look at a couple of examples:
Regular communication
Frequent, short communications from you are better than infrequent, long updates. Often these are in the form of email newsletters. This is a simple, inexpensive way to stay ‘top of mind’ with your customers and bring them small bits of value on a regular basis.Customer-only special event or sale
Provide a free training if you’re a service provider. Put on a networking event if your customers are local. Offer a special customers-only shopping evening if you have a storefront.Start a customer social media community
A private Facebook, LinkedIn or WhatsApp group can be a fantastic way to connect with your customers, provide extra value and connect them with each other.Create a referral reward programme
Offer your customers a reward for referring you to their friends and family. You can even go one better and ALSO reward the person referred if they buy from you.
The sky’s the limit
There are hundreds of ways to get creative around customer care - the limit is your imagination (and budget).
If you’re like us and you like to do a bit of extra research, check out this helpful list of eye-opening statistics around customer service conducted by Hubspot in 2022.
The Business Blueprint Podcast
Igniting Growth in Your Business and Life
Welcome to The Business Blueprint Podcast, your monthly dose of powerful insights and actionable strategies designed to propel your business and life forward. Join us on a key topic that will elevate your success and empower you to move the needle in your business endeavors.
