So, you’ve put in all the hard work of attracting a customer and getting them on board with your products or services. Now all the hard work is over right? Wrong. Getting a new customer should be the start of a long-term relationship. Customer retention can help to improve your bottom-line, as it is less expensive to work with existing customers, than it is to track down new prospects time and time again.
By building brand loyalty you’ll help to ensure your new customers stick around with you for the long-haul, instead of jumping ship to your competitors, or stopping the service entirely. Below we highlight a few different strategies you can use to improve your brand and help improve customer retention.
1. Let Your Customers Contribute
Your customers probably have a lot of ideas or opinions about your company and the services you offer. It’s a good idea to allow your customers to share these with you. This will not only allow you to refine your services and offering over time, but it could lead towards the uncovering of a hidden niche you might not have considered.
In the business world the core of your services will be all about solving problems. The more of your customer’s problems you can solve the more likely they are to stay with you long term. Things such as surveys, asking questions on social media, and having prompts built into your email marketing campaigns are all valuable ways of getting good feedback.
2. Focus On Customer Service
If a customer is happy they’re much more likely to stay with you. How they’re treated will either reflect positively or negatively on your business. Poor customer service leads a lot of people to stop working with those companies. Don’t add yours to the list.
Good customer service is responsive, helpful, and solves the problems swiftly. People also tend to crave personalized support. Make sure your support team is able to offer efficient support that can handle every request in a timely manner.
3. Understand Your Core Business Values
Do you know what you stand for? Your values as a business should line up with the values of your customer. The more effectively you communicate your values the greater your chances of attracting the customer that’s right for your business.
Having similar values and beliefs will help to build trust. But, so will transparency. Every so often make sure you reveal what’s behind the curtain of your company. Allow your customers to connect with the people who are serving them every day.
4. Reward Your Loyal Customers
Customers who have been with you for a long-time should be rewarded for their loyalty. This will help them to feel valued and care for. Things like giving long-term customers coupons, and other tiered reward systems will give them a benefit to sticking with your company.
For instance, Amazon instituted the Amazon Prime membership which provides free fast shipping for a yearly fee. They’ve found that subscribers to this program end up actually spending more per year than those who don’t. As you can see, a loyalty and a reward system can actually be good for your bottom line.
Building a solid brand takes a lot of work, but it’s always time well spent. A solid brand will help to serve your company for years to come. Best of all once you take the time up front to build systems which enable your brand they’ll consistently serve you and make your job easier. If you need any assistance strengthening your brand, or building something new from the group up then reach out to our Jacksonville digital marketing team today.
