Six ways to keep customers coming back

Apple Inc has one of the highest retained customers in the world. According to a 2017 survey, 92% of iPhone owners would buy another iPhone.

Customer loyalty is the act of repeatedly choosing one brand/company over the other. It can be a sustainable competitive advantage for a company. Loyal buyers not only make repeated purchases but also recommend their friends to try a business. Moreover, maintaining existing customers cost less than acquiring new ones.

However, it is hard for businesses to maintain customer loyalty because consumers are more informed and, thus, hard to satisfy. The modern consumer is always on the lookout of where the best deal is in terms of pricing, quality, delivery, and even customer service. It is tough for them to be loyal to one business for a long time.

Here are a few strategies to build and sustain customer loyalty.

1. Provide value

Nelson Boswell: Here is a powerful yet simple rule. Always give people more than they expect to get.

Warren Buffet says your premium brand should better deliver something special, or it’s not going to get the business. Modern customers are highly educated, and they know if they are not getting value for their money. This explains why you are likely to stumble upon complaints by unsatisfied customers on social media.

To keep clients happy, you need to provide consistent value. You should never give customers the reason to complain about a poor service. Importantly, you should communicate the value that your business provides to your customers to create awareness.

2. Provide High-Quality Customer Experience

Steve Jobs: Get closer than ever to your customers. So close that you tell them what they need well before they realize it themselves.

Quality experiences make buyers develop an emotional connection with a brand. You should look for ways to nurture relationships with customers. Customer engagement is the emotional connection between a customer and a brand.

You should engage with your customers to find out how they perceive your products or services. You can engage with your customers by having a conversation with them, holding an event. Ask them to fill out customer surveys so that you become aware of the areas that need improvement.

3. Be responsive

Doug Warner: In the world of Internet Customer Service, it is important to remember your competitor is only one mouse click away.

Communication is vital in starting and sustaining relationships with clients. In the digital world, customers demand instant communication through different channels that they can reach you. Most businesses, however, tend to delay when responding to complaints of poor services from customers thus lose them.

4. Take feedback seriously

Bill gates: Your most unhappy customers are your greatest source of learning.

Working on customers’ feedback helps improve your products and services. Customers can identify flaws in the business and working on the flaws would make their experience better. Interacting with customers is a sure way to know what they feel about your business.

5. Loyalty programs

Deloitte Retail Survey: Businesses with loyalty programs, on average, are 88 per cent more profitable than competitors who do not. Loyalty programs are a sure way of retaining customers.

They are a perfect way of rewarding loyal clients for doing business with you. Come up with loyalty programs where customers can redeem accrued points to pay for services or get discounts and see them stick with your company. You should also provide referral rewards for clients who refer others to you. 

6. Provide personalised service

Mark Cuban: Make your product easier to buy than your competition, or you will find your customers buying from them, not you.

Providing customised service not only meets the needs of customers but also makes them feel valued. Do your recall seeing peoples’ names on Coca-Cola bottles? Personalisation could be as simple as labelling customers’ name on products just like Coca-Cola did or sending messages that refer clients by their names. On social media, it could be responding to customer’s comments while mentioning their names. It is more of going the extra mile to meet the demands of individual customers.