Building Customer Loyalty

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How we treat our customers directly relates to our business’s success. If we listen to our customers, respond to their needs and live up to their expectations, we have created an environment where customer loyalty will thrive.

What do I mean by “listening” to a customer? There is the obvious: a customer walks into your store and asks a question or has a problem and you listen to them. What about other avenues of input? Do you take the time to check on your Facebook Page or Twitter feed and do you respond to customer questions or complaints on these platforms? When was the last time you googled your business name for reviews? Could you have bad reviews out there for the public to see? If you don’t check, you won’t know.

Responding quickly to a customer’s needs or concerns is one of the most important things you can do to build loyalty. We have all heard about the customer review where an employee was rude or a need wasn’t met. There is a brief window of opportunity following a service failure where your customer can actually transition from a state of disappointment to a state of loyalty. Showcase your ability to listen to your customers, responding politely and positively so that other potential customers will respond positively to you and your business.

We’ve all heard the old adage, “Under Promise, Over Deliver.” How many times have you been disappointed by a business who assured you they would do something by a certain time or to a certain quality level and then failed to do so? I know I’ve had that experience many times and I will caution anyone who might be considering using those companies. On the other hand, the companies that did what they said they would do and left me feeling unstressed and happy with their work—I’m more than happy to recommend them to my friends.

Take the time to speak with your customer and to understand their needs. When I visit a store and can’t find what I need but the store personnel is able to assure me that they can get the item I’m looking for and will call me when it comes in on Thursday and then does call, I appreciate their effort and they have salvaged a sale—a win/win for both of us.

A great business personality and service is only half the effort required in building customer loyalty. The other half of the effort is promotion and price. No matter how great you are at pleasing your customers, if they feel you’re not competitively priced, they will gravitate to a business that is. One way to build customer loyalty even against a cheaper competitor is to offer a discount card for specific items that are important to your regular customer. You can write in the item(s) on the card so the customer is assured of receiving the discount even if you aren’t personally there at the time of their next visit.

Sales funded by your distributor or product manufacturers take time and effort to coordinate but allow you to run specials in-store and on your Facebook page that have the potential to bring in new customers as well as keep old ones and give them the impression that you are aggressively promoting.

I know I’ve said this before, but building an email list will enhance any customer loyalty program, so long as you don’t abuse their patience by over-using it. If you have special deals for your loyal customers, they will probably appreciate receiving your email notices. Just make sure that your emails offer smoking hot promotions on things that have general appeal. Although you’re trying to make a sale, you’re also trying to build a loyal following.

Consider trying to interact with your customers in new ways with new ideas, providing regular promotions, and you should see your sales grow. I’ve always found that mixing things up keeps the day to day business fresh. If you can do that and make more profit, too, it’s worth the effort.