6 Ways to Protect and Build Customer Loyalty

As economies slowly recover, finding ways to protect and build customer loyalty is more vital than ever. Discover 6 actionable insights on how to retain a legion of loving followers and gather more along the journey. 

 

For better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness, and in health, no one says “I do” quite like loyal customers for their favorite brands. 

At this point, your business has succeeded at making countless proposals to deliver the best customer experience. Your brand then has a growing base of regular shoppers and may be wondering next how to keep them loyal while growing the fanbase.

Well, it’s certainly the right type of focus because as economies slowly recover, customers will appreciate the brands that best rewarded them in times of crisis. However, some businesses might have underestimated their faithful patrons amidst the impacts of COVID-19 by believing once they become Promoters, companies won’t need to do much with these buyers as they’ll just keep on making repeated purchases. But, unfortunately, dedication can diminish just as quickly as a divorce appeal, if brands don’t work to actively cater to customer loyalty.

So, to help businesses retain and increase their number of Promoters, here are six actionable tips to help protect and build customer loyalty. Ultimately, your brand may more than likely achieve a high Net Promoter Score.  

Perhaps, your loyal customers know your products or services inside and out. However, it doesn’t mean that they’ll stop asking questions or raise concerns. So, they rely on your continuous and convenient support whenever they want it.

Technology has empowered brands to be constantly present, such as through self-service technology. Among the various types, chatbots or virtual assistants are becoming increasingly popular. They’re artificial intelligence software primarily designed and implemented to cut customer service costs by operating day and night to address the customers’ common questions. Consequently, your employees can better prioritize the more critical concerns while minimizing redundant tasks. Plus, your regular shoppers will have peace of mind knowing they can get help anytime. Thus, protecting and building customer loyalty. 

The ability to be virtually and constantly everywhere isn’t enough for many repeated buyers of a particular brand. Companies must also be emotionally available for fans because of empathy that fuels loyalty. When in contact with live representatives, the key is to overpower the benefits that intelligent machines have to offer by delivering an (unbeatable) conversational approach. That is, remind your customers why they stayed around in the first place.  

For resolving quick and easy issues, try answering customers within 30 minutes online as 42% of them anticipate a response on social media within an hour. 

For resolving the more strenuous complaints, train your staff properly on offering personalization throughout the customer journey. This strategy to tailor also necessitates the need for empathy, which starts with you hiring the right personalities for a people-lover job. 

 

Source: P2P

Depending on your industry and brand, different loyalty program types are effective in different ways to protect and build customer loyalty. 

In particular, tiered loyalty programs have a game-like reward structure that can keep your Promoters actively engaged and help them strive and rely on for months to even years. So, customize reward packages for different customer types rather than a “one size fits all” deal. 

For example, consider adding an exclusive element to loyalty programs by creating multiple customer tiers ranging from lowest to highest. As such, so-called “VIP” clients would be the top tier where those on that level are allowed to earn unique pricing for your most premium products. In contrast, ‘lower’ tier customers are likely more motivated to reach the next level of spending. The more exclusive your rewards, the more drawn your buyers become. 

Loyalty rewards can further be free shipping and extra points for getting shoppers to perform charitable acts, such as donating unwanted clothes, which can simultaneously motivate customers to proudly spread word of mouth about your brand’s social appeal.

Source: P2P

Of the five love languages, businesses need to focus on their physical acts of appreciation toward customers ever so often. Consequently, your brand will likely stand out even more in this digital age.

Deliver physical gifts that are small and simple, slightly old-fashion, but wrapped with a big value, such as a handwritten “thank you” note. Avoid associating prices with your appreciation gestures. Instead, return them the favor with a surprise discount and “just because” as a selfless act can make them feel exceptional. 

Regarding non-tangible loyalty rewards, gift your regular patrons the value of time. According to Harvard Business Reviews, consumers have increasingly focused on value-based consumptions rather than mainly price due to COVID-19. 

Aside from the chaos and ingenuity in a content-filled world, people also hate waiting. So, show your Promoters that your business values their time. For example, rather than have buyers queue on the phone to speak with a live agent, have an automated machine ask for their number and another appropriate time to call them back as soon as their position opens. For physical queues, recognize your regular visitors for their patience in the form of perks, such as lining them in an exclusive queue or instantly seating them. 

Some faithful spenders may not need much to remain loyal. Yet, of course, they still expect their favorite providers to listen in on the Voice of Customers (VoC). 

Companies, big or small, should continuously analyze their customer review database for the good and bad. Consequently, they gain valuable insights on what customers are saying and even can capture the risk of their Promoters becoming Passives and Detractors or vice versa.

Encourage open feedback across all channels like it’s any marriage, thus creating a two-way dialogue. For example, listen to customer reviews by digging for both negative and positive key phrases to detect underlying issues and areas of strengths. Then, show that your business has ‘listened’ by following up with consumer feedback. 

Wonderflow is the most business-oriented, unified analytics platform. We focus on helping firms succeed by, for example, calculating their Net Promoter Score and identifying customers at risk to improve their customer experience. Our granular Net Promoter Score analysis allows you to retain your existing customers while attracting new ones by quickly and easily detecting product issues as they arise. As a result, you’ll increase loyalty and gain insightful data.

Check out our newly launched NPS page for more info, or go ahead and propose us with a free demo request.