Loyalty programs have become a powerful and effective tool to enhance customer loyalty. As times are changing, the preferences and behavior of your consumers also, so it is important to keep abreast of their latest developments as a means to increase their commitment and loyalty to your brand.
According to Accenture, only 28% of consumers are loyal to their suppliers and brands, while 31% of them would be willing to recommend a brand to others. On the other hand, a recent study presented by showed that three out of every four companies -this is 75 %- in the United States that have loyalty programs perceive a higher ROI than those that do not.
Although the figures are somewhat encouraging, it is becoming increasingly difficult for companies to maintain customer loyalty, due to the amount of information available and the number of options that consumers have access to when they are looking for a product and / or service.
Since customers are the lifeblood of your business, maintaining them is critical to the growth and consolidation of your brand. So, how to maintain the loyalty of your business customers when they are not always willing to commit? Pay attention to what comes next.
3 tips to maintain the loyalty of your business customers
79% of consumers feel more faithful those brands that have a physical presence , 42% expect online companies to provide a personalized user experience , adapted to their interests and preferences, in addition of preferential treatment .
Likewise, 29% of the clients affirm that receiving preferential treatment fosters their loyalty and 33% sees with good eyes the reception of gifts, offers and personalized proposals at special moments.
These figures demonstrate the willingness of consumers to maintain their loyalty to brands regardless of the economic benefits they can offer their respective pockets. Therefore, take advantage of this and put into practice the following tips that will help you improve customer loyalty towards your brand.
Create a sense of community
Social Media has become the most appropriate platform to encourage interaction with your potential customers and based on this build a community of loyal spokespersons and promoters of your brand.
To do this, convert your social profiles into a conversation in two senses, on the one hand your fans or followers and on the other the generation of content that adds value to the resolution of your concerns and needs.
For example, ask your customers if they would share their photos on Instagram or Twitter with a hashtag from your company. Subsequently, select and preserve the best photos that characterize the social profiles of your customers and use it as a loyalty strategy.
Face your mistakes
When customers have had a bad experience with a product and / or service, they are usually prone to yelling at the four winds, a situation that negatively affects the brand image of your business.
To avoid being an easy prey to criticism, turn the problem into an opportunity in your favor that allows you to show your clients and potential buyers your willingness to help them and give a timely and effective response to their situation.
If you do not know how to do it, take note of the way in which this type of problem has been addressed by large companies and build your own strategy.
Reward the loyalty of your customers
Loyalty programs are the best way to show your customers how important they are for your business. A study presented by KiteWheel showed that 25% of consumers feel frustrated when a company is unable to recognize them as old or current customers.
Therefore, promoting customer loyalty is vital for your business if you want to improve the profitability of your business, obtaining a significant effect on the number of sales.
For example, Starbucks is a reference in the design of strategies to maintain customer loyalty. Through its app that facilitates payment through mobile, its sales volume last year increased by 15% and the number of customers who used the application exceeded 12 million.
What is the secret to the success of this application? Starbucks noted that most of its customers were always using their smartphone. When they arrived at the cashier to pay their bill, they had to put aside the mobile phone to extract the money or the credit card from their bag or wallet. So they thought about using the telephone as a means of payment, with the purpose of facilitating and improving the user experience within their establishments. The results were obvious.
Conclusion
The success or failure of your business is determined in a high percentage by customers. Therefore, cultivating and maintaining a solid and constant relationship between your brand and your customers will help increase the LTV, reduce the COCA and maximize the return on your investment.
“A satisfied customer will always be a happy customer and therefore a loyal customer”
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