There’s a common misconception in the market that the modern customer isn’t loyal. In fact, it’s quite the opposite. With so many options out there, if a customer finds a good product and a good service, it’s very likely that they’ll stick to them. Most customers don’t want to experiment with different brands once they’ve found one that meets their needs. After you’ve gotten your customer’s loyalty, it’s time to work on retaining it.
One of the best ways to do that is to show that your customer’s voice is heard. If you make them feel that their opinion is valued, they’re more likely to stay loyal to you. Here are some ways to do it.
Ask for Their Opinion
Most business owners realize that it’s vital to ask for the customer’s feedback. However, there are many that are very hesitant to ask. This is because they fear what they’ll hear. But as they say, it’s better to be forewarned and forearmed than to be surprised. Instead of waiting for your customers to walk out of the door, it’s a better idea to simply know if they’re disappointed in the service in advance.
So don’t hesitate to ask them questions and solicit their opinions on social networking sites. You might end up getting more valuable information than you previously anticipated.
Reward Contribution
We live in a busy world and if a customer takes time out of their schedule to give you their opinion, you should reward them for it. This reward can be something as simple as offering them an opportunity to make an early purchase on a sale, or offering them discounts to actually implementing their opinion and letting them know about it. When you do this, you show your appreciation for the feedback. This would increase customer loyalty.
Share The Limelight with Your Customer
Nothing pleases loyal customers more than knowing that they contributed to their favourite product in some way. So if your customer’s feedback was something that helped you improve and launch a new service, let everyone know about it. The customer would feel like they’re a vital part of your company and that would increase their loyalty for you.
Communicate
This can’t be emphasized enough. Your customers are constantly bombarded with ads from competitors. If you don’t keep them engaged, they might look elsewhere. If you keep in regular communication with them, if you keep offering them great deals, they’ll rarely look elsewhere. You need to be careful and not to overdo it. Customers would hate being bombarded by mails from you every day. Keep it simple and send them mails at relevant times. The goal is to keep reminding them of your presence at the right time.
You also need to ensure that you contact your customers immediately if they leave a negative review. This, again, would let your customers know that you care for their opinion.
And finally, if you offer an occasional thank you to your customer, you’ll find yourself in their good books on a near permanent basis. Simple expression of appreciation can go a long way.
