Getting customers is hard enough, but keeping those customers and building customer loyalty is even harder. So then why should you spend time working on achieving it? There are so many reasons, but a few main points to keep in mind are: loyal customers tell other people about your business for you, they will stay with you and always be a customer, they buy more and more often, and they will take your side. Ultimately, these consumers are free advertising and are more likely to choose your product over anyone else’s – something that is especially important during a heavy shopping period such as during the holidays. Not only is the holiday shopping season extremely busy, it can also be stressful and expensive; by taking some actions that require very little effort on your end, you can make the process smoother, easier, and more enjoyable for your customers while solidifying brand loyalty simultaneously. Here is Why You Should Care About Customer Loyalty
Make Yourself Available
Where there’s a lot of buying, there’s a lot of calls to customer service. Many businesses fail to prepare for the additional influx of calls they’ll inevitably receive during the holiday shopping season and allow their customer service to fall to the wayside – something you can use to your advantage! Make the process of doing business with you easier, more enjoyable, and positive in order to create a positive memory association between the consumer and your business, something all the more valuable during such a naturally stressful time. The more seamless you make the process, the more positively consumers will associate buying from you with positive memories and experiences – something they’ll surely remember next holiday season too.
Turn a Negative into a Positive
A lot of companies, especially around busy times of year like the holidays, fail to follow up on a majority of complaints they receive. Complaints are often treated as lost causes, therefore there’s no reason to use valuable time, money, and resources trying to right a wrong. But the companies that do this have it all wrong – when a customer complains, they still care and are still interested in doing business with you, the real “lost causes” are the individuals who don’t even bother trying to get in contact with you – they simply take their business elsewhere. Prepare yourself, and your team, with an arsenal of actions that can be taken to correct common mistakes; things such as providing a direct number to reach customer service, offering free express shipping for order mistakes, and providing discounts or additional services can be acceptable resolutions for many common issues.
Make The People Around You Feel Good
It’s important to remember everyone is under stress around the holidays – including your employees! Do something for them, whether that’s a bonus or a thank you card, to encourage good work, positive behavior, and increase morale. Customers can tell when an employee doesn’t want to be there helping them, so a small gesture for your staff can go a long way and make a huge difference in how customers remember their shopping experience. In the same vein, reach out to your community and offer to volunteer, donate to a charity, or maybe sponsor a local sports team. Not only is this a good way to get your company name out there, it’s a good way to increase positive association with your business.
Mad Mind Studios has more than ten years of experience in the marketing world, let us help with all your marketing needs! Contact our office at 310.402.1613 or info@madmindstudios.com.