Without customers, businesses wouldn’t exist. But not all customers are created equal! Did you know, it costs up to seven times more to acquire a new customer than it does to retain an existing customer? It makes good business sense then to actively build your customer loyalty. Strong customer loyalty leads to repeat business, word-of-mouth promotion and a good reputation – win, win, win.

Every single day, people make purchasing decisions based on their own needs, wants and desires. Large companies can spend billions of dollars annually studying what makes consumers tick, and although you might not like it, your every move online is being monitored by Google, Meta and more to see what you are viewing, searching, clicking on and purchasing.

Studying people’s buying habits isn’t just for the large companies though. Small businesses are seeing great success in understanding which post codes their customers come from to shop and then targeting them online. So, without investing thousands of dollars into market research, we have compiled a list below of simple things your business can start doing to increase your customer loyalty, with the aim to ultimately increase sales.

While there are only eight strategies listed, there are of course a multitude more options available to boost customer loyalty. Remember that it costs us up to seven times more to acquire a new customer than it does to retain one you already have. If you create an experience that people want and makes them feel special, then the price won’t matter.

8 strategies to build customer loyalty

Communicate regularly
Your customers want to feel connected to and aligned with your business and once you create this wonderful connection, they are more likely to recommend you to others. Ensure that customers hear from you throughout the year and not just when they turn up to purchase something. While digital marketing has been around for decades, we still need to remind some businesses out there to gain customers’ email addresses and phone numbers. These critical details will form a database that you can continue to invest time into and craft specific (and automated!) messages that your customers might enjoy. These messages could be highlighting new products or services that you have added, a new model being released, or simply a further chapter to your brand story.

Do something special 
Do you ever call a customer at random and thank them for their business? Do you ever send them a movie voucher or offer them an added gift with purchase? It’s the little things that can show a customer that you are really grateful for them. It often doesn’t have to be anything expensive, just an acknowledgement.

Ask for a referral 
The customers you have attracted to your business are part of your tribe. As they say ‘birds of a feather flock together’ so it would be likely that the people your current customers know could also be your customers. Simply asking your customers to refer you to a friend could be a great way to grow your business and also a great time to thank your existing customers. You can share your vision of growth and showcase your plans of creating an even better customer experience. Remember, everyone wants to know “What’s in it for me?”

Have a good team culture 
Customers can ‘feel’ the mood of a business from the moment they enter. So, make sure you leave them with a positive lasting impression. Too often people choose to shop elsewhere because of a particular person they dislike or after a bad experience they have had. Trying to lure that person back and convincing them to trust your business again will take time, and money.

Train your staff 
Ensuring your team are friendly and helpful is one thing, but ensuring they have a good understanding of what they are selling is another. Customers often want information prior to making a purchasing decision, and businesses lose sales every day due to poor product knowledge, forcing potential customers to shop elsewhere.

Embrace technology
Customers these days are demanding quick transactions. Don’t hold customers up at the counter with painstaking paperwork. Adopt point of sale (POS) software to enhance their experience and let them get out the door so they can start using their new purchase as soon as possible. If you sell product or services, you need an e-commerce website. Allowing your customers to buy from you or book your service any time of day, night or holiday is great for you and great for them. Convenience is everything.

Be part of the community
How is your business engaging with or supporting the community? You don’t have to be a social enterprise to incorporate an element of social or environmental responsibility into your business. By publicly sharing how your business is supporting the community (charities, sports clubs, causes) or environment (clean-ups, plastic-free, recycled product, causes), you build connection with customers who share similar concerns. This then builds trust, and after a good customer experience, you guessed it, customer loyalty.

Develop a customer loyalty program
Loyalty programs offer customers rewards, discounts, early sales or specials and other incentives as a way to attract and retain customers. These are designed to encourage repeat business and when implemented properly (the right program for the right business), can be very successful.

Want to build customer loyalty for your brand?

Get in touch.

The world we are operating business in currently exists to chase clicks, likes and comments like some crazy digital hunt! We don’t always end up with what we went in search for, but here we are carrying the findings of our catch. So often we talk to business owners about their online presence only to have them tell us about their disappointment with the people they have attracted online. Why are people from another country connecting with us when we can’t event do business with them? Question then is, why can’t we?

If you are wanting your conversions to grow, then firstly you need to ensure that you are offering something that is of value and that stands out from your competitors. Understanding your existing customers more will give you great insight into what any potential customers are seeking from you. So get out there and ask what they like, what they like about you and what you could do to improve or make their life even better. 

On top of doing that, here are a few tips on how you can turn those clicks into customers.

1. Improve your website

Firstly, you may not actually need a new website. Maybe you just haven’t updated it since 2015. Now, that’s ok, we are all busy and websites aren’t always easy to update, but Google will actually be your BFF if you have relevant and up-to-date information on it. 

“You know who loves reading testimonials? People who want to buy from you but haven’t yet.”

2. Update ALL of your social media platforms 

Make sure all your efforts are supporting each other and working together. Think of all your social media platforms as an ecosystem of content that is cross-referenced and linked to broadcast the vision of the business. 

3. Set goals 

Without goals, where are you going? You don’t ever get in your car and just drive around with no destination in mind (unless the destination is to just drive around and explore our great region!). So why should we do it in any other part of our life or business. Clearly defined goals for what you would like to achieve will help measure and track your efforts. We have all heard of the term SMART goals which is an acronym for making sure they are Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic and Time-based. 

4. Create a strategy

Not every one of your customers buy or want the same thing, right? So it is important that you break your customers up into groups and target them that way. In marketing terms, we call this segmenting your audience and it is proven to be quite effective. Basically you are putting people with similar buying patterns, needs or likes into a group and offering them something they would like. It saves personal phone calls and when done well it can have a positive impact on enquiries. We often see segmenting used when you haven’t been to your beauty or dentist appointment. So see how creative you can be at segmenting your customers or potential customers and give them an offer they simply can’t refuse. 

5. Put your business in the spotlight 

Advertise. Boost. Promote. Whatever will build more awareness of your business within your budget, do that! No one knows about the business at the end of the street that has the best service in town unless the world knows about it. 

6. Publish testimonials 

You know who loves reading testimonials? People who want to buy from you but haven’t yet. Sharing Karen’s great experience shopping with you could just be another day for you, but for a potential new customer, it is exactly what they are looking for. Let your customers sell your business and what it offers in their words and allow trust to be built. 

7. Get back to people quickly 

Most people purchase using the following method: I’ve seen it. I want it. I’ll buy it. Make sure you make the buying or purchasing part easy and simple. Don’t make people jump through too many hoops to actually get through the checkout. This can be applied to both online and instore experiences. We recommend purchasing something from your business as a customer to fully witness their experience. If you are getting frustrated by it, change it. 

8. Keep going

Customers don’t always flock to us overnight, it does take time, so our advice is be patient and continue doing the things that are generating the most engagement. 

If you would like any more information, we welcome you get in touch with our team by emailing hello@themarketingfactory.com.au 

Identifying future problems all starts in understanding how changing market conditions can affect your business. What would happen if interest rates changed? What would happen if you suddenly had an increase in competition? What would happen if a business-changing technology was launched? And finally, what would happen if a global pandemic broke out? Needless to say, these things are often difficult to predict until they are upon us. But it doesn’t stop us from wondering, if we were more aware that the situation was about to break, would we have done anything differently to prepare? 

All businesses experience changes in some way, with the degree of change varying each time. One thing we have noticed is how quickly a lot of businesses reacted to the changes during COVID-19 and how so many new companies were formed pretty much overnight! What would normally take months seemed to take shape in a fraction of the time, so it has us wondering… If we forced ourselves into a pressure cooker environment where one thing that we heavily relied on failed or wasn’t there for us, could we develop creative new ways to work without it or even better invent something new to supersede it? 

“Don’t be afraid of new ideas. Be afraid of old ideas. They keep you where you are and stop you from growing and moving forward. Concentrate on where you want to go, not on what you fear.” Tony Robbins

You might be thinking, hang on, slow down, we aren’t that creative! However, creativity in people can sometimes spark under pressure. Some people swear that they do their most creative work under tight deadlines and as far as our team goes, high pressure environments aren’t for all of us. Understanding the people in your team and which ones can handle a little added pressure is important. You could create a test to see if anything good comes out of setting a tight deadline to produce something new for the business and ensure that all other deadlines are removed so they can give the new task their full attention. 

Really, what we are suggesting is to take time to think, plan, brainstorm and research. We all know it can be difficult to find the time to do it, but if you actually make time for it, who knows, the next greatest idea for your business could be born. 

Tony Robbins is quoted saying: “Don’t be afraid of new ideas. Be afraid of old ideas. They keep you where you are and stop you from growing and moving forward. Concentrate on where you want to go, not on what you fear.” 

Making and creating time for innovation is something our team does regularly. We are often the “go to” place of new ideas for clients and we simply love our role. If you have a great idea but unsure what to do next, we can guide you. If you need a clever new way of taking your same old worn out message to market, we can create something new and make it different and exciting. 

All we can say is that the saying “the more you do something the better you get” applies to new ideas also. 

Remember, businesses don’t innovate, people do. Make time for the people in your business to be innovative and we would love to hear from you about your successful strategies. 

If you are feeling blocked, stuck or uninspired, here are a few things you can try that always helps bring our mojo back.

1. Trust that new ideas will come – your brain is an endless source of ideas, so don’t ever fear that you will ever run out of them. 
2. Set the mood – whether that be through your surroundings or music, get yourself and/or your team into an environment that feels just right. 
3. Check out your competitors – review what they are up to and how they take their message to market. 
4. Check out businesses outside your industry – see how you could apply a concept or way of thinking to your business.
5. Makes notes when you see something you like – and share this information with your team or keep it somewhere for easy reference.