Building Customer Loyalty
A Quick Guide on Building Customer Loyalty
Businesses can be successful through new customers, but building customer loyalty and encouraging return customers is the key to long-term success. In this article we are going to discuss a few tips to help business owners and employees build a better following of loyal customers.
The first tip is to make customers feel like they made the right choice coming to your store. This can be accomplished many ways, and should be exercised by all employees who come in contact with customers. Make sure that whoever deals with your customers face-to-face is knowledgeable about the products and services the business offers. Other than blunt rudeness, nothing is more off-putting to a shopper than feeling like his/her questions can’t or won’t be answered. If an employee doesn’t know the answer to the customer’s question, have them assure the customer that they will find the answer, and do so as quickly as possible! Have employees handy to offer assistance. Customers appreciate a business whose employees are willing to go that extra mile to please the shopper.
Show the customer that you offer a reliable service. If your sign says open at 9am, have the doors unlocked and be open for business by 8:55. Be convenient and flexible, but don’t offer a service that you can’t provide. For example, if you assure the customer that their item will be delivered by a certain date, make sure that the item can and will indeed arrive by that date.
Interact with the customer and let them know that the employees are approachable. Building customer loyalty is best done when you make every interaction with the customer a friendly one. Something as simple as “How are you this morning?” while ringing up the customer’s shopping or “Thank you and have a terrific day!” as the customer leaves the store are excellent ways to leave the customer feeling like they are valued and appreciated.
R-E-S-P-E-C-T! No matter how demanding the customer is, make sure that they are handled with the utmost respect and even a smile! Imagine a particularly difficult shopper is treated respectfully at your establishment. Even if they do decide to try out your competitor later on, there is always the chance that the competitor won’t match your establishment’s level of respect and customer service. This just reaffirms your establishment in a positive light to the customer, thus ensuring that they return to you!
It’s always a good idea to provide a few incentives to lure customers back to your business. Say an online business sends out a mailer advertising free shipping on the customer’s next purchase. –Or maybe send a promotion code in an e-mail enabling them a “buy one, get one free” deal on an item of their choice, up to a certain amount. The beauty about an incentive offer is that you can be so creative with the offer, and really make the customer feel like you want their business back—and you do!
Customer satisfaction surveys are an excellent way to gauge how your business is holding up in the eyes of the customer. Leave these surveys near the cash register, by the door, or even printed on the receipt. The more accessible the surveys are to the customer, the more likely he or she will be to pick one up on the way out. You can also verbally encourage customers to fill out a survey at the cash register with a simple, “Thank you for shopping with us! Do feel free to fill out a customer satisfaction survey on your way out to let us know how we’re doing.”
This guide is not the “end all beat all” strategy to building customer loyalty, but I strongly believe that these tips can improve customer satisfaction. –And a satisfied customer is a loyal customer!