7 Tips to Make Your Customers Loyal to Your Brand

Whether a close friendship or a business partnership, loyalty truly is paramount. If you don’t have loyalty, it’ll be very difficult to move forward and build anything upon it. Loyalty is so fundamental that nothing really works without it.  

Brands should focus on building the same loyalty if they wish to keep their customers.

You can also build loyalty that’s reminiscent of what brands like Starbucks and Apple experience.

Consider the following tips on how to make customers to your brand.

1. Offer Payment Plans

There are tons of people under different tax brackets. Unless you’re targeting a specific niche of people, you’ll have customers with financial situations that run the gamut. You don’t want to discriminate against anyone.

It’ll be easier to maintain your customer’s business if you’re able to implement payment plans and arrangements. Think of companies like Sprint.

A lot of loyal Sprint customers are loyal because Sprint makes room for payment arrangements. If you ever fall on hard times, it’s nice to know that the company you love is committed to your continued business.

2. Provide an Excellent Product or Service

An excellent product or service will speak for itself.

It’ll allow you to experience the word-of-mouth marketing that so many business owners covet because it’s always coming from a reliable source.

Whether you’re selling homemade pound cakes or lawn care services, make sure that your products or services are unmatched.

When you execute at a high level, you’ll find the people who are the most attracted to that excellence. As a result, they’ll be willing to pay top dollar to receive anything you are currently selling and anything you’ll sell in the future.

3. Provide Excellent Customer Service

Out of all the American fast-food chains, Chick-Fil-A is known for its excellent customer service. Since it’s a major part of their brand, they’re very intentional about protecting that department of their company.

Whether you’re in the drive-thru line or dining in, they’ve created an atmosphere that is polite, welcoming and efficient. As a result, they can shut down the entire company for one day every week and remain profitable.

Develop a no-nonsense attitude about the way you treat your customers. A great way to do this is to under-promise and over-deliver.

• Instead of showing up on time, try to show up five minutes early.
• Throw in a few bonuses with a specific deal for each customer.
• Always be pleasant, kind and polite.
• A smile really goes a long way.

When you’re able to approach your customers with care and compassion, you’ll also be able to be grateful because they did business with your company when they could have easily taken their business elsewhere.

4. Get Feedback

It’s often stated that you can’t see the picture when you’re in the frame. This means that it's difficult to know your blind spots.

As a result, it’s nice to have someone who can serve as a mirror for you. They’ll be able to tell you what can be improved or if you have a stain on the back of your blouse.

We can say the same for your customers. As your customers order your products or services, be sure to ask them for feedback. You can do this by providing a discount coupon for 30% off of their next purchase when they fill out a specific survey.

You can also just ask them what they think of a specific product. When you’re able to get a dialogue going, it’ll help you improve your systems and strategies for the future.

5. Focus on Your Employees

Too often, the boss gets so caught up in the money, the customers or the clout that they miss their employees. If there’s anyone you’ll want to treat well, it is each member on your team.

Every employee matters. If you treat your employees well, they’ll be happy to come to work and do an excellent job.

One of the best ways to make sure you focus on your employees is by asking them what they need. Talk to them about their experiences in the workroom.

If they come to you with a complaint, don’t be dismissive and tell them you don’t have time to take care of the issue.

No, you’re their boss.

A part of your job involves putting out fires and managing expectations. If you can become intentional about pulling greatness out of your employees, they’ll naturally thrive, remain loyal to the company and do all they can do to produce great work that represents the company well.

6. Open The Lines of Communication

You can increase communication in a variety of ways.

• Start an interesting e-newsletter. When people open their inboxes, they’ll be able to see a weekly update regarding the exciting things that are happening within the company.
• Develop a strong social media presence that delivers value consistently. Invite your followers to comment on their questions and observations.

As you build different platforms to provide accessibility, your brand will appear more relatable.

7. Implement a Rewards Program

Because keeping existing customers costs so much less than attracting new ones, you want to implement a rewards program.

A good rewards program will keep existing customers, make them come back and they will spend more. New customers will be attracted with the rewards that your loyalty program offers too.

In addition to keeping customers, you will also get valuable insights into their shopping habits and preferences, giving you the data you need to fine-tune your strategy.

Choose a rewards program best suited to your customer’s habits and preferences - do they want discounts with every order, or do they want free items after a certain number of orders? See what would work best.

A digital loyalty card app gives you the flexibility to easily create and implement a loyalty rewards program.

Wrapping Up

While there are many elements you’ll want to include when you’re looking to build a strong brand, you must prioritize your customers. As you commit to these six tips and develop consistency, it won’t be difficult to maintain a healthy, thriving brand.

Though it might seem impossible when your business is small and just getting started, don’t get discouraged. There’s a reward when you’re faithful to the vision you set for yourself and your brand.

‍

Jen McKenzie is an independent business consultant from New York. She writes extensively on business, education and human resource topics. When Jennifer is not at her desk working, you can usually find her hiking or taking a road trip with her two dogs. You can reach Jennifer @jenmcknzie