Customer retention and customer loyalty are both important concepts in the process of growing your business. Although both are used interchangeably, they mean different things.
Customer retention means using a set of practices to prevent customer loss. Customer retention is important in ensuring that customers you gain stay with you for as long as possible and continue receiving value. High customer retention means a good number of the business customers are sticking with the business
Customer loyalty refers to establishing longer and more sustainable relationships; because of the excellent service you have provided and the good impression customers have of your brand, they are willing to come back to your company to conduct business. It is very important to encourage customer loyalty because customers can support and encourage you to grow and improve your business better and faster than your employees.
Loyal customers when they have tested your products will also advertise for you for free. Customer loyalty is also a sign that what customers gain from their relationship with your brand overrides anything your competitors could offer them.
Measuring customer loyalty together with customer retention provides you with a more complete picture of customer satisfaction and by identifying your loyal and consistent customers you can design customized programs that specifically target their needs and goals.
Because, customer retention and loyalty are important for the growth of any business, the following are 7 magical tips on how you can improve the loyalty and retention of your customers.
IMPROVE CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE
The experience and impression you give your customers each time they come are important in determining how loyal and consistent they will be to the brand. Collecting and acting on the information customers provide during feedback sections is a good way to improve on customer experience.
Feedback should always be a consistent and ongoing process and not only when a customer is no longer patronizing the business, but it will also show you care about their opinion and are genuine about serving them better.
Customer experience should be improved from the onboarding stage. You should let your customers know how to easily use your products.
Having customer live support on your website also goes a long way in improving your customer experience and satisfaction; customers know that if they encounter any problem navigating your site or using your products, they’ll easily get help.
REWARD CUSTOMER LOYALTY
Rewarding your customers is the best way to encourage their loyalty. You can reward your customers by giving discounts, giveaways, periodic gifts, and others. Exceed customers’ expectations and show them how they actually matter by offering more than what you’re paid for, like greater personal attention and upgraded packages.
Your reputation is the major factor that impacts the decision of your customers to stick with you, so create an authentic image people can trust.
SET EXPECTATIONS EARLY
Expectations are very important in any relationship, particularly with your customers. When expectations are not clearly set, customers can easily get upset because they were expecting you to act or provide a certain service that you did not.
Setting expectations early helps your customers know what you are promising to offer them and what you are not. You should be straightforward about all your policies and terms.
These should be freely available on your website for your customers to access anytime. Work on your customer communication style and test and optimize the buyer’s journey, to ensure your business properly meets customer demands and makes customers happy.
COMMUNICATE RESULTS
Customers want to see the results of your products and services. Much more than telling them why your product is better than that of your competitors, posting reviews, pictures, and videos of other customers who have used your products and gave gotten results will go a long way in upgrading your customer retention and loyalty.
That means you need to be intentional about tracking and reporting the results customers get from using your products.
PERSONALIZE YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH CUSTOMERS
Personalizing your relationship with customers doesn’t mean you are overreaching, but the little things you do to take care of their needs matter a lot.
Don’t regard your customers as statics but see them as people. When you reach out to them through emails or respond to them through the live support on your website, adding a personal touch to that can make customers more relaxed and overall increase customer satisfaction.
BE TRANSPARENT
Transparency is the best way to gain your customers’ trust and loyalty. Make sure the customer always knows what’s going on with their data and information, and come up with healthy, unambiguous ideas and strategies to capture their attention.
STAND OUT FROM COMPETITION
Being unique in a large market is of great advantage to your business. If you are in a market with a lot of competitors, finding what makes you different and leveraging your uniqueness is one thing that can retain your customers and keep them loyal to you. You may even be doing what other businesses are doing but doing it differently. Conduct in-depth research on your competitors; know their weaknesses and use that to your advantage
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