Ways To Build Customer Loyalty

The term customer loyalty is used to describe the behavior of repeat customers, as well as those that offer good ratings, reviews, or testimonials. Some customers do a particular company a great service by offering favorable word of mouth publicity regarding a product, telling friends and family, thus adding them to the number of loyal customers. However, customer loyalty includes much more. It is a process, a program, or a group of programs geared toward keeping a client happy so he or she will provide more business.

Customer Loyalty is an important aspect of every business. Everybody wants to build customer loyalty for more business. There are number of ways which people are using to make their customers loyal. For example free offers, coupons, low-interest rates on financing, high value trade-ins, extended warranties, rebates, and other rewards and incentive programs. But these ways demand time and money both. Some simple ways which you can use and build customer loyalty for your business.

1. Communicate: Building a lasting relationship requires communication. Communication means listening to your customer or client, as well as conveying your own message. One sided communication is a speech, mutual communication is a conversation. Communicate when things are going well and when there are problems. When things are going as expected, bring it to their attention. When there are problems, provide the scope of the challenge and your solutions, preferably before the customer even knows that the problems exists. This builds credibility, confidence and trust.

2. Product Awareness: Know what your steady patrons purchase and keep these items in stock. Add other products and/or services that accompany or compliment the products that your regular customers buy regularly. And make sure that your staff understands everything they can about your products.

3. Understand Your Customer’s Goals: The products or services that you provide are only meaningful in the context of your customer’s objectives. What you do is intended achieve financial or strategic objectives, or fulfill a need. Understand and communicate your value from the perspective of the customer. Be aware of changes that may affect the customer requirements and your perceived value so you can adjust accordingly.

4. Reliability:
Be realistic and reliable with your customers. Do not promise more than you can give, and make sure that you do deliver on the promises you make. For example, if a customer orders a product that needs to be delivered in twenty-four hours, make sure that it is delivered in twenty-four hours or less. Make your estimates on delivery times reasonable, but err towards giving yourself more time to fulfill promises. Do not make promises you have no hope of keeping just to keep your customers from going elsewhere.

5. Be Flexible: Try to solve customer problems or complaints to the best of your ability. Excuses — such as “That’s our policy” will lose more customers than setting the store on fire.