What is brand loyalty and how to keep it?
What is brand loyalty and how to keep it?
Brand loyalty is important for businesses as it refers to consumers’ tendency to repeatedly buy the same brand instead of switching to competitors. Consumers often choose familiar brands for ease and economics.
Loyalty, however, goes both ways, it’s much more profitable for businesses to retain loyal customers than use up resources to find new ones, therefore it’s important to put in a necessary amount of effort to maintain your existing relationships.
Maintaining Customers
To help you with keeping your customer we have decided to put a few points together that you should keep in mind which will help you maintain that.
- Understand your customers.
It’s incredibly important to understand what your customer does, what their brand identity is, and what their values are. Check their social platforms, browse through their websites, and check if they have any upcoming events. It’s not only a great way to engage in a good conversation but it also shows you have put in the effort and done your research, that sort of thing doesn’t go unnoticed.
- Focus on what you do best.
Have you ever been to a restaurant that has a menu that stretched for miles? How was the food? Stick to what you know you do best, work on it and you will be the person your customers turn to for advice and business. Don’t pretend you’re great at everything, that’s where you start slipping and suffering in your own success. Therefore, be known for the great things you do.
- Under promise and over-deliver.
I am one of those people who would love to promise you the world and deliver, but that’s not very realistic. Keep your deadlines, delivery dates, and possibilities transparent and realistic. One of the biggest no-noes you can do is “I can definitely get that turned around in one week”, and then get in touch a week later with “Apologies, it looks like I’ll need an extension of 1-2 weeks”. That doesn’t reflect well on you, or your business. If you can’t achieve the unachievable, don’t pretend you can. Customers value honesty and transparency.
- Stay engaged.
Keep in touch with your customers, getting one order in is one thing but the magic is in keeping them coming. Engage with your customers, and check how they are. “How did the event go?”. “Hey I just wanted to share this with you, I thought it might be of interest”. It’s a nice and gentle reminder that you’re around and ready to go if they need anything.
65% of a company’s business comes from existing customers
- Remain consistent
Consistency is not only the key in exercise, social media platforms, or dieting but a way to present yourself as reliable. Don’t respond to inquiries instantly one day and ignore them for 2 days the next. Give yourself a time frame to respond to individual inquiries so that your customers know they can count on you with anything urgent. Keeping your responses consistent reflects on your organisation skills.
- Don’t tell them why they should stay, show them.
We’ve all been in a situation where words were said but no action was taken, and you could say this is very similar to point 3. Go out of your way on those urgent projects, present your customers with more options than they wanted, make suggestions, and engage. Use all the above points and combine them into one. It’s important to show you’re not just doing the bare minimum. And again, this will not go unnoticed.
I’m hoping this nice and brief mini tutorial on what brand loyalty is and how to keep it is somewhat helpful. Remember, communication is key in any great relationship.