Loyal customers are the heart and soul of any successful business — 65 percent of a company’s revenue is derived from existing customers. Individuals that are loyal to a company will not only buy goods and services from that brand more frequently, but they will also spend more when shopping.
However, loyal customers are not just great sources of revenues; they are the best — and least expensive — marketing team of any organization. Existing customers help a business acquire new ones with word-of-mouth marketing and referrals. This is particularly important because word-of-mouth marketing influences 20-50 percent of purchasing decisions.
Thus, loyal customers are the key to any business’s survival and growth, since they provide the business with most of its revenue and assist with customer acquisition.
What is Brand Loyalty?
Brand loyalty is the tendency of a customer to continuously purchase goods and services from a certain business, rather than from its competitors. Loyal customers will make repeated brand purchases despite price and convenience.
How Can I Foster Brand Loyalty?
Brand loyalty positively impacts businesses and is crucial to foster. Here are three ways a business can do so:
1.Create Relevant Products
One of the number one reasons businesses don’t succeed is failure to deliver value. Thus, businesses must focus on understanding customers’ needs and wants to ensure relevant products are developed and in effect, brand loyalty is fostered.
To understand customers, organizations should engage with them actively — whether that be via social media, email or in–person. Constantly asking for feedback and assessing the preferences of customers is imperative. Customers notice when a business makes a constant effort to change and evolve by creating new relevant products. This leads to customers supporting a brand.
2.Personalize Every Experience
In order to foster brand loyalty, it is important to personalize every customer’s experience. In fact, 80 percent of customers are more likely to purchase products from a company if the service is personalized.
People want to feel as if they matter and are recognized for their individuality. Adapting the sales approach for every customer and reaching out to clients on their birthdays personalizes the experience and builds genuine connections — leading to brand loyalty.
3.Give Back to the Community
Many customers are purpose driven. Millennials and Gen Zers were taught the importance of recycling and social good when growing up. Therefore, younger customers look to support socially responsible businesses that focus on the triple bottom line (people, profit and planet).
Giving back to the community enhances engagement by creating a shared mission and purpose with customers. This common value to do good creates an authentic relationship between a company and a customer which in turn, fosters loyalty.
