Today’s markets are characterised by cut-throat competition. Even when products or services are new, another company will often enter the market offering an even newer or cheaper version. Customers have a huge amount of choice, with new and existing brands using marketing tools to constantly entice and inform them. Creating loyal customers and increasing customer loyalty is becoming more and more difficult. Businesses therefore need to go that extra mile to earn and retain the loyalty of their customers. Read more about loyal customers and increasing customer loyalty here.

What is customer loyalty?

Loyalty simply means that the buyer of a product or service feels committed to that particular brand or company. Maintaining good, long-term relationships creates loyal customers who make repeat purchases. Loyal customers will probably recommend you to others too. So customer loyalty is a very important factor to consider when thinking about customer service and telesales.

The basis for customer loyalty

Satisfied customers and loyal customers are not quite the same thing. Loyal customers are so enthusiastic about your product or service that they not only make repeat purchases but also advertise your brand by word of mouth, helping you when you need it. But how do you turn ‘ordinary’ customers into loyal ones? Data and long-term relationships are key.

Customer data

The various systems your business uses will probably already contain a large amount of personal and purchase data. When planning to work on customer loyalty, it’s important to identify what data you don’t yet have at your disposal too. You can then compile any missing data as you proceed – geographic and demographic data, for instance, and purchase or visit frequency. You can then aggregate the data available to create a customer profile which you use to determine your communication strategy. How would you characterise a specific customer? And how and when would they like to be contacted (by email, by phone or through social media, and now or in a few months)? What message would be suitable for this customer? A targeted communication strategy is crucial when tackling customer loyalty.

Paying attention to customer loyalty

Try to divide your attention between potentially dissatisfied and satisfied customers. The satisfied group will often include loyal customers, and you don’t want to forget them You could, for example, give new and loyal customers a discount or a voucher every now and then. If customer service representatives and office sales account managers know how to divide the attention they pay to different customers properly, the loyal customer group will grow. The systems full of data in your business will help you identify who needs a little additional attention or deserves a little something extra. Creating loyal customers is an ongoing process. Continue to track and monitor your customers. Don’t forget to add any new information to the system. Monitor anything noteworthy and measure the success of any action you take relating to customer loyalty.

The basis for loyal customers

Knowing why a customer opts for or decides against your product or service is valuable to any customer service representative or office sales account manager. Aggregating your customer data to create profiles allows you to work on customer loyalty in a targeted way. And remember that customer loyalty is something you need to continue working on. Start with the data you have on your customers. The options for increasing loyalty based on that data are infinite! Want to know more about our services relating to customer loyalty? Check out our Services page.