Your customers are the foundation of your company and the reason you’re still in business. Without them, you won’t have anyone to sell to and use your products or services. So customer loyalty and retention should be a key part of your business focus, and this means also showing your customers you appreciate them.
Customer loyalty and retention: ways to show your appreciation
It’s essential that as a business owner you find ways to show your customers you appreciate them. The rewards and benefits that will come from doing so will be well worth your time and energy in the end.
They should remain a top priority no matter how busy you get or how successful you become. You’ll find that they choose you over your competitors time and time again when you show them appreciation and respect.
Host free events
One way to show your customers you appreciate them is to give them VIP treatment that they aren’t expecting. Consider hosting free events that they can take advantage of while saving their money.
For example, you can host webinars or in-person happy hours and dinners to let them know you value their business and commitment to your company.
Networking and mingling with them at customer appreciation events is an excellent way to get to know them on a more personal level and deeper basis as well. You can pick their brains about what products or services they love and the reasons why. You can also gather insights about what they want to see from you in the future.
Send thank you cards
You can show your customers you appreciate them by communicating it to them and telling them. Remind yourself that you can never thank them enough.
Therefore, think about making it a habit to send out thank you, birthday, and holiday cards or emails to let them know you’re thinking about them. Stock up on paper and envelopes so you never have an excuse for not sending out thank you cards and notes.
If you’re in a hurry or want to send a personalized message quickly then you can always think about using email. However, mailings are still considered an ideal communication method for showing customers you appreciate them.
Ask for feedback
Your customers ultimately want to be heard and know that you’re listening. Therefore, be proactive and ask for feedback. Gather input about how you’re performing as a business and company in their eyes and what you can be doing better.
Be prepared to not only listen and take notes but to take action based on their comments and responses. Use it as a learning opportunity and a customer loyalty and retention tool instead of taking the feedback you receive personally.
Surprise & delight
Your customers love a good surprise or when they can save money through special sales and discounts. You can also surprise customers by offering free samples or products when they come into your store to shop. Get to know people by name so you can surprise and delight them with your careful attention to detail.
Always be thinking bigger and better and be one step ahead so you’re not only meeting expectations but exceeding them. Deliver on your promise every time and be quick to respond to and fix customer issues.
See complaints as an opportunity
You can also use the complaints process for customer loyalty and retention. A complaint does not have to mean the end of the customer relationship, even if many companies automatically write off a customer after a return and do not see a chance of a new order. However, this is a serious mistake: The customer may no longer have a need for the ordered product or perhaps he has simply returned the item for other reasons that have nothing to do with the satisfaction of the order.
A complaint can represent an opportunity and should not be understood as defeat.
Business owners should note the following: The customer must be able to reach customer service quickly and easily when returning. The easiest way to ensure this is to provide various communication channels such as telephone, e-mail, contact forms or social media.
Companies must also ensure that the return is processed quickly and easily. If the customer has to follow his money first, the chance of a new order decreases rapidly.
If the return succeeds quickly and without problems, the customer will be satisfied with the dealer and keep him in positive memory.
In addition, return reasons and the like should be analyzed regularly. This allows problems in the purchase process to be detected and optimized, which can further improve customer service. A complaint is therefore actually an opportunity for the company, which can significantly optimize its processes as a result.
Conclusion
Attracting new customers is costly and time-consuming, it is significantly cheaper and easier to strengthen customer loyalty and retention with existing customers for the company in the long term and motivate them to place further orders.
Although customer loyalty and retention is a decisive factor for long-term success, many online retailers have not yet internalized the value of this component. But increasing customer satisfaction could be so easy.
