Brand loyalty refers to the sense of customer loyalty towards your brand and trademark. Brand loyalty is generated in various ways, which we will cover in the article below. Retaining loyal customers has a significant impact on your brand reputation and increases customer satisfaction.
The importance of focusing on retaining customers throughout the sales process and building brand loyalty is often overlooked. However, consider this: 60% of customers talk to their friends and family about companies they are loyal to, which means free advertising for you.
According to Nielsen, 83% of consumers trust the recommendations of their friends and family regarding products and brands more than advertising and other advertising sources. The same percentage of consumers (83%) say they act on these recommendations at least some of the time.
The importance of brand loyalty is clear. The real question is: how do you build brand loyalty among your customers? Below, we will cover the most important guidelines and best practices for doing so.
Best Practices for Building and Maintaining Brand Loyalty
Companies build brand loyalty using various tactics. This includes offering a differentiated product, devoting more time to the needs of each customer, treating customers as business partners rather than a source of income, and so on. The list goes on.
Here are some important best practices you can implement to build brand loyalty:
World-Class Customer Experience
Customer experience is an increasingly important element in building brand loyalty. Walker Information predicts that in less than two years (by 2020), customer experience will be more important than product and price as the primary factor in purchasing decisions.
How do we define customer experience? It encompasses every interaction you have with your customers. These interactions include everything from customer support calls, sales calls, and how your product serves your customers, to the amount of time you dedicate to their needs, and the frequency of emails you send them.
When customers feel valued and you actively seek their feedback and make changes to improve their experience, they begin to feel loyal to your brand. Ask yourself what makes you trust a company as a provider of a particular product or service? Then apply the same level of attention to your customers.
View customers as partners in mutually beneficial relationships and involve them in the decision-making process regarding product development and other changes in your company. Take the time to listen to them and value them. Your brand loyalty will grow rapidly.
Providing Superior Customer Service
When your customers need to resolve an issue with your product, it is essential that they can easily and quickly reach you. If customers have to wait days for a response to an online ticket and support request, they will become frustrated and disappointed.
On the other hand, if you resolve their issues on the first call and don't keep them waiting for a response, they will feel valued. This helps your brand build its reputation as a customer-centric company that truly values customer satisfaction.
In fact, the speed of resolving customer support issues has a significant impact on brand loyalty. Forrester reports that 77% of customers claim that valuing customer time is the most important factor in a business's success in providing superior customer service.
A key tactic that is particularly effective in quickly resolving customer issues is the use of dedicated support groups. These groups are support personnel who specialize in a particular product or service, and the customer has the assurance that they will always receive the best support.
Stay in Constant Contact with Customers
If you want your customers to feel like partners, it's best to keep them informed of all the new changes and updates to the company. You can do this by sending a monthly or quarterly newsletter. Include product updates, management changes, newly produced content, etc.
Another important tactic is to reach out to each customer regularly. Directly check in with them. It's best to upgrade your services to them. Listen to their feedback and act on common themes that emerge from these conversations.
These quarterly calls will take a maximum of five minutes, but the brand and customer loyalty you generate will be worth more than the cost.
Ask for Customer Feedback and Opinions
Try to make the customer feel like they are part of your company's future vision. Send customer satisfaction surveys (at least annually) and collect their responses, and report back to them which responses are most common.
Then actively try to make changes based on their feedback to show them that their opinions and input matter.
Communicate these changes to customers via separate emails or include them in your newsletter. When customers see that you are making changes, they feel brand loyalty and become a reliable source of income.
Attracting New Customers
The absolute best time to build brand loyalty is when you acquire a new customer. First impressions are important, and the image you create in the minds of your new customers paves the way for continued interaction with them.
Don't abandon a new customer after a purchase. Instead, create a strong plan for connecting with them and educating them on how to use your product, providing best practices for using your product, and allowing them to ask questions about product usage.
If you successfully start connecting with your customers from day one, they will start feeling brand loyalty from the outset. Plus, if they become proficient in using your product, this connection will last longer because your product meets all their needs.
Conclusion
Here's a key takeaway: Brand loyalty depends 100% on customer experience and satisfaction.
All the practices mentioned help increase customer satisfaction and provide a better customer experience.
So, in short, building brand loyalty is all about understanding your customers and embracing their needs at all times.
As you cultivate loyal customers, they will share their experiences on social media and become advocates for your brand, one of the strongest forces driving company growth and revenue.
