Some people believe running a business is all about attracting new customers. Although expanding your customer base is important, you can’t ignore your existing customers. Studies have shown that repeat customers spend 67 per cent more than new customers, meaning that you should constantly look to win over people who buy from you and encourage them to come back. But how exactly do you build a loyal customer base? Listed below are five essentials you need to have if you want to succeed in it.
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Strong social media presence
At the moment, there are more than 3 billion active social media users and the number is only expected to increase in the future. This means most of your customers are on social media and platforms such as Instagram, Facebook and Twitter have become a perfect place to communicate with them. Just by having pages on all platforms your customers use and posting regularly will remind them that you’re there. Not only this, but you can use posts about your business or industry to start conversations with them and ask for their opinions on the subject discussed. This shows that you care about what they have to say and makes your followers more likely to choose you over your competitors. Start by designing cool visuals for your social media presence and coming up with interesting content ideas.
Customer loyalty program
Is there a better way to build a loyal customer base than to start a customer loyalty program? We’ve all seen businesses employ this tactic and to say it works is an understatement. It’s just that people love receiving discounts and getting stuff for free. All you need to do is come up with a point system that rewards customers who reach certain milestones. As long as there’s a point system that’s easy to grasp, you can expect your existing customers to keep coming back just so that they could have a chance of getting a reward. Explain how the whole thing works on your website and remind customers that they can join by sending a personalized email.
Trustworthiness and credibility
If you want to build a base of loyal customers, getting them to trust you is a must. Although some businesses never miss out on an opportunity to brag about their achievements, your safest bet is to offer quality products and let the customers do the rest. According to reports, consumers trust online reviews more than they trust friend recommendations. With that said, all you have to do is encourage customers to write reviews about your business and your trustworthiness and credibility will increase. If you can have experts review and rate it, even better. And in case you need some extra convincing, take a look at this example of casino reviews and how it helped online casinos establish themselves as some of the best in the entire sector.
Great customer service
Customer service is one of the most overlooked aspects of running a business. No matter what you sell, there are always customers who need help or some additional information and it’s your job to provide it. If you’re still not convinced, just think about this – 51 per cent of customers say they ended a relationship with a business because they were offered poor customer service. They remember when they’re treated with respect and they remember when they’re treated poorly. In either case, they’ll talk about it and if you offer great customer service, it can lead to more business for you. Build your customer service team and make sure they’re polite even when they feel the customer is wrong.
Different payment plans
Some businesses are very seasonal and if this is the case with your company, offering different payment plans can be an amazing idea. Seasonal businesses often end up having cash flow problems and this strategy can help you deal with it and give your customers a reason to stick around as well. For instance, you can allow your customers to pay a little throughout the months before the season starts. This works because people prefer manageable monthly payments over splashing the case at once and brings you some extra cash in the otherwise slow time of the year. Customers are often so happy about this type of payment that they often end up referring the business to their friends and family.
Final thoughts
There’s no chance your business could service without customers. Do everything that’s in your power to ensure existing customers stick around and your company will do well. Start by checking if you have all the essentials covered in this post and work on improving your approach even more. Keep track of everything you do and use the data you collect to figure out what you should focus on the most.
