It can be so hard to attract new clients to buy your services. We can spend a large amount of time chasing after new business, but what about people who are already your customers? These people like and trust you, but they are often the customers we neglect. Below are our top three ways to build customer loyalty so that your clients will want to keep buying from you.
1. Be personal
Competition is tough. According to Parliament.uk, there were 5.4 million private sector businesses in Britain in 2015, which is 146,000 more than in 2014. Stand out from the crowd by giving customers a personal touch. You could send them a birthday card, for example, or perhaps a card or gift at Christmas with a personal message. Forget generic cards; get creative with something that represents your brand so that it stands out and gives your customers the “wow” factor.
2. Speak to your customers
According to The Guardian, email newsletters boomed in 2015. People like to read things that are relevant to them. You can engage with your customers daily, weekly or monthly. Let them know what you are currently offering and shout about your great products or services. This is probably the most powerful means of keeping people with you, but it takes the biggest amount of time, particularly if you have different customers for different services or memberships and lack a good system to support it.
One way to ensure this happens seamlessly without you having to do the work is by engaging in one of the many membership management systems like http://www.ofec.co.uk/membership-management-system-portfolio.aspx. These systems mean you can move away from complicated Excel spreadsheets to a streamlined, efficient database where you can easily send newsletters with a click of a button, rather than letting it become an arduous task.
3. Reward your customers
Customers like to feel that their loyalty is valued, and they love a good deal. A great way to do this is by offering incentives to those who shop with you regularly with a loyalty card. If this isn’t up your street, try offering something to your loyal customers that is unique to them. For example, let them know about an event you are holding and allow them to book it before it is opened to the general public.