Whether you’ve had a small business for years or created a start-up recently, you might’ve heard the words ‘customer loyalty’ getting thrown around.
Why Small Businesses Should Be Using Loyalty Programmes
Finding new customers and keeping them faithful to your business is a great way to boost profit and increase the chance of repeat customers. If you’ve started a business in lockdown, you might’ve found it hard to grab your customer’s attention. So, new ways to boost your business are always welcome.
There are easy steps you can take to increase repeat custom, especially for eCommerce businesses. Enhancing your consumer experience is sure to get your customer wanting more and, building a customer loyalty program is the perfect place to start.
So, why should small businesses be using loyalty programs and, how can you achieve this?
Brand vs Customer loyalty
Firstly, it’s important to establish the difference between customer and brand loyalty. Customer loyalty measures how likely a customer is to repeatedly buy a product from your brand. For example, if your customer comes in every Tuesday for a latte – they are a loyal customer. Customer loyalty suggests that the people using your business are satisfied and willing to come back.
Brand loyalty, on the other hand, is a measure of a customer’s trust in your brand. An example of brand loyalty is a customer buying a new product from your company that they’ve not yet tried instead of buying from a competitor.
How to increase brand loyalty
Here are ways on how to increase brand loyalty among your customers.
Reward customer loyalty
If you have an established client base, think about rewarding them for their loyalty. Consider a tailored loyalty program to ensure you give your loyal customers the attention they deserve.
Focus on customer service
Seamless customer service will increase the chance of customer and brand loyalty. For eCommerce stores, creating a smooth customer journey will increase the likelihood of a sale and your customer returning for future purchases.
Collect feedback
If your customers have given positive feedback – use it to your advantage. Encourage your loyal customers to leave a review of their thoughts, feelings, and opinions. Good or bad, feedback is immensely valuable. You can boast the positive and learn from the bad. Therefore, helping grow your business.
Display proof
Don’t be afraid to publish your positive feedback. Word of mouth is important when encouraging new customs. If potential customers can see the positive feedback you’ve received from established customers, they will be more likely to trust your business and use your services.
