3 Customer Loyalty Plans that Actually Work

Customer loyalty is a tricky thing to come by. In fact, one study showed that nearly 80 percent of consumers would jump ship within a week of a single negative customer service experience. This obviously makes customer service important, but gaining loyalty requires much more. Fortunately, business owners can use the following customer loyalty tips to hang onto their best clients.

1. Create a Customer Loyalty Program

One of the quickest and most utilized methods of garnering customer loyalty is through a simple loyalty program. These once were nothing more than “We’ll punch your card for each purchase, and on the 10th purchase, you get something free.” They’ve evolved greatly since that point.

Now local business owners can get clients to sign up for loyalty programs through their email, apps and a variety of other methods. Come up with a way to incentivize customers to be loyal, and they’ll remain loyal.

2. Strive to Fix Every Perceived Misstep

While touching base with every upset customer may seem like a tedious task, it’s important to remember that many national franchises do just that through their social media channels. Whether someone takes to Yelp, Facebook or calls in with a complaint, budding entrepreneurs should do everything in their power to make things right. If customers know a manager will go the extra mile to keep their business, they’ll understand how important they really are.

3. Get Personal

Consumers don’t want to feel like just another cog in the machine. They want to feel that a company looks at them like real people – not just profits. When someone takes the time to comment on Facebook, have a marketing manager reply. If someone leaves a positive review online, the business owner should take the time to reply. Get personal with clients, and they’ll feel like they’ve found a home.

Fostering customer loyalty is never going to be an easy job, but it’s certainly one worth engaging in. The best marketing tactics in the world mean nothing without customer loyalty, so it’s something that every business owner should focus on.