How to inspire, measure, and improve customer loyalty

How can you build customer retention and loyalty for your business?

To succeed in business you need to have a great product or service, plus a group of loyal customers who will not only make regular purchases but also use word of mouth to promote your brand. But, how do you inspire, measure, and improve customer loyalty? By using tools to measure returning customers, adding incentives, and putting your products in front of them. Let’s take a closer look.

What is customer loyalty?

Think about a brand that you love, one that you will always go-to for a certain product or service. What does this company do that makes you want to keep going back?

Companies love loyal customers because they can help the business in a number of ways and be a good way of judging the popularity of a new product.

Loyal customers will not only see your brand as one they can trust, but they will also likely spend more money and return regularly. They are also most likely to talk and recommend your brand to others. Customer service including how you deal with returns is also an important factor.

Measuring customer loyalty

Because loyal customers can be so helpful to your business, you need to know how many there are, and set goals to attract more.

You may have seen other companies doing surveys of their customers. This can be a useful way to measure loyalty as well as uncover potential issues in retaining customers.

• Customer loyalty index (CLI) – The CLI survey uses a 6-point scale to ask customers how likely they are to recommend your brand or make another purchase in the future. These responses are then calculated into a score that is allocated to each point with number 1 being the most (100), and 6 being the least (0).
• Customer lifetime value (CLV) – CLV is a calculation that you can use to measure what the average customer generates in terms of revenue. By taking the annual revenue for each customer and multiplying it by the number of years they have used your brand, you can get the CLV figure.

Building customer loyalty

There are a number of things that you can do to increase the number of loyal customers you have, and make existing customers regular visitors.

• One way is to improve your customer service. Studies have shown that 60 to 70 percent of customers continue to do business with you if they have a positive customer service experience.
• Try to understand where your customer’s values are, and if your company shares them. This is by far the most common reason for brand loyalty.
• If you don’t already have one, consider a loyalty program

What inspires your customers?

A customer’s inspiration for becoming a loyal customer to your brand will differ from one customer to another. However, there are ways that you can find out the most common reason, by surveys or measuring responses to social media posts.

For some customers, it might be your recycling initiatives. For others, it may be your stance on fair trade. Whatever the reason may be, this is something you can promote and showcase for your brand. Making some loyal customers into brand ambassadors can also be a good way to find out what makes your customers keep returning. It will also boost your social media presence.

Conclusion

Building and maintaining your loyal customer base is all about knowing what they like and why they love your brand. If you can find the answers to these questions, you can begin to improve customer loyalty.