How to Retain Customers and Increase Brand Loyalty

When considering how to retain customers and increase brand loyalty for your business, there are a few tips and tricks you can implement that will not only encourage your customers to come back time and time again, but will even have them attracting new customers to your business through word-of-mouth.

Given that 80% of any given company’s future profits will come from just 20% of their existing customers, one of the biggest questions that business owners face is, “how can I increase customer retention?”

Below we cover what you should be doing when considering customer retention strategies and how to increase customer loyalty for your business.

Do: Celebrate milestones for your customer

A sure-fire way to make your customers feel valued and encourage them to become recurring customers is to assign milestones in their relationship with your business, and reward these milestones.

A great example of a business recognising and rewarding a customer milestone could be, “This is your ninth meal with us – enjoy your tenth meal free!” or “You’ve been shopping with us for a year as of today, so enjoy 20% off your next purchase!”.

Not only does this demonstrate that you value and appreciate their support for your business, but it also encourages further visitation. This pattern is vital when considering how to increase customer retention.

Do: Engage with your customers and build a customer community

When thinking about your customer retention strategies, it’s important to build a thriving customer community around your business and to make sure this community has a strong online presence.

This could be as simple as sending an automated welcome email when someone signs up for your newsletter or for customer loyalty program. Considering that welcome emails generate 320% more revenue per email than any other promotional email, it’s worth taking the time to thank your customer for signing up.

Figure out which social media channels are most relevant to your target audience, whether it be Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, LinkedIn, or something else, and adopt various methods for encouraging your customers to connect with your business on these platforms and help your social media presence.

An example of an engaging social media post could be, “Share your experience with us on our Facebook page” or “Tell us your favourite cake on our menu and get a free coffee next time you come in to enjoy one!”. Here are some more examples of engaging Facebook posts.

These types of social media posts encourage customers to engage with your social media pages, making them feel included and valued. They are also provided with an incentive to visit your business again (especially if there’s free coffee or cake on offer!). You could also use this as a way to onboard them to your customer rewards program, if you have one.

Offering “limited time” promotions to existing customers is another great tool when you’re considering how to increase customer loyalty for your business.

A time-sensitive promotion raises your customer conversion rates by creating urgency, while the fact that they are receiving special offers encourages them to keep spending.

Do: Welcome feedback (both good and bad)

The more transparent a business is, the quicker a potential customer is likely to build trust for it. In this day and age, more than 90% of customers judge a local business based on online reviews, therefore it’s important to show appreciation for your customers’ positive reviews and address the negative reviews.

Show your loyal customers that you value their feedback by offering them the opportunity to rate your products, customer service and other aspects of your business and offer them the opportunity to make suggestions for improvements, so they feel valued and heard.

Perhaps you could incentivise it by offering a free coffee or 10% off their next purchase when they provide honest feedback on their experience.

Not only does this help to develop and improve trust among your customers, but it also helps you work out the kinks in your business and remedy the issues that are affecting your customers’ experience. A positive and productive process for all!

Do: Implement a Customer Loyalty Program

First of all, let’s start by answering the question: What is a Customer Loyalty Program?

A customer loyalty program is designed to increase repeat business by offering special rewards, discounts or offers exclusively to participating customers (i.e. loyalty program members).

These incentives encourage the customer to return frequently, hence are one of the best ways to increase customer retention.

Customer loyalty programs are beneficial for both the customer (who gets rewarded) and the business (who gets repeat business).

There are a range of ways you can implement a customer rewards program. Read more about the benefits of customer loyalty programs here.