9 Tips to Build a Long-Lasting Customer Base
As customers continue to evolve, brands should also keep up the pace and continuously change their processes to cater to these changes. Last year, there were several customer loyalty trends that suddenly became focuses for many global brands. With that in mind, keeping one’s finger on the market’s pulse and constantly innovating processes has become crucial to any brand’s survival.
But why is it so important that a company strives to enhance its procedures and its brand? This is because stats have shown that repeat customers are easier and cheaper to keep. Of course, this is in comparison to the amount of money spent on marketing to get new clients. Research has also proven that loyal customers usually have more expensive transactions and are more likely to share a referral link to your company with family and friends. Now, that’s a benefit that can create waves for your company.
In this article, we talk about our seven best tips to help you build the foundation for a loyal customer base. Keep reading to learn more about our tips!
Prioritize Customer Experience
The first step to making a lasting consumer base is to prioritize their experience with your company. If you have a physical shop, you know how critical it is to ensure that your customer feels guided without being overbearing on their purchase. It also means taking extra care in curating a space for your customers that exudes your brand’s values and aesthetic.
But, if you don’t have a brick-and-mortar store, you need to double down on creating a seamless checkout process for your consumers online. This means you’ll need to have a holistic approach to your digital presence to give your customers a better experience with your brand. One way for you to do this is by crafting a website that gives your clients all the information they need right off the bat.
For example, if you’re selling garments on your website, you’ll want to include the garment’s fabric details, return policies, and reviews on the page. That way your consumers have all the information they need before they even add the item to their cart.
Make Navigation Easy
Now that you’re prioritizing your customer’s experience, you’ll want to make sure that your website can easily be navigated by your clients. This means properly categorizing web pages, tagging blogs for searchability, and ensuring that the website mirrors your brand’s guidelines.
Because your website is a company asset, you’ll want to make sure that it looks the part. So, you’ll want to take a more design-forward strategy for your digital marketing resources by doing the following:
- Creating a website that matches your brand’s colorway.
- Aligning the copywriting with your brand’s voice and tone.
- Uploading high-resolution images of your logo and products.
- Updating your website to reflect all your offerings and rewards.
Be Transparent with Data Collection
We’ve all seen it as soon as we enter a website, the popup that asks us to accept or reject cookies. This may seem like a hindrance for most, but it’s actually a crucial part of data privacy.
Being transparent with your data collection practices from your home page to your checkout page will help your customer base understand what data is being collected from them, why it’s being gathered, who is handling this information, and where it will be stored.
Of course, this also means that you should constantly update your security systems to protect your customers’ trust and prevent data breaches from happening.
Offer Discounts
Personalized discounts and other incentives are a great way to show customers new and old that you value their patronage. Whether it’s a discount for first-time buyers or a special discount voucher for a customer’s birthday, giving clients a slash off your product’s usual price is an excellent marketing tip that can guarantee loyal customers.
Additionally, it doesn’t have to end at the instances we’ve mentioned above. Taking note of holidays across the country and leveraging payday sales is also an excellent way to show your customers that you care.
Make a Rewards Program
Another sure plan you can set in motion to have a lasting customer base is to reward them. Increasing retention rates through a customer loyalty program is a surefire way to keep customers purchasing your products and services.
Here are some tried and tested customer loyalty programs you can try:
- Cash back program
- Points system
- Tiered loyalty system
- Mission-driven programs
- Subscription system
- Referral programs
These are just some of the customer retention methods that brands across the globe have used for their operations. You can pick and choose systems that work for your company’s values while rewarding your loyal customers. Here’re some more insights on instilling customer loyalty with eWallets.
Constantly Communicate
Research has shown that 76% of consumers will choose a brand over its competitors if they feel connected to it. This just goes to show how important it is to personalize your company’s interactions with every customer at every touchpoint whether it’s at your physical store, on social media, or on your website.
Customer service can make or break your loyal following, especially if they feel like they aren’t being listened to. Encourage your personnel to get ahead of concerns by asking for customer feedback and empower your staff to address complaints immediately.
Provide customers with tech-enabled solutions
Focus on technology and social media has become a major aspect of our lives. With the increasing usage of smartphones and the internet, people are constantly connected to the virtual world. Using different social media collaboration tools can help keep this communication going smoothly and effectively. Social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram have become an integral part of our daily routine. Technology has made it easier for people to create clip and share their thoughts, experiences, and memories with others. With just a few clicks, one can create a short explainer video and share it with their friends and followers, reaching a large audience in no time. Whether it’s for personal or professional purposes, technology and social media have made it possible to create and share clips with ease, making it an essential aspect of our lives.
Implement Changes According to Feedback
Listening to your customers and addressing their feedback and complaints is only one part of the process. The next step is to implement changes according to what your clients have told you.
So, if for example, your consumers have expressed that navigating your online store is difficult, you can start to look into their feedback and see if it’s feasible for you to implement the changes they desire. Or, if you are a SaaS business and your customers want you to create more informative content, you can start a blog and write articles that educate them about your products. By creating valuable content, you not only win your customers’ loyalty but also gain opportunities for SaaS link building, where other websites may link to your content, further enhancing your online visibility and credibility with content modeling. Of course, if it’s not possible to fix all the customers’ concerns immediately, make sure to stay in touch and give them updates when you can finally address their sentiments.
Putting Your Customers’ Needs First
We’ve mentioned above what are some of the best steps you can take to build a long-lasting customer base for your brand. Relationships are built on trust and we all know that this means, you’ll need to continuously improve your processes, reward your clients, and safeguard their information. Of the three we’ve mentioned, keeping your client’s data safe can make or break your service, especially with all the fraudulent activities that are happening on the internet.
Providing your consumers with a safe and easy checkout process by partnering with a secure payment channel is one way to safeguard their details. Here at Wallet Factory, we pride ourselves on having created an encrypted system that can give you and your customers’ peace of mind when executing transactions. In addition to that, we can also provide you with a rewards platform to use for your client’s benefit.
Wallet Factory can help you build a loyal following through our dynamic software. Contact us today and see how we can help your company grow.