Do you care more about getting new business or retaining existing customers? If you are every marketing professional I have ever consulted with, your answer is immediately and unequivocally – BOTH! But how can we, as marketers, attract and create loyal customers simultaneously?
Customer brand loyalty and brand referrals are at an all time low. Currently, 28 percent of consumers are loyal to their providers and brands, and only 31 percent are willing to recommend those providers and brands to others (Accenture).
What is their loyalty worth? A lot! A repeat customer spends 67 percent more than a new one (BIA/Kelsey).
One of the best ways to accomplish loyalty and engagement is by customizing your messaging based on where the person or company is in their customer journey with your company/brand. You wouldn’t walk up to your spouse and explain who you are and how you can benefit them, so why do we keep doing this in our professional relationships?
- Outline your customer journey
- Customize your messages
- Target your best-fit customers
- Measure customer engagement
Onboarding customers to drive loyalty
In a brand loyalty survey, 48 percent of consumers said that the most critical time to gain their loyalty is when they make their first purchase or begin service (ClickFox).
Take this time to get to know your new customers and teach them how to be your best customers! Customer onboarding is a great way to set expectations for what you want the relationship to be and how you want them to engage with you. Make them feel welcomed and valued, let them know how they can access customer service, give them the tools they need to be successful, and find out what channels they use to communicate.
- Welcome them to “the club”
- Show them around
- How often do they want to be contacted and how?
- Get connected through social channels
- Show them other products or drive awareness and adoption
- Now what?
Use engagement to create loyalty
Customers who are fully engaged represent 23 percent premium in terms of share of wallet, profitability, revenue, and relationship growth (Gallup).
Reaching out through as many avenues that are appropriate to your company at regular intervals will give customers the opportunity to engage with your brand.
Don’t forget to notice those in each stage that are not engaging with you, and target them for engagement.
By customizing the message to reflect the customer journey, taking the time to onboard, and using engagement to create loyalty, you will create raving loyal fans that will be more likely to make repeat purchases.
