Learn how to build customer loyalty with these 7 actions

How to retain a customer to ensure better profitability for your business? And how to how to build customer loyalty?

While prospecting activities remain essential, your work should not stop there. There are many issues surrounding loyalty, and the benefits you will derive from maintaining a lasting customer base are well established.

But establishing a lasting bond between consumers and your brand requires putting in place a number of good practices, in order to differentiate yourself from ever more intense competition.

How can you build customer loyalty and thereby increase your turnover? Discover in this article all the techniques to apply, in order to achieve your growth objectives!

7 tips to follow for an effective customer loyalty strategy

Here are 7 tips to follow:

1. Think “quality” and “value proposition”

Pay attention to the quality of your offer

Remember that, thanks to the internet, consumers now have many ways to compare offers. Therefore, it is difficult to retain customers with a poor quality product or service.

So always offer a qualitative offer, which keeps its promises, so as not to cause disappointment.

Differentiate yourself from the competition

To identify your value proposition and distinguish yourself in a relevant way from your competitors, analyze their strengths as well as the evolution of your market.

☝️ This differentiation must be built in accordance with:

• your strengths (price, innovation, sense of service, etc.),
• the expectations and needs of your target audience.

Upgrade your offer

By constantly evolving your offer, you remain competitive with the competition. Remember that you are probably not alone in your market!

Moreover, when you improve your products or services following feedback from your customers (after-sales service, on the networks, in consumer reviews, etc.), you make sure you better reach your target. Your customers, on the other hand, feel valued because you listened to them.

☝️ This evolution must also follow that of the market. It may be a change in overall consumer behavior (increasing use of the mobile channel, for example) or the arrival of new technologies (for example, the development of AI).

Consistent and high-quality products/Services

Consistently deliver high-quality products or services that meet or exceed customer expectations. By consistently providing value and meeting their needs, you build trust and establish yourself as a reliable choice.

• Conducting quality control checks to ensure consistent product or service excellence.
• Offering product warranties or guarantees to provide assurance of quality.
• Providing regular updates and improvements based on customer feedback and market trends.

2. Take care of your client file and be transparent

Loyalty goes with customer experience, and customer experience with personalization.

It is therefore essential to have qualified information on your customers, in order to send them personalized messages and offers corresponding to their needs.

This is why we recommend that you take care of your customer file. You will get information about:

• their typology (study of or analysis or classification based on types or categories),
• their purchasing behavior
• their history with your business.

At the same time, you improve the quality of your products and services by detecting sources of satisfaction, but also of disappointment or frustration.

Transparency and trust

Be transparent and honest in your interactions with customers. Build trust by delivering on your promises, admitting mistakes when they occur, and taking proactive steps to resolve any issues. Trust is the foundation of strong customer loyalty.

• Communicating openly about any changes to pricing, policies, or product availability.
• Taking responsibility for mistakes and providing fair resolutions or compensations.
• Being transparent about the sourcing or manufacturing process of products to build trust and showcase ethical practices.

3. Offer personalized, responsive and proactive customer service

Even if everything is not based on customer service, it is essential that it demonstrates listening skills and relevance in the answers provided to consumer issues, but also responsiveness.

Whether it’s a complaint, technical assistance or a request for information, the speed of customer service is more strategic than you think. Well managed and integrated into your customer relations policy, it can have a very strong impact on your turnover.

Personalized Communication

Tailor your communication to each customer’s preferences and needs. Use customer data to send personalized offers, recommendations, and follow-ups. This demonstrates that you value their individuality and understand their specific requirements.

• Sending personalized birthday greetings with exclusive discounts or offers.
• Providing tailored product recommendations based on previous purchases or browsing history.
• Sending follow-up emails or surveys to gather feedback and show that their opinions matter.

4. Improve your customer experience

What is the difference between customer relationship and customer experience? A customer’s experience is based on their overall feeling about your brand.

As a result, a positive customer experience:

• marks the mind of the consumer over the long term,
• strongly contributes to the establishment of a lasting bond (where the customer relationship
• provides answers in the short term).

A few ways to improve your customer experience:

• 👍 Personalization: thanks to the qualification of your customer database, you have all the information you need to send the right offer to the right customer, at the right time. In this way, you respond to its real problems.
  But personalization must also intervene in the way you communicate. Calling a customer by his first name in the newsletters you send him, for example, always hits the mark!
• 👍 Consideration: make your customers feel considered by your brand, thanked for their loyalty. Examples of actions in this direction:
  • send a thank you email following a purchase;
  • gratify the loyal customer with a reward signifying his privileged status (loyalty program with gift, vouchers, exclusives, VIP pass, etc.);
  • seek their opinion on your products and services;
  • surprise him (bonus, gift, etc.), because the surprise makes an impression and reminds you of him in a pleasant way, etc.
• 👍 Simplicity and fluidity: the entire customer experience with your business should be fluid. In particular, this involves working to improve the user experience.

5. Set up a loyalty program

Establishing a loyalty program means benefiting from a win-win system between:

the company: it obtains additional data on the customer. At the same time, it ensures that he will buy again, motivated by obtaining the rewards promised by the program;
and the customer: he feels privileged and benefits from concrete advantages (VIP club, discounts, gifts, etc.).

💡 Some prerequisites for a good loyalty program:

• simplicity: complicated formulas such as “1 point offered for every 50 euros spent” are to be avoided. On the other hand, gamification is appreciated thanks to the playful aspect.
• originality: once is not custom, make the difference with your competitors… since a consumer can have in his possession more than twenty loyalty cards!
• value creation: Amazon, for example, offers a premium loyalty program with Amazon Prime. Despite a paid subscription, this service manages to build loyalty by creating value through an ever more diversified offer that meets the aspirations of its target.

Reward programs

Implement loyalty programs that offer incentives for repeat purchases and customer referrals. Provide exclusive discounts, rewards, or VIP perks to show appreciation for their loyalty. This encourages customers to continue doing business with you.

• Implementing a points-based system where customers earn rewards for every purchase.
• Offering tiered membership levels with increasing benefits based on customer loyalty.
• Providing referral bonuses or discounts for customers who refer new customers to your business.

6. Let your customers speak for you and build relationship

• The link that binds the customer to your brand,
• the sense of belonging to a community,
• the possibility for the customer to express themselves about you,
• are all assets for your brand!

Be visible on social networks

With good social media management, you create engagement around your brand.

To federate your community, highlight its values in order to generate strong support, affecting more the personal sphere than the customer-brand relationship.

Build loyalty through the community

The ultimate success of your loyalty actions is to make your customers ambassadors who will convey a positive brand image. You can develop special offers for your community on the networks, create a loyalty program through sponsorship or via a premium service, etc.

Relationship building

Focus on building long-term relationships with your customers. Stay in touch even when they are not actively making purchases. Keep them informed about new offerings, updates, or relevant industry information. Nurture the relationship beyond transactional interactions.

• Sending regular newsletters or email updates with valuable content, industry insights, or special offers.
• Hosting customer appreciation events or workshops to foster face-to-face connections.
• Offering loyalty program members early access to sales or exclusive promotions.

Surprise and delight

Occasionally go above and beyond to surprise and delight your customers. This could involve sending unexpected gifts, personalized notes, or offering exclusive experiences. These small gestures leave a lasting impression and make customers feel appreciated.

• Including a handwritten thank-you note or small gift with each customer’s order.
• Offering exclusive access to pre-launch or limited-edition products or services.
• Sending personalized holiday or anniversary cards to express gratitude and show appreciation.

7. Measure the results of your loyalty actions

By monitoring your results and analyzing your business performance indicators, you adjust your priorities to improve the retention rate.

Examples of KPIs:

• date of first purchase,
• purchase frequency,
• average basket value,
• customer Lifetime Value, etc.

💡 We also recommend that you assess customer satisfaction by relying on the feedback provided by the customers themselves, through their testimonials, their opinions or even a satisfaction questionnaire. If this feedback is positive, work on and reinforce the strengths identified. If they are negative, you have a basis to improve your offer.

Continuous Improvement

Regularly seek feedback from your customers and use it to improve your products, services, and overall customer experience. Demonstrating that you value their input and are committed to making their experience better builds trust and loyalty.

• Implementing a customer feedback system and actively seeking input through surveys or feedback forms.
• Using customer feedback to identify areas for improvement and implementing necessary changes.
• Regularly updating customers about product enhancements or new features based on their suggestions.

Photo credit: geralt via Pixabay

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