The basic foundation of building customer loyalty

There’s no need to explain how important customer loyalty is to your business. You already know that. More than likely, you’re struggling with how to retain customer loyalty. We are here to help.

Customer Loyalty = Customer Service
What is the simplest way to foster loyalty? It’s great customer service. From word-of-mouth to loyalty reward programs, it is amazing customer service that brings repeat business. Training your employees to have superior service skills is the first pillar of loyalty success.

Simply think about the very best service you’ve witnessed as a customer. Is it the stellar smile a Kroger baker greets you with? The confidence you have in your favorite department store clerk who always knows where to find your size? The very same reasons you gravitate towards one grocer over another is what attracts your customers. The first step is to find out if your staff is providing stellar service. One proven way to determine what level of service your staff is giving is to utilize a secret shopper program.

Customer Loyalty = Step Up The Game
Think of the small town corner store whose clerk knows all the customers by name and maintains their favorite items in stock. That is a basic loyalty program. Think of a customer or client you know who always purchases the same item every month. They’ve been a customer so long you always give them free shipping. That’s a basic loyalty program.

Our associate, Terry Vavra, co-author of “Loyalty Myths”, provides USAA as an example of effectively using large-scale customer databases with loyalty programs:

“The system of the different USAA companies are integrated and designed so that they anticipate customer needs that USAA can help satisfy. For example, when a customer calls about purchasing an automobile, a USAA representative can arrange the financing, arrange the insurance, set up a bank account to automatically deduct car and insurance payment and even order the infant car seat.”

Think about the scope of services USAA provides their loyal customers. It offers a one-stop, no-hassle, take-care-of-every-need approach. Let’s go back to the baker with a great smile who now is trained to genuinely be interested in what and why a customer makes a purchase. He now offers additional advice on products or services that complement the customer’s current purchase. For example, a sheet cake for a promotion party. The baker now walks the customer down to the deli and suggests a great appetizer for the event or recommends a specific brand of disposable cutlery. This is building customer loyalty through superior customer service. It’s cross-selling, up-selling, and building rapport all through the basic skill of “service.”