The number of customers that a business has can determine if the company is good or not. But there is a more precise way of doing it. It is is by evaluating your long-term customers. Generally speaking, these are customers that have been with transacting with your business for an extended period. In other words, these are your loyal customers.
80% of them are clients that have been returning. 80% of those people purchase your product in a long period. Having a large number of customers is significant, but that would reflect on your actual marketing. Your customer retention can determine how good the business is.
According to statistics, a business 50% of start-up businesses fail during the first year. This means that half of the new entrepreneurs fail in their first year. Then 70% will fail in the next five years, and then 90% will fail in the next ten years. Having a great start is a good indication, but it does not mean that it will surely last a long period.
Long-term customers are what keeps a business for a long time. This could determine whether you will fail within the next few years or continue to grow. But how can we keep our customers and retain them as long-term clients?
Here are some of the tips you could use to make your customers come back and be loyal to your brand.
Strategies to Keep Long-Term Customers
Establish a good connection with them
If you have a good relationship with customers, then they are most likely to come back. This could be done by engaging with them. Customer’s reason for purchasing your products is more than your business itself but the connection it has with them. They generally return because they have a relationship with your brand, which can be established if you can engage with your customers.
We now have a ton of digital marketing tools you can use to connect with them. You can use a website, email marketing, and even your social media profiles to be able to engage with them. Establish a good connection with the customers and make them connect with your product or service.
Engaging with customers in a personalized is the best way, but it could be hard and very much time-consuming. But nowadays, different applications can implement processes you can use to connect with customers in a personalized way. With the right process and tools, you can create this way of engagement.
Analyze the customer’s connection with your brand
For you to get an understanding of how your customers relate to your brand, you will need all of the information you can get. It is usual for a business to study their customers to have a better understanding of how they should go on with their customer relationship aspects.
Business uses different analytics tools to help them get a better view of this data. This is very helpful in gauging how well you do with your customers and how well they respond to your business. These are precious data for you to keep track of your clients to turn them into regular customers.
The goal is to make long-term clients, and understanding their relationship with your brand will allow you to improve on things that you need to. This can also help you improve or upgrade the things that they like to keep your customers interested and satisfied.
Let them interact with your business
Customers will always be delighted if they can experience first hand how the business and products work. If a customer can meet the team behind the business and get to know the people that run the company, they are more likely to be interested. This will make them feel that they are somewhat connected. It is much better than just buying and then leaving the store.
Create opportunities for your customers to know and interact with your business. This could also be an excellent avenue for marketing your business at the same time. You can achieve more whenever you are giving the customers a chance to have a connection with the company.
You can give an announcement or an invite, and then follow up with them afterwards. Providing this kind of experience to your customers will most likely turn them into long-term clients, which is the goal.
Another benefit is that you can get information from your customers — essential data in every business.
Provide Value to Your Customers
The customers will know a business by the value or the quality they provide. Giving importance to your product or service means giving value not only to your customers but to your business as well. A customer will always turn to a product or service that will add value to themselves. This is one good strategy to develop loyalty from your customers.
Keep in mind that there will always be competition, but it will all come down to what value you give to them. Customers will always try to get the most value possible. Use this to your advantage in order to get them to return.
It may cost more from you but treat this as an investment. This will, in turn, help you gain long-term customers. As long as they get the value they want, they will keep buying from you.
Some businesses failed because they don’t want to spend more. They cut out parts and results in a lower quality. In turn, they paid more and failed their businesses. Investing in the value you give is always beneficial.
Show your appreciation
Of course, everyone does not want to be left out and wanted to feel valued. This is also true for your customers. Your customers want to be valued and by the business in which they transact with. It is true that as your business grows, it would be harder to keep in touch with every customer. This is an advantage that small businesses have over big corporations.
But it does not always have to be direct contact. Many businesses send thank you notes and other freebies as a way to show their gratitude. The way they do it is that they pick their top customers and gives more appreciation to them compared to others. Customers will stay and will buy more for a business that offers them appreciation.
This also has a connection to the relationship between your business and the customers. This is the reason why some company has VIP programs or give credit and prizes to their most loyal customers. This is a good marketing strategy to show others that if they choose their business, they will be valued by the company.
Respond to customer feedback
All businesses will have problems, and customers will always react to it. Even your most loyal customer can sometimes have these problems. The only thing you have to do as a business owner is to listen and respond. It is essential to know what your customer thinks, and these concerns and feedback is an excellent avenue for it.
If your customer needs help regarding your business, they expect you to help them. A friendly and attentive approach to a customer is fundamental in this aspect. It may be a big or small issue, but the way you respond should always be the same. Of course, there are times where you give more importance to a concern raised by a long-term client rather than a new one. This is not saying you will leave out the problem of the new customer but rather give priority to the concerns by long-term clients.
Always make sure that you are on top of these concerns. Customers would still want to be heard and know that you are doing something about their problems.