If you’re one of the 30.7 million small businesses in the US, you know the importance of making your brand stand out. One of the main reasons that this is important is establishing repeating customers. After all, building brand loyalty among your base is a surefire way to grow your business!
But how can you inspire people to return to your business after using your services? That’s what we’re going to talk about here today. Read on to learn some of the best customer retention strategies that budding businesses can employ easily!
1. Make Your Brand Memorable
The first step toward getting repeat customers is to make your brand memorable. After all, if people don’t remember you, they aren’t going to come back to your business!
There are a few ways that you can make this happen. First, create a logo that’s eye-catching and interesting. People will think of you whenever they see your logo or images similar to it and they’ll remember the great experience that they had with your business. To get the most out of your branding strategies, you may want to consider giving pens with your logo on them to those who use your services or raffling off t-shirts to your consumers.
Additionally, your brand will need to be consistent in order to be memorable. Use the same font and colors on all of your designs and make sure that they match with your logo. You’ll also want to make sure that you have a consistent brand voice throughout your social media pages, blog, and customer service emails and chats.
2. Provide Repeat Customer Incentives
You know how you get to stamp a loyalty card when you go to your favorite coffee shop? A buy-ten-cups-get-one-free type of situation? You probably frequent that coffee shop more than others not only because of its delicious beans, but also because you’re working toward an incentive.
Well, any business can use this principle to inspire customer loyalty!
One of the best customer retention strategies is to provide rewards to repeat customers. This can be a stamp card, but it can also be a coupon for 50% off their next purchase. There are also other unrelated rewards that you can offer if you’re a smaller business that can’t afford to give such large discounts, like free shirts, tote bags, and other branded merchandise.
3. Use Direct Email Campaigns
When you interact with customers on a one-on-one level, they feel special. Because they feel singled out, they’re more likely to read, engage with, and be receptive to what you have to say.
This is why direct email campaigns are a great way to boost brand loyalty. While the monthly newsletter’s contents may be a template, there are multiple opportunities for personalization. Putting the customer’s name at the top of the email is a great first step toward achieving a personal connection. However, you also can include photos of happy clients and your smiling team so that people feel a person-to-person connection with your brand.
Direct emails should be sent out to everyone who has previously invested in your services. However, you can also generate leads via your landing page and social media to try to target those customers who may be interested in services similar to yours,
4. Engage With Your Clientele
Direct email services aren’t the only way to engage with your clientele, though. Another important way to retain customers is by using social media appropriately. You’ll want to create accounts on multiple popular platforms including Facebook and Twitter. From there, you can follow those customers who have made purchases from you before in hopes that they’ll follow you back.
At this point, you’re sure to get many followers who are interested in your services. Reminding them that you’re on top of things shows them that you care about your business and your customers.
That’s why you need to update your pages frequently. Post links to your new services and blog posts, promotions and campaigns for your followers, and interesting facts about your industry. Memes and jokes also go a long way if you want a funny and approachable brand voice.
Make sure that you also keep your direct messages open and respond promptly when people send you a message. This will make people satisfied with your customer service and more willing to shop with you again.
5. Ask for Customer Reviews
Did you know that online reviews impact whether or not 93% of consumers choose to make a purchase from a business?
Well, it’s true. Because of this, it’s important that you ask for customer reviews from some of your most satisfied clients. Not only will this show new customers that you’re trustworthy and reliable, but it also will encourage those who have already wired with you to do so again. After all, they’ll know that the quality of your services is consistent (and consistently positive!)
You’re going to want to post these reviews on your official site’s home page when they come to you via social media. This will showcase some of the best testimonials and show those who find you via search engines of PPC ads that you’re a legit company.
Start Building Brand Loyalty Today
While there are many ways to build brand loyalty, you can’t go wrong with these tips and tricks.
Now that you know how to build brand loyalty with your customer base, it’s time to learn more business strategies that will help you grow. Check out the ‘business’ tab on our home page to learn more about how to have repeating customers and reel in new members from your target audience!
