Customers want real and personalized experiences. The best companies are delivering value with individualized and meaningful messages to their customers. The key is the message must be appropriate, relevant and of value.
Customers want to be loyal. It is much easier to educate one company instead of many about preferences. A recent study by Harris Interactive finds 77 percent of online shoppers who signed up for emails are more likely to purchase if the messages reflect their shopping habits. Technology has made it easy but few are using the data to deepen the customer relationship.
Here are 4 strategies that will give customers a reason to remain loyal.
- Recognize the customer. It can be as simple as using the customer’s name. However in this marketplace, it means across all channels. Customers expect you to connect their interactions from social media, email, mobile, call center and retail store.
- Show you know the customer. Prove it with your offerings, conversation, account login page and emails. You must go beyond knowing their account number. However, it can be as simple as acknowledging their years of loyalty. Customers love hearing, “Thanks for being a customer for 17 years.” Personalized information impresses and engages the customer when done authentically and respectfully.
- Make their loyalty worth it. In exchange for their personal information, the customer needs a payoff. Make the process hassle free, save their time and deliver relevant value. It could be an exclusive deal or customized information. Learn about the customer and target those interests.
- Keep it going. Too many companies create great offers for the new customer and ignore the established one. Don’t make your customer ask for a deal, loyalty points or a program offered to “new” customers. Reward their loyalty.
Customers want to be engaged with you and your brand. Personalized experiences will give you that advantage. For the customer, it’s all about them and your efforts need to prove that to gain their loyalty.
Lisa Ford is a speaker with over 20 years of experience presenting to businesses, associations and government. She speaks throughout the United States and internationally on topics of customer service, leadership, team issues and change. Her recent book is Exceptional Customer Service – Exceed Customer Expectations to Build Loyalty and Boost Profits.
