What you’ll read: from one time bonuses to investing in the customer experience, these are the dos and don’ts of customer loyalty.
MarTech ( marketing technology) doesn’t always require the use of data insights, metrics, and tools. Sometimes, it comes down to the basics such as customer relationships and CRM strategies. This is precisely the case when a company wants to reinforce or strengthen customer loyalty.
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Different Types of Loyal Customers
1. Loyal to Benefits & Rewards – Some companies struggle to maintain successful loyalty programs. But these can be heavy hitters in retaining specific subsets of customers as it shows how a company values its customers. Another factor for earning these customers’ loyalty is added “freebies.” For example, a customer may go to a specific coffee shop because they offer free and fast WiFi. The customer might like another shop’s coffee better, but the bonus WiFi tips the scales in the first shop’s favor.
2. Loyal to the Price – Certain customers only care about how much something costs and whether it is a good value. Establish the value proposition by using competitive price points and other hallmarks of good business such as stellar customer service and product/service consistency.
3. Loyal to Data Security – Trust is the number one currency in today’s market. Loyalty relies heavily on it and that extends to personal data online. If your company requires personal data in large amounts or frequently, customers might be wary to trust you without proper security measures in place.
4. Loyal to the Product – These clients are low maintenance since they like and trust your product orservice. If you have a reliable product or service, it will build loyalty within your customer base. These types of customers will likely keep purchasing from you unless a rival poaches them with a more enticing offer.
5. Loyal to the Customer Service – This type of customer develops relationships with your workers through customer service. They will advocate for your company’s mission, ideals, and products/services because of your employee’s connection to them. Encouraging employees to establish these relationships will boost customer loyalty.
While these customer types tend to stay in their lanes, the marketing landscape constantly changes. Keep your relationship marketing fresh by knowing which strategies to drop and which ones you should adopt going into 2022.
Do: Stand by Celebrity Sponsors
When a top brand sponsor like Simone Biles pulls out of a major event like the Olympics, many companies would panic. That translates into potential revenue losses due to reduced air time, exposure, etc. However, brands like United and Athleta chose to stand by Biles and her decision to prioritize her mental health.
Don’t: Keep Dishing Out One-Time Bonuses
Even though incentives can be useful for onboarding new customers, courting the incentive-oriented audience isn’t a great long-term solution. A customer who’s only interested when your business is offering a freebie or discount isn’t typically worth the effort to keep wooing them back. Instead of making concessions to fair-weather customers, use relationship management strategies that reward loyal customers.
Do: Invest in the Customer Experience
With historically brick-and-mortar stores going online only, in-store experiences are becoming just that: experiences. Customers are no longer satisfied by simply walking into a physical place and purchasing an item. They can do that easily online and find more variety, competitive pricing, and other customer reviews.
Instead of trying to compete with online-only retailers, focus on bolstering the customer experience. Train your employees with customer service in mind and offer a tailored experience to retain customers. They will remember the employee who made a special recommendation or that the lobby stocked cold waters for everyone — not just paying customers.
From helpful service to personalized attention, it’s the small, quality-of-life changes that build customer loyalty.
Don’t: Lean on Sensational or Controversial Click-bait
In the early days of SEO, creating content that “spoke computer” mattered more than creating engaging content itself. As the online marketplace adapted, so did marketing techniques; this came to include the now dreaded “click bait” concept. In the era of COVID, choosing sensation over authenticity is a losing bet.
Take Burger King’s International Women’s Day 2021 campaign for an example. Their intention was to promote their scholarship program and highlight gender inequality in kitchens through their promotional materials. However, they suffered a misstep with the phrase “Women belong in the kitchen.”
Unfortunately for Burger King, this spectacularly backfired. If the fast food giant kept true to their message about gender inequality instead of opting for a click-bait catchphrase, their marketing strategy might not have alienated potential and (now formerly) loyal customers.
Do: Offer Stronger Security Protections
MarTech’s use of data can also be an avenue for security risks. Doesn’t it feel like every week there is a new data breach from an enormous company like Walgreens or Livenation? Jeopardizing your customers’ personal information such as their addresses, names, and even social security numbers will never win your company points.
That’s why it is imperative, as we move into 2022 and beyond, that companies adopt more robust security for their client information. Customers will lambaste your social media accounts with bad reviews if you don’t protect their interests as part of your relationship management strategies.
Don’t: Make Heavy Investment in PPC Campaigns
Social media is still a viable and useful tool when it comes to customer retention strategies. However, many companies still think that throwing money at PPC campaigns is the only way to boost visibility and grow their audience.
Ultimately, unless your keywords are very specialized, using a PPC campaign is a waste of money . Instead, invest in a paid ad on Instagram or Facebook. Not only can you tailor the audience who sees the ad, but you can direct potential clients to a shop or your profile. From there, they can sign up for your loyalty program, indulge in first-time customer bonuses, or simply follow your page.
Those are the building blocks of customer loyalty. In the same vein as offering tailored customer experiences, offering targeted ads aimed at a customer’s interest will fare better than a boilerplate ad campaign.