Customers are the heart and soul of every business so it’s only obvious why focusing on customer loyalty and feedback should be at the forefront of business management.
If you own a business or are planning to start one in the near future, you must already be trying your best to attract the relevant audience to boost revenue and maximize profits.
But let me ask you this: what is your business’s primary objective – customer acquisition or customer retention?
If your answer is the first option or you are still deciding between the two, then you really need to reconsider your priorities.
The Importance of Building Customer Loyalty
Consider the following scenario.
Shop A serves 10 customers on any given day whereas shop B, selling a similar good serves only 3 customers during the same time period. However, people who shopped at B shared their experience with the store manager and promised to return whereas the staff at A has no idea whether their customers enjoyed the service and would be coming back or not.
Clearly, shop B performed better in establishing a good reputation.
So, what’s the difference between a customer and a loyal customer?
Well, a loyal customer has the power to take your brand to the next level!
Repeat customers share their positive experience with others, providing free, word of mouth advertisement for your business that’s sure to bring in new clients. Because they are already faithful to your brand, repeat customers are also more likely to try out any new goods or services that you introduce, allowing the company to upsell and cross-sell its products. In other words, loyal customers serve as a sales representative for your brand without requiring any extra expenditure.
The Role of Customer Feedback
Taking feedback from your customers is the prerequisite of building customer loyalty as it helps ensures that you are successful in actually delivering what you claim to offer.
Client feedback gives you a deep insight into their experience with your brand. It helps you learn what works and what doesn’t and thus, adjust or readjust your business strategies accordingly. Since people’s needs and expectation continuously evolve over time, asking them for their opinions directly is the best way to stay ahead of the competition by offering customers exactly what they are looking for.
Above all, taking the views and opinions of your customers into consideration and acting upon them to improve the quality of your service is a sure-fire way to make them feel valued and ensure that they revisit soon.
I once dined at a small restaurant in my neighborhood. The food was great but the service and ambiance were next to terrible. The staff worked at a sluggishly slow pace and their usual expression was like that of a person who’d just been told that he’s only got a day to live. However, just before leaving the manager came up to ask if I had any suggestions for improvement. I told him and to my utter surprise, noted a stark contrast the next time I visited. The receptionist gave a warm welcome whereas a staff member escorted me to the seat. Needless to say, the service had improved too.
The result? Not only was the place buzzing with customers unlike last time, but they won me over as loyal customer too.
Customer loyalty and feedback go hand in hand. The important thing to remember is that catching the attention of your target audience is not enough. You need to focus on building a large and loyal customer base if you want your startup to be a big hit and stay successful in the long run.
