Customer Loyalty Playbook: 10 things you should do!

In a world where your competitors are just one click away, customer loyalty is a really important asset. Today’s customers have at their disposal an endless amount of information about your business, and research shows that they are ready to stop dating around and stick with a company that goes above and beyond fantastic customer experience.

Start engaging with your customers one on one. Check on them, hear what they have to say, let them know that they matter to your business. To a truly engaged customer, you are the only business in your industry – the only choice they have. All the other brands don’t even come to their focus. Like someone in love. Loyal customer has eyes only for you!

People who are skilled at generating loyalty understand that loyalty must be earned. Therefore, the underlying process of every conversation or interaction that your company has with a customer or a potential one should be to create loyalty by strengthening your personal relationship with those customers. True customer loyalty means making the relationship more important than making the sale.

Building customer loyalty requires hard work and thoughtfulness, but it is under YOUR control, while so many aspects of the business are out of your control, such as exchange rates, international tension, technological changes etc. The single most important process, namely creating loyal customers, is in your own hands and you and only you is responsible in making customers loyal.

Creating such relationships requires both the right attitude and the right behaviors. Here’s some things you should do to excel in customer loyalty:

1. Make relationships your priority

Put the relationship first and treat it as more important than making a sale. We can assure you that customers will sense that you’ ve got their best interests at heart.

2. Get curious about people

People are drawn to the ones that demonstrate a true interest in them. Honest curiosity helps you understand how you can better help your customers, while at the same time it gives you the opportunity to learn new things about your business and make new connections.

3. Be consistent and reliable

People offer their loyalty to those whom they trust. Trust is not something that comes from day 1. Trust must be earned and most of the times it is difficult to earn it but it is worthwhile the effort. Customers decide whether to trust you based upon your day-to-day behavior. If your behavior is unpredictable they will shy away. If it is consistent over time, they’ll know you can be countered on.

4. Let yourself be vulnerable

Pretending to be a superhero just alienates people. Building a relationship requires discovering the areas where you and your customer can work best together. This can only be possible if you’ re willing to admit your weaknesses and limitations.

5. Keep an open mind

If you talk to customers and you are absolutely convinced that a specific customer needs your offering, the customer will sense you’ re close-minded and become close-minded in return. Behaviors and feelings tend to be transmittable during human relationships. Therefore, an open-mind helps the customer to be open in that relationship.

6. Be willing to recommend other companies

When you are open to the idea that customers might be also served from another company and therefore, suggest one, your customers will begin thinking of you as a trusted advisor and consultant rather than a cold salesperson trying to create numbers for the company.

7. Have real conversations

A customer interaction should result in a conversation and never sales call. Spend more time listening to the customer rather than talking to the customer.

8. Be a professional

Customers want to do business with individuals who are serious and professionals in what they do, and willing to take time to achieve a deep understanding of their product, their industry and how the customer’s business works.

9. Cultivate fearless integrity

You should never be afraid to take a stand, even when it’s not popular with your customers or your company’s culture. That does not mean starting unnecessary fights but it means to be willing to make decisions based upon what you know is right.  

10. Decide to make selling more fun

Building great relationships is not just good business, it is also great fun and it is based on an outstanding customer experience. Consider the following and you will understand why selling should be made more fun. Wouldn’t you rather spend time with people whom you like and feel good around them, rather than trying to manipulate people into buying stuff they don’t need?

The strongest the relationship between you and your customers, the stronger and long lasting your business will be. Creating enduring, loyal and human relationships with customers it’s the most prominent way to escape market elimination and climb even higher in the competition ladder.

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Also published on Medium.

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