Rewarding your customer loyalty
In your quest to grow the business, you are, no doubt, looking to develop conversations with new contacts.
But what about your existing customers?
Do you have a process for marketing to them?
And, even more important, what do you do to make them feel valued?
We’ve mentioned before about an analogy we were given once, about loyal customers becoming like wallpaper.
And, it’s very easy to do, when customers regularly buy from you.
Why do you need to worry?
The trouble is, once you take your finger off the pulse, it is easy for a competitor to come along and “woo” your customer. They make them feel wanted and appreciated, and they start to compare that experience against how you treat them. Suddenly, that competitor looks like a good alternative for them.
So, you need to put in place opportunities to reassure your customers that you enjoy working with them, and value their business.
Let’s look at an example of that…
My local supermarket is Tesco, and I have been a customer for years. I am not sure I would say I was 100% loyal, as I have experimented with the others. But ultimately, for reasons I will look at another day, I always end up coming back to them.
I have never felt like my custom has ever been particularly appreciated by Tesco, until recently.
A few weeks ago, the driver who brought my weekly delivery told me it was my 400th shop with Tesco. I was handed a bar of chocolate and a thank you card with points awarded for my next shop.
Then, just before Christmas, the driver handed over a Christmas gift and card.
And, just in case you’re wondering what was inside…
Mini chocolate pudding
Box of cookies
Bag of chocolates
Two sachets of hot chocolate
Bag of “magical reindeer food” – which was bird food
The card had some lovely wording around recognising it can be stressful and tiring in the run up to Christmas, so they wanted to give me a little treat and chance to put my feet up.
And, yes, it worked. After all, I’m sharing this experience with you!
Granted, the Christmas gift will be part of a process already set up. I don’t know how they chose who to give gifts to, but there will, no doubt, be a selection criteria for that too.
Of course, we don’t run companies the size of Tesco, so we can’t necessarily afford to give gifts to customers to show our appreciation.
But you can deliver a little extra. Giving them something additional to what they were expecting, or going the extra mile, can be very effective, and doesn’t have to cost very much, if anything at all.
Take my experience of a few years ago at the Four Seasons Hotel. There was no cost involved, but I still talk about how impressed I was – and we all know what a stickler I am for excellent customer service!
