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Frances Sharpe

Guide to Building Customer Loyalty

Reach out to your customers in order to retain them

By Frances Sharpe, freelance writer/editor

Over three-quarters of U.S. consumers carry at least one loyalty card, according to business intelligence company Jupiter Research. Is that card yours? If not, don't fret. A business can't buy its customers' loyalty — it must earn it. Building trust among customers and clients will keep them coming back for more. And when they do, your business will see big results. Unlock loyalty with:
  1. Unique products
  2. Excellent customer service
  3. Helpful employees
  4. Smart marketing

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done


Set customer loyalty goals

If you want to recharge your customers' batteries, you'll need a plan for doing so. Decide what you want to accomplish with increased customer loyalty.
I recommend: Service Quality Institute offers a full range of customer service training materials and solutions aimed at helping you develop more customers, more sales, loyal customers and employees devoted to making your customers happy.

Start small

Remember that customer service counts. Build loyalty effectively and inexpensively by answering your customers' questions, answering your business phone when it rings, and always saying hello and goodbye to your patrons.
I recommend: Learn the basics of good customer service at AllBusiness.com's "10 Rules for Great Customer Service."

Hire service-minded employees

Foster increased loyalty with a staff that is naturally helpful and friendly. Hire for personality rather than skills; you can't teach a positive attitude.
I recommend: Consider giving potential hires a personality test to make sure they're customer-service material. Profiles International and Brainbench sell pre-employment tests for job candidates while PsychTest.com offers a free Customer Service Job Fit Test to help employees evaluate their own customer service skills.

Survey your customers

If you want to know how to grow your base of loyal customers, ask your current ones.
I recommend: Are your customers satisfied with your store? Give frequent customers a short questionnaire, similar to the sample Customer Satisfaction Survey from Survey Galaxy, to find out.

Respond to complaints

Customer complaints aren't business failures; instead, they're business opportunities. If you address and resolve conflicts promptly, the appreciative customer is in many cases more likely to be loyal than a customer who never had a complaint.
I recommend: Keep track of customer complaints with Entrepreneur.com's customer service form, which makes monitoring and responding to customer requests easy.

Increase communications

Constant communication with customers is necessary in building loyal relationships. Send regular mailings and e-mails announcing new merchandise, special discounts and exclusive sales.
I recommend: Supplement business communications with thank-you notes and birthday cards to give your customer relationships a personal dimension that's sure to inspire loyalty. Send professional e-cards with a CorpNote membership or for free at Blue Mountain. Prefer paper? Order business-themed greeting cards from CardsDirect.

Tips & Tactics
Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

  • Practicing sound business ethics in a climate of corporate scandals will go a long way toward building trust - and, therefore, loyalty - in your local community.
  • A surefire way to increase loyalty is to offer your customers rewards, such as free merchandise or discounts, for shopping with you on a regular basis. A well-planned loyalty program will help you identify and compensate deserving patrons.
  • Jumpstart customer loyalty by directing your advertising and marketing efforts at existing customers rather than new ones.

The official source of Building Customer Loyalty is
the Customer Loyalty Programs page at Business.com

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Customer Loyalty Programs
Online Rewards is the perfect solution for recognizing the valuable contributions of your loyal customers. Reward with travel and merchandise.
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Customer Loyalty Programs Software
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Related Resources

Recommended Solution Providers

Incentive Logic: Corporate Incentive Programs
Incentive reward program for building customer loyalty.

CustomerSat: Customer Loyalty Surveys
Creates and deploys surveys to determine customer satisfaction and increase customer loyalty.

LoyaltyWorks: Customer Loyalty Programs
Designs and implements customer loyalty programs.

OnlineRiver: Gift and Loyalty Programs
Create a customer loyalty card program via your credit card terminals or online.

Arthur Blank: Loyalty Cards
Entitles card holders to special privileges, discounts, or incentives - all designed to retain current customers and attract new ones.

Parago: Retain Customers
Provides in-depth analysis and recommend strategies aimed at evolving a program.

Polaris: Loyalty Questionnaire
Features a customer satisfaction survey to choose several customer survey sample questions.

Harris Interactive: Customer Loyalty
Focuses on building customer loyalty and retaining profitable customers.

Best Sites to Learn More

The Wise Marketer: Customer Loyalty Articles
Collection of articles about how to increase customer loyalty.

Saferpak: Customer Loyalty
Collection of articles about how to build customer loyalty and keep you customers happy.

Marketing Power: Client Loyalty
Advice on constructing a loyalty program P&L.



FEATURED LISTINGS
Customer Loyalty Programs - Free Price Quotes
Compare Prices and Save. Visit Now for Free Price Quotes!
GiftCards.BuyerZone.com
Customer Loyalty Programs
Online Rewards is the perfect solution for recognizing the valuable contributions of your loyal customers. Reward with travel and merchandise.
online-rewards.com
Customer Loyalty Programs Software
Compare Customer Loyalty Programs Software using Capterra's free, comprehensive directory.
Capterra.com
Customer Loyalty Software Resources
Find Customer Loyalty Software. Search listings and reviews of retailers, specialists and services in your local area now.
JustClickLocal.com

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Frances Sharpe

Retaining More Customers

 By Frances Sharpe, freelance writer/editor
Develop strategies for building - and maintaining - relationships
If you're like most business owners, you keep your eye always on one large yet elusive grand prize: new customers. The reality, however, is that your business is buttressed not by new sales, but by repeat shoppers. In fact, between 10 and 20 percent of your customers likely generate 80 to 90 percent of your revenue, according to experts. And it costs a whole lot less to hang on to existing customers than it does to find new ... Read more

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