Evolving to build a stronger brand

Loyalty Loop Series
Part 3 of 3
To read part one please click here, to read part two please click here.

55% of customers said they switched to a different company for the same product or service after having a bad customer service experience.¹

At this stage in the Loyalty Loop, it is critical to keep the big picture in mind. Your goal is to establish a long-term relationship with a loyal and returning customer. In fact, Marketing Metrics found that the probability of selling to an existing customer is 60-70% while to a new prospect is only 5-20%.² Meaning that, once customers have purchased from your brand there is less work to get them to repurchase again. If you pay attention to your customers, make them feel important, and personalize their experience, you will create brand loyalty, successfully bridging any lingering pricing gaps your brand may have.

Sounds easy, but exactly how are you supposed to keep your customers interested and coming back without a significant sales price? In the past, traditional customer loyalty programs were focused on the mindshare of the customer through analyzing surveys and transaction data, but these programs have become cumbersome and one sided, with customers giving valuable information but not getting much in return. You may have sent generic coupons in the hopes of driving customers into your store; today you now need to evolve those discounts into personalized promotions that engage the customer, showing a customer that you recognize them and understand their needs.

Post purchase, many customers continue shopping and it is important to gain the attention of those who are willing to buy sooner than later. There are a number of automated contact channels that can be personalized. For example, emailing a customer with their purchase details is the perfect time to encourage them to consider items that will enhance their previous purchase. Even if the customer is not ready to begin the shopping process again, you should be ready for future shopping trips. This can be done by encouraging likes on your social media site, downloads of your (newly created) customer app, as well as have them sign up to receive alerts when they are near one of your stores.

While most customers feel that they are surveyed to death these days, another form of post-purchase interaction would be an incentivized review (good or bad) for your company and product either on your website, social media, or any other outlet. This encourages Word of Mouth Marketing (WOM) which is the most powerful of all marketing with 74% of customers identifying WOM as a key influencer in their purchasing decision.³ With WOM adding to your credibility, it will increase the purchase rate of customers who are not solely buying on price.

So you have engaged your customer across channels, encouraged them to learn more in-store, and now is the time for you to evolve by following up with them to make sure they are happy with your services and products. Now you are all done, right? Wrong! Now it is time to start the Loyalty Loop all over again. As time moves on, adapt and make changes to ensure your brand stays alive. At the core, the process will always remain the same: encourage, engage, evolve and then repeat.

How confident are you in your Loyalty Loop, what are the next changes that you are going to make?

1 ZenDesk
2 Marketing Metrics
3 PR Newser

Photo Credit: Connected Social Media