So you've closed the deal. Congratulations! It was a lot of work to achieve this status. You utilized the inbound methodology by attracting the potential customer, converting that person into a lead, and eventually getting that individual to buy. Teriffic—you can pack up your suitcase and head home...
Not so fast. While it's nice to add to the close rate, there's so much more you can get from this new business. A short term result is always trumped by a long term game plan. This is where customer loyalty comes in.
A loyal customer is a repeat customer.
It's a simple notion: Keep the customer coming back for more and increase their value. The benefits are clear, as 3/4 of small businesses report that 20% of new sales come from repeat customers. It's also cheaper than generating brand new business. In fact, getting repeat business costs 5X less than attracting new business. And just to keep the figures rolling, a repeat customer spends 67% more on a given purchase than a new customer.
A loyal customer is also a promoter.
This is the exponential benefit. It has tremendous reach and it does the work for you! If a customer is particularly delighted by your follow up service, referrals are likely to follow. Those referrals are your most effective form of marketing, as 77% of people are more likely to buy a product when learning about it from friends or family. It's also important turn customers into fans on social media. A reported 85% of fans of a brand on Facebook recommend that brand to others.
Promotion can be as simple as one person raving to a friend, but with social media, promotion can very easily have tremendous reach. So make sure to follow up with your customers on channels such as Facebook or Twitter, because a positive review shared to hundreds of friends could turn into a negative review for the world to see.
Now that you know the benefits of customer loyalty, you can explore effective ways of delighting a customer. As previously mentioned, a positive social media presence is crucial. Another way to delight is through rewards programs. Let's take tomorrow to examine what makes loyalty rewards programs so effective for driving business. Want to know if you're effectively delighting your customers? Download the e-book:
