Why Is Customer Loyalty Important in Marketing?
When a customer has a positive experience with a brand, they are more likely to stick with the brand. This means that they become emotionally attached to it. This emotional attachment and connection create customer loyalty.
Once a customer becomes loyal, there are several positive outcomes that brands may expect. This includes but is not limited to more referrals from loyal clients, repeated purchases, and positive reviews or testimonials. These actions create a positive net promoter index and contribute to the overall objective of marketing, which is improving business revenue and earning brand recognition.
Let’s dive in and evaluate why customer loyalty is an important arrow in your marketing quiver.
1. Promote Repeated Purchase
More than 90% of worldwide businesses have a loyalty program. Even big brands such as Amazon, Disney, Walmart, Target, McDonald’s, Nike, Costco, and Adidas initiate brand loyalty programs. Why? Because enterprises know that more than 65% of their revenue comes from repeat purchases.
Not only do repeat buyers generate more revenue, but they also cost less to acquire.
In fact, It’s 5 to 25 times more expensive to get a new client than to retain an existing one. Customer acquisition is important. However, on a Macro scale, it is more important to invest and create retention programs to maintain your best customers versus acquiring new ones.
2. More Spending From Loyal Customers
Customers spend more on brands that they trust and have a connection with. It’s evident from consumer behavior statistics that around 57% – 60% of consumers spend more on brands for which they develop loyalty than trying an entirely new item. This is because of their level of trust or the benefits associated with reward or loyalty programs.
3. More Business Through Referrals and Word-of-Mouth Marketing
The best form of marketing is word-of-mouth marketing. This is because of its highly persuasive nature and can bring in more customers. We know that people trust their friends and family members when they recommend retailers, services, or companies. Because loyal customers believe in your company, they’re not shy about sharing their positive feedback with others. This helps you get more clients and followers through referrals.
4. Positive Reviews and Feedback
Nowadays people make buying decisions by relying on customer reviews. If you have a sound base of loyal customers, you can get more positive reviews and testimonials for your products and services which is an excellent way of marketing your business. Start by creating an automated email after a purchase that asks a customer to rate their buying, service, and product experience.
5. Support in New Initiatives and Campaigns
A loyal customer already has a relationship of trust with you. Therefore, when you introduce a new product or campaign, even for a social purpose, they are the ones most likely to support you. Start by announcing the campaign to your most valuable customers. Once again, word-of-mouth marketing begins to play an important role in reaching your goals.
6. Increased Revenue for the Business
Through repeat business, referrals, and trying new products, customer loyalty enhances brand revenue. With a steady flow of revenues, companies can extend the scope of their business and grow more.
What Is The Best Way To Build Customer Loyalty?
Building customer loyalty has immense benefits, but the question is how can you enhance it?
This can be accomplished in several ways. However, the most effective ones are as follows:
1. Ensure Quality
Typically, brand-loyal customers are faithful to their brands because they trust the quality of their purchases. That’s why being persistent with quality is essential to develop brand loyalty.
2. Have an Honest and Sincere Team
Your employees’ contribution toward building your brand loyalty is immense. For example, having great customer support can instigate your customers to come back to buy your product.
3. Initiating Reward or Loyalty Programs
Starting a reward or loyalty program is one of the best ways to build brand loyalty. Providing discounts, gift cards, free coupons on special occasions, such as birthdays and anniversaries, and membership discounts can help you build a loyal customer base. 95% of consumers who participate in a loyalty program feel close to their brands.
To initiate and manage a loyalty program, you can consider bLoyal.
bLoyal is a rewards and loyalty program for organizations at all stages of growth while providing access to the tools that maximize your ability to increase customer lifetime value. This includes helping you easily onboard new customers, promote products, and engage with your customer in real-time.
Conclusion
The benefits of loyalty extend to all levels of marketing your business, such as more customers and repeat sales. However, building a loyal customer base can be a challenge. To achieve this, one needs to hire sincere people, never compromise on quality, and above all, implement a reward or loyalty program like bLoyal.