Our customers are the only investors we've ever had
We've had investors since day one, even though they've never asked for shares. They're our customers. And seeing it that way changes how you look at everyday work.
Leer más →How to build customer loyalty: the most profitable strategy there is
Customer loyalty isn't about gifts or points. It's about always delivering, fixing things before they ask and making working with you easy.
Winning a new customer costs a lot.
Keeping one you already have costs much less.
And yet almost every company puts more energy into the first than the second.
Loyalty isn't giveaways
When people talk about customer loyalty, out come points cards, discounts and Christmas gifts.
I'm not saying they're useless. But they aren't what makes a customer stay.
A customer stays because working with you makes their life easier. Full stop.
The strategies that really work
1. Always deliver
The basics. What you promise, you deliver. When you say. How you say.
It sounds obvious. It's the rarest thing there is.
2. Fix things before they ask
The best support is the support the customer never has to request.
If you spot a problem before they do, fix it and then tell them. That builds a trust no gift can buy.
3. Be easy
Easy to reach. Easy to understand. Easy to pay.
Every bit of friction is a small reason to leave. Remove them one by one.
4. Tell the truth, even when it doesn't suit you
"We won't make that date." "You don't need this." "For that, another tool will serve you better."
In the short term it costs. In the long term, it's why they trust you.
5. Set clear limits
Surprisingly, it builds loyalty. A customer who knows what your service includes and what it doesn't gets no surprises. And a customer without surprises stays.
6. Improve what they already use
If you have a product, loyal customers don't want new features every month. They want what they use every day to work a little better.
Loyalty isn't won with a gift. It's won with a thousand small promises kept.
Loyalty in a restaurant
The same principle applies in any industry. In a restaurant, for example: being recognised, booking being easy, what you ordered arriving as you expected.
It isn't magic. It's consistency.
How to tell if you're doing it well
- How many customers leave each year?
- How many new customers come through referrals?
- How many buy from you a second time?
If you don't know, start measuring. It's probably the most important number in your company.
The underlying idea
A loyal customer isn't a trapped customer. It's a customer who chooses you again every month.
And earning that choice again is, in the end, the whole job.
P.S. On that promise that renews itself: a product is a promise you keep every month.