3 Ways to stop taking your most loyal customers for granted

Every business needs to consistently deliver great service if they want to maintain their loyal customer base. One of the simplest ways to win at servicing is by not taking your customers for granted. Entrepreneurs shouldn't allow themselves to get blinded by growth as they then begin to believe that whatever products they produce are indispensable and that customers will always buy them. Today, products are hardly ever unique as competition catches up quickly to manufacture similar kind of products. For example, if Company X is selling sports shoes, Companies Y and Z will soon crop up and sell similar-looking sports shoes. We live in an era where the customer is king as they are bound to search elsewhere for value if a certain brand becomes greedy or fails to meet their expectations.

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Here are three ways in which companies can stop taking their most loyal customers for granted.

Get creative with your incentives

Giving perks to repeat customers has always been a major part of the loyalty building game. However, in the last few years, most companies have gotten lax with the incentives they offer. The baits they use to lure repeat customers are generic and uninspiring to say the least. If you offer a free lipstick after the purchase of 10 lipsticks, is it really such a great prize? If companies really want to win their customers' hearts as well as their money, they need to get more innovative with their incentives. Companies can start by building a solid loyalty programme that customises rewards to an individual's interests. This will motivate your customers to stick around for more.

Find out the value of each customer

Some customers are more enjoyable to work with than others. Every company needs to understand each customer's complex value; not just in terms of the revenue they bring in, but also in terms of emotional investment. This can be assessed by finding out things like how the customer has treated your sales personnel so far and how many referrals they bring in. If the amount of emotional energy that a client requires isn't worth your time in the long run, you know not to invest any further in them. On the other hand, let those who provide true value know how much you appreciate them.

Show your customers you care

If your customers don't feel like you care for them, they are bound to look elsewhere. You don't have to shell out a lot to show your customers that you value them. Sending monthly emails with useful information like new season trends and end of season discounts can make your customers feel like they are a part of an inner circle. When you make it a routine to supply valuable information, your customers will begin to expect and anticipate the friendly correspondence.

Loyal customers are a company's ticket to dependable revenue and future growth. It is therefore important that companies stop taking their devoted consumers for granted immediately.