Customer loyalty on a shoestring: Building strong relationships with limited resources

Every company faces the challenge of striking an emotional bond with its customer to ensure their loyalty towards the products or services being offered. Ensuring customer loyalty amid mammoth competition in the market poses numerous challenges to companies, particularly when their resources are limited.

But the key questions are—can a bond be created and loyalty be ensured even with limited resources? Can creative, out-of-the-box thinking and inventiveness chip in?

Well, the good news is that it can be achieved. Promoters genuinely consider every customer as a brand ambassador and go out of their way to think about novel measures that communicate to them the ‘winning factors’ of products/services. Fostering customer loyalty is as important as ensuring other critical business aspects related to technology, productivity and markets.

Let’s reflect on a glossary of important factors that need to be analysed or kept in sight to remain connected with the customers.

Understanding your customers

Knowing your customers better is a step toward developing customer loyalty. The business needs to collect information on what they like or dislike, the behaviour patterns that influence their decisions to purchase, and the preferred modes of communication.

It is important to survey before taking the plunge into floating the venture and then at regular intervals as well. Online surveys, feedback forms, social media interactions, and engaging an influencer etc could be some of the ways to dip the stick.

In almost every domain of products or services, customers look forward to solutions so it is important to ensure that you are an edge above your competitors here. Ask yourself—what is different about your product/service in the category to impress upon customer buying behaviour. Your answer should become your USP.

Also Read

Meet customers where they are, focus on core metrics: Beco founder tells D2C brands

Personalised connections and building a community

The present is about making a path that leads to the customer’s heart. This only means that it is important to keep track of their purchases, preferences, gaps between their purchases, and other factors that help track their levels of loyalty. Based on such an investigation, the customers need to be given choices, nudge towards a repeat purchase, make them part of a campaign, highlight some of them in your campaigns and publish posts that ask them how likely they are to recommend the brand, etc.

Fortunately, we have several tools today that help us meet these targets. The AI tools for ecommerce need to be widely explored and implemented.

Building communities also establish a personal touch. Several fitness clubs have now begun this practice. They encourage members to join the various communities created according to the type of exercise (pilates, yoga, Zumba etc). To engage members, they hold competitions and campaigns, or simply ask them to strike a pose, click pictures and post them on the community with a caption that engages the members as well as the wider society.

Leveraging social media

Social media has become an integral part of our lives, and it's no surprise that it plays a crucial role in modern business. Platforms like Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter offer invaluable opportunities for direct engagement between businesses and their customers. They allow brands to showcase their unique personality and connect with their audience in a more personal way.

Offering exceptional customer service

Exceptional customer service is the cornerstone of building lasting loyalty. Small businesses can stand out by offering personalised and attentive service.

According to a Zendesk survey, 87% of customers believe that brands should put more effort into delivering a consistent and exceptional experience. Going the extra mile in customer service can turn one-time buyers into loyal advocates for your brand.

Rewarding loyalty

Loyalty programmes are a fantastic way to encourage repeat business without breaking the bank. Simple initiatives like punch cards, discounts, and special offers can make a big difference. An Accenture study highlighted that 77% of consumers are more likely to remain loyal to companies that offer such programmes. These rewards not only make customers feel valued but also incentivise them to keep coming back.

To sum it up, building strong customer relationships doesn’t have to be a huge financial burden. With creativity and genuine effort, you can make a big impact. By understanding what your customers want, creating personalised connections, and building a sense of community, you can turn customers into loyal supporters.

(Julie Shah is Dy Chief, Institutional Communications and PR, at the Entrepreneurship Development Institute of India, Ahmedabad.)