5 Tips for Creating & Maintaining Brand Loyalty

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If you’re looking to sustainably scale your business and grow your base of repeat customers, so you can ensure that you remain profitable, you need to know how to create and maintain brand loyalty.

So, how can you start making changes in your business model to create more brand loyalty within your existing market? We’ve got some tips for you; but first, let’s discuss what brand loyalty is and why it matters.

Unlike customer loyalty, which is focused primarily on your pricing strategies, brand loyalty is built from the overall image that a customer has of your business.

Your reputation, promotions, and the customers' previous experiences with your business all play a role in brand loyalty.

If a person would rather visit your business than any of your other local competition, you've earned their loyalty. This might sound simple enough, but it’s actually far from it. Brand loyalty is a complex, living creature that requires a long-term, serious commitment to maintain.

Loyal customers will continue to purchase your products or services, even if there might be better price options available through one of your competitors.

They'll also continue purchasing from you, over and over, as long as you can maintain that brand loyalty. In many cases, your most loyal customer base will be the ones testing out your newest products, and giving you invaluable, honest feedback about them. They’ll also be a great source of referrals and word-of-mouth for your business.

Leveraged properly, customer loyalty can even become brand ambassadors or champions for your brand, which can have a huge positive impact on your Brand Awareness and Brand Affinity.

Establishing brand loyalty isn't easy, and it takes time to create (at least, in any long-lasting sense). This isn’t something you can build in a week, or even a month, if you want to maintain long-term connection with valuable customers. It’s something you need to build into your strategy, and continue making it a priority in all your future plans.

However, there are some tricks you can use to stand out against your competition. Follow these, and you’ll be well on your way to building a more loyal consumer base.

We've compiled 5 of our favourite tips that you can use to create and maintain brand loyalty within your target market:

1.) Exceed Expectations

Go above and beyond at every opportunity.

Always make sure that you're delivering exactly what you promise to your customers, if not a little bit extra. Your current customers love finding out that they're getting an even better deal than they thought; especially after they've already made it all the way to the checkout.

Find out ways to slide them a little extra on their way out, and they’re sure to return soon. The excitement you create will stay with them, even after they’ve paid and continued on with their day. In the back of their minds, they’ll be looking forward to finding out what other surprises you might have in store for them.

It's not always about immediate value either. Consider instituting a loyalty program, where the customer can earn points towards free merchandise, or discounts that they can use on future purchases.

The additional benefit of these programs is that not only do they create brand loyalty, but they strongly encourage repeat business from your customers, since that's how the customer will earn the most rewards.

2.) Become a Local Legend

Get out into your local communities and make a name for yourself.

Support local charitable organizations, or sports teams. You don't have to break the bank to make a difference in the community; and trust us, people will take notice.

Whenever possible, find an organization that strikes a chord with your existing target market. Selling auto parts? Consider supporting MADD. Own a restaurant? Offer to host the banquet for a local children's league, and foot part of the bill. You could even do things like host fundraisers or accept charitable donations through your location, no matter what your business might be offering.

A little giving can go a long way, when it comes to building long-lasting brand loyalty. And the positive word-of-mouth you can earn towards your brand’s reputation is priceless.

3.) Always Be Consistent

When you're creating new processes, instituting promotions, or setting service standards, you have to make sure everything is always consistent. It's critical for customer retention.

The last thing that you want is for one person to come in and have a fantastic experience, only to have their friends receive a less than stellar welcome when they come to see you.

It's especially important to be mindful of promotions, since your rules have to ensure that every visitor receives the same benefit/chance of winning, based on the conditions you set. This is something you could encounter with Bonus Entry Promotions.

If current customers feel like someone else is being given preferential treatment above what they're receiving, you're bound to lose some of their goodwill. Those can damage your relationships with customers and make your future marketing efforts less successful.

4.) Focus on Your Customers, Not Your Bottom Line

Individual customer care should be at the forefront of everything your business does, because everything you do affects your guest's customer experience.

How intuitive is your visitors' journey through your brick-and-mortar stores? Will potential customers be able to easily find what they're looking for, or is it more likely that they're going to need some assistance?

Are your staff well-educated on all the products/services that you're offering? Do you have a customer satisfaction plan in place, to ensure the current customer base who visit your in-store locations are given the attention they deserve?

There are tons of factors that come into play when it comes to customer care, and they all have to be taken into account whenever you're introducing something new into your business model, whether that be a new process or a new promotion.

The most important thing to keep in mind is that your customer relationships always come first. If they aren't on centerstage when they're shopping from you, you'll never earn their brand loyalty.

5.) Maintain Open Lines of Communication

Use Social Media Marketing techniques to create an open, ongoing dialogue between your business and excellent customer service.

Facebook Groups are a great way to create an open conversation that lifelong customers can use to express honest opinions about your business and services. The things you hear may not always be positive, but you should never let it get you down. Constructive feedback from a real person is a great way to start finetuning your marketing strategies.

You can also run engaging contests on other platforms likeInstagram & Pinterest, which directly involves user-generated content in your marketing plans.

This is a fantastic way to gain customer acquisition, and a great way for you to have the customer produce some useful marketing materials for your next campaign – at no cost to you! Just make sure you don’t forget to ask for permission to use those pictures first; otherwise, the customer could flip from a brand champion to an angry critic.

Both unsatisfied and happy customers have a lot to say, and they'll tell you, as long as you give them a way to talk to you. Take extra steps to keep customers happy, and then request that they leave you online reviews. You can even institute a referral program to go the extra mile for your target market.

Not only will you glean some beneficial customer feedback from these conversations, you'll be making those customers feel heard and respected, which is a fantastic way to build strong, long-lasting brand loyalty.