If you've ever heard of the Pareto principle, you are familiar with the theory that 80 percent of your business can be attributed to 20 percent of your customers. What does this mean in terms of where your marketing efforts should be invested? Well, most business people associate the terms "marketing" and "advertising" with attempts to reach out and attract new customers for their business. While attracting new customers is important, and marketing is one way of achieving that goal, something very important mustn't be overlooked. Existing customers. If you consider the cost associated with pursuing new customers, you will see that focusing energy on retaining customers you already have as very valuable. This article will give you some tips and ideas for building brand loyalty.



Customer Service

Often overlooked as a direct method of marketing or building brand loyalty, exceptional customer service speaks for itself. If customers repeatedly experience only the very best customer service humanly possible in each and every interaction with your business, they will continue to come back to you. Not enough can be said about the strength superb customer service has in terms of promoting customer loyalty. In order to achieve the level of customer service that speaks for itself, employees must be trained and motivated properly.

Communication

While outstanding customer service will keep some customers coming back to you time and again, others may need subtle "reminders" that you are there, that they've done business with you before, and that they loved it. Staying in communication with your customers is key to building customer loyalty. You need to make sure you stay in customers' "top of mind." Consider starting an email or print newsletter or flier. Send out fliers or postcards about special sales or events, and definitely send out cards during the holidays. If you run a cash business, you'll need to find a creative way to collect your customers' contact information.

However, don't forget that communication is a two-way street. Find ways to constantly get feedback from customers. Whether you send out customer surveys, take a poll, or even ask personally, make sure to find out how you're doing.

Ask questions such as:

- Are we meeting your needs?

- What did you love about our service/product?

- What could be better?

- Are you satisfied

There are hundreds of questions that can be asked to help you determine how you can better meet your customers' needs, but many of these will be particular to any given type of business.

Customer Incentives

Customer loyalty or incentive programs abound. Just perform a Google search for "customer incentive program ideas" and you'll be hit with thousands of pages of results. The important thing is to do something that is appropriate for your business. Customer incentives serve two purposes toward building brand loyalty. First, they give customers a concrete reason to return to your business (a free cup of coffee, a free haircut, etc.). Second, they communicate to your customers your appreciation of their business. If you are creative, or have staff member that are, you can come up with all sorts of ways to integrate customer incentives with customer communications, thus utilizing both methods to reinforce brand loyalty.

Keep ‘em Coming Back for More

There are many different ways to build customer loyalty. The bottom line is to actually focus time and energy to do so. Starting with a quality product or service that's needed by your target customer is a good start. Being honest, consistent and helpful helps quite a bit. Having great employees that provide excellent customer service every time is key. Sending periodic communications to stay "top of mind" and finding ways to reward customer loyalty are the frosting on the cake.