Customer Loyalty Essay

Customer loyalty describes the tendency of a customer to choose one business or product over another for a particular need. Customers may be described as being "brand loyal" because they tend to choose a certain brand of tire more often than others. The word “choose” is critical—customer loyalty becomes evident when specific choices are made and actions are taken by customers.

Loyalty is demonstrated by the actions of the customer. Customer surveys can indicate high levels of satisfaction with a company, but satisfaction does not equal loyalty. Customers can be very satisfied and still not be loyal. It’s only a piece of the puzzle, along with trust. If a customer cannot be satisfied with you or your company, and does not have trust in what you say and do, then loyalty can never be attained.

Customer loyalty is about attracting the right customer, satisfying their basic needs, and building trust in your people and your business. Loyal customers buy what you recommend because they trust you. And they buy more often, in higher quantities, and price is generally not a factor in their buying decision. Most importantly, they bring you even more customers. However, that focus is not how you build customer loyalty.

You build loyalty by…

• Treating your team well so they treat your customers well.

• Showing customers that you care and remembering what they like and don’t like.

• Rewarding them for choosing you over your competitors.

• Keeping “in touch” with customers using email marketing, thank you cards and more.

• Truly caring about them and figuring out how to make them happy, even joyful.

In short, you build customer loyalty by treating people how they want to be treated. Do your marketing and operational plans include strategies and...

... middle of paper ...

... treat me right

See the difference? Your job with every customer is to create an experience where customers use extreme words. When they use them, that’s the sign of loyalty. And it’s a sign that your store and your staff are doing the right things. Using the right words at the right times. Building personal relationships.

Those relationships are driving organic growth in your business. And remember, organic growth is growth that comes from a company's existing businesses, as opposed to growth that comes from “buying” new customers through marketing.

It’s the most powerful marketing tool at your control. And you can’t buy it. You must earn it, by how you build relationships and conduct your business, every day with every customer. When you lose customers, you experience negative organic growth.

And who can afford that?