Generating leads and turning them into paying customers isn’t hard, but building a customer base of loyal fans who consider you their first choice can be a challenge. It used to be that simply having a higher quality product or a better service was enough to become the top choice.
However, when times get tough, many people are willing to choose lower-quality items to save money where they can. Still, it’s not impossible to create loyal customers who will choose you even in hard times, and say nice things about your business to their friends and family. It just takes a bit of strategy.
- Start with a high-quality offering
Although it’s not the only factor that will turn your customers into loyal fans, quality offerings will always play a central role in the process. You have to start with a product or service that won’t fail to deliver or fall apart after a few uses. The higher quality, the better, but depending on what you’re selling, you may not need to go with something top-of-the-line. Sometimes, something in the middle is all you need.
Nothing will thwart your effort to gain loyal customers like a barrage of bad reviews, and that’s exactly what you’ll get if you sell cheap products and fail to deliver true value through your services. If you’re just getting started, or if you think there’s room to upgrade your quality, start researching what makes offerings ideal according to your customers. Look for the qualities people expect and love, and do everything possible to meet their expectations.
For example, if you’re running a company that manufactures smartphone cases, you’ll want to use durable materials that can withstand normal wear and tear. Nobody is going to recommend a phone case that breaks when they take it out of the box, or if a piece comes off when they drop their phone. In this case, using an elastomer would be a good choice because of the flexibility and how easily your phone cases will return to their normal shape after being stressed or pulled. Considering all the ways people might bend and stretch a phone case, including just to see what it feels like, you can’t risk using an inferior material.
Document all the ways you can envision people interacting with your product, and then account for that when you choose your base materials. The more durable you can make it, the better.
- Create realistic hype around your brand
Contrary to popular belief, hype isn’t all hot air. Sometimes, there’s a good reason for hype, and when backed by something substantial, it can be a great way to create a feeling of community and connection between you and your customers. That kind of connection is exactly what you need to build a loyal fan base. People want to feel connected to the brands they support. In fact, according to survey data, 76% of customers would buy from a brand they feel connected to over the competition, and 57% would buy more from a brand when they feel connected.
To create the kind of hype that will make your customers feel connected, you need something to get people excited over, and it needs to be good. This can be something specific to your market, like a product or service with a new and useful feature not seen anywhere else, or it can be a new partnership with another beloved brand. It doesn’t matter what it is, as long as it means something to your market and is a good reason for them to get excited. When you have something solid, the hype will be justified, and your customers won’t be disappointed.
If you can continually stay on the cutting edge in your industry, and continue to show up and deliver new offerings to your market, that’s when you’ll start building a tribe out of your customer base. This is exactly what successful, popular clothing companies do when they drop new lines and styles on a regular basis.
- Over deliver
Today, the bar isn’t all that high for what customers expect from brands, so there’s plenty of room to make an amazing impression on your customers. For example, set yourself up to over deliver on all of your promises, including purchases. Include freebies, extras, and future discount codes that never expire. Offer a referral program that will pay people for sending you business, and don’t be stingy on returns and refunds. Make doing business with you a smooth process, and people won’t want to go anywhere else, even to save money.
Loyal customers are the key to success
You’ll only be profitable as long as people buy your products or services, and loyalty plays a key role in your ability to achieve success. Customers will keep you in business, but loyal customers will keep you ahead of the competition.
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