How to make a customer yours forever: tips for increasing loyalty

How to increase customer loyalty in a retail store

The owner of any store would like to increase the loyalty of its customers. To achieve this goal, it is necessary to properly organize a loyalty program. It includes many components that have both an organizational and financial basis. By using such a program correctly, you can make your business much more successful.

The concept of customer loyalty

Customer loyalty is their positive attitude towards a given store, company or manufacturer, which is constant and independent of various marketing activities. With the right approach, loyalty can be achieved even with the first purchase. But in this case, the service should be so good that the customer should consider it the best in his life.

When a person chooses a store, they are often guided more by their emotions than by practicality. This is mainly due to neuromarketing. Many entrepreneurs forget about this feature and often fail to understand why material incentives are not such effective methods of improving loyalty. It is necessary to understand that a customer will treat a particular outlet well for various reasons. Finance is only one of these reasons.

With more loyal customers, you can also get additional advertising. After all, if a person really likes a store, they will tell their relatives, friends, and colleagues about it. This is another reason to pay more attention to increasing loyalty. What does a loyalty program consist of? What methods should be used for this purpose?

Financial incentives

Encouraging customers and clients with various discounts has been used at all times. Today, with the development of trade scales and new technologies, it is possible to automate the process of discounts for regular customers. Various specially developed programs are used to automate this process. The system of promotions and discounts is successfully implemented in the Torgsoft program, you can read more about it here. This way you can quickly enter customers into the database, use the system of discount cards, and evaluate the effectiveness of trade.

What types of loyalty programs are currently in use?

Discount cards. They can be either personalized or non-personalized. In addition, they are distinguished by categories (for example, gold, silver, etc.). The discount can be permanent or depend on the amount of money the customer has spent on the product.

Bonuses. As a rule, they are awarded in points, which are equivalent to the hryvnia. Bonuses can then be used to pay for goods.   

Gifts. To achieve truly positive emotions, it is best to give unexpected gifts.

Sweepstakes. You can organize various prize draws from time to time. This will help make your store memorable and increase the number of customers.   

Special conditions. For the best customers, you can develop a deferral program and give them the right to be the first to choose the goods from the latest arrivals.

Monetary incentives don't have to be expensive for the business owner. The main thing is that customers feel that they are being paid attention to. It is known that a loyal customer will spend a third more money in a store when he visits it again than on his first visit. Therefore, a small discount for them will not make the business unprofitable.

Organizational methods

It is not necessary to use any financial incentives to attract a customer and turn him or her into a regular customer. Sometimes, a good attitude during service and the organization of high-quality service are enough. Even a small store without investing in it can attract a lot of regular customers in this way. Organizational methods include several components.

Polite communication

When a customer visits a store for the first time, the first impression plays an important role. It is the first impression that determines whether he or she will come back to the store for shopping. If the seller is rude, inattentive to the customer, and shows other signs of unprofessionalism, neither high quality goods nor discounts on products will save the store. Such a store will cause negative emotions in the customer, and he or she will simply pass by. In addition, a dissatisfied customer will tell all his friends about his negative impressions.

When a store owner hires a salesperson, he or she should pay special attention to the way the person speaks. Customer service should always be positive. The customer should feel that they are important and their opinion is taken into account.

Treating customers in a polite and positive manner is a great way to increase loyalty. But it is important to remember that this method does not guarantee a purchase. Therefore, it should be used in combination with other loyalty methods.

Addressing by name

Anyone who is at least a little familiar with psychological techniques knows that everyone is pleased to be addressed by name. Managers and salespeople in retail outlets should try to remember customers who visit them frequently. If possible, they should also get to know them. It's important to ask them what form of address is best for them. Some people are happy to be called by their first name, while others will want to be called by their patronymic. It is very important that the address evokes only positive emotions and does not cause discomfort in communication.

To ensure that a good, friendly attitude is reciprocated, the salesperson should also unobtrusively say his or her name. In many companies, badges with the name and details of the store employee are a mandatory attribute of the uniform.

Staff training

It is important that salespeople have a good understanding of all the characteristics and features of products. Only in this case will the client feel that they can consult, clarify information, and ask questions. To train staff, you can send people to training or organize it on your own. Classes can be conducted by the owner himself or by experienced employees.

When training staff, it is necessary to explain that active sales are effective, but not always conducive to improving long-term loyalty. After all, when a person comes home and realizes that he or she has purchased a product that is not needed, the attitude towards the store may deteriorate.

Solving customer problems

Sometimes it happens that after the purchase, it turns out that the goods are of poor quality or defective. Customers come to us with a request for a refund or exchange of goods. It is important that all consumer rights are respected. This is a very important factor in increasing loyalty. In this case, the buyer will be sure that in case of problems, they will not suffer losses.

Store employees should try to listen to all customer suggestions. This technique will increase loyalty even more.

Online communities

Today, everyone uses the Internet. Therefore, online communities can be used to effectively maintain relationships with regular customers. To let people know how to visit the site, it is recommended to print the address on receipts, business cards, and write it on the store front. This way, you can constantly maintain communication with customers, even if they rarely visit the outlet. In this online community, information about discounts, new arrivals, etc. is posted.

On such a page, you can organize any kind of draw or conduct a survey that will help you learn about the wishes and preferences of customers. This information will be useful for improving the store's performance and increasing the success of the business.

Promoting values

Every customer will notice that the store has excellent service. You can not only demonstrate this advantage of the store to customers, but also advertise it as a value. Hearing about such advertising, people will want to try the advertised service for themselves. It is very important to emphasize all the positive aspects of the store and inform customers about them in various ways.

Preferably, these advantages should be associated with a name or brand. Even a small chain of stores can be named the same way. This will help the customer recognize the store that belongs to their favorite retail chain, even if it is located on the other side of town.

Coalition program

Using modern technologies, it is possible to apply coalition loyalty programs. They are based on cross-accrual of bonus points to customers of stores belonging to different trade sectors.

For example, when paying with a card from a particular bank, you get a discount. The number of regular customers increases. Such a loyalty program can also be built on the basis of various smartphone applications. Such programs allow you to accumulate bonuses and use them at retail outlets connected to this system.

Loyalty assessment

Loyalty assessment plays an important role in increasing loyalty. It allows you to understand how effectively the methods of increasing loyalty work. You can assess loyalty by conducting surveys. Such a survey can be conducted among all customers who make a purchase in a store over a certain period of time. In order not to take time away from customers, surveys are conducted through messengers. Filling out questionnaires on paper is also a good option.

Various calculations are used to assess loyalty. The simplest and most well-known option is the loyalty index, which is denoted as NPS.

To determine it, you need to perform a step-by-step calculation.

First of all, a survey is conducted to find out whether the customer will recommend the store to friends. The person is asked to choose a score on a scale, where a value of 0 means that he or she will not recommend the store in any case. A score of 10 means that they would definitely recommend it.

People who gave 9-10 are the store's supporters. Those who gave a score of 7-8 are people who are neutral about this outlet. Customers who gave a score of 6 inclusive are considered to be opponents of the store.

There are several formulas for calculating the loyalty index. To determine the required coefficient according to the simplest scheme, it is necessary to subtract the percentage of those who are opponents from the percentage of supporters.

Loyalty can also be determined by the share of customers who use discount cards when paying. To do this, you need to use programs that are used to automate trade.

To increase customer loyalty, it is necessary to use not only financial incentives but also various service benefits. By creating good conditions for customers, you can achieve a significant increase in business success in the long run.

To create and apply loyalty programs, it is very convenient to use various automation programs. They help to create and manage a customer base, as well as optimize the work of a point of sale depending on the needs of customers. We wrote in detail about using a loyalty program in the Torgsoft automation program here.