A loyal client/customer is a person who comes back and buys again and again. There are varying degrees of loyalty (more about that later), but first, let’s look at why your business needs loyal clients/customers …
You need loyal clients/customers as it is five times more expensive to target new clients/customers than to retain your existing ones. This is because the time you spend targeting, marketing and onboarding new clients/customers is time spent not generating revenue. It’s much cheaper to keep your existing clients/customers satisfied and ‘upselling’ to them as you do not have to repeat your initial onboarding process. Additionally, less effort is required to retain your current clients/customers compared with researching and targeting new prospects.
Your most loyal clients/customers will act as advocates for your brand, which is a welcome benefit during challenging times such as recessions or pandemics! Your loyal clients/customers will continue to support you (and they tend to spend more than new customers!), as well as promoting your brand for free.
An often-overlooked benefit of having loyal clients/customers is that there’s less pressure on your customer service teams because your clients/customers will be very happy with your products/service.
Introducing the ladder of loyalty
The seven rungs of the ladder:
Raving Fan – Someone who tells everyone about you and your product/service without even being asked. A Raving Fan will pass you referrals and tell anyone who will listen just how delighted they are with your service/product and want others to experience it.
Advocates – A client/customer who will speak on your behalf when asked/encouraged to do so. An advocate is a positive brand ambassador for you!
Member – A client/customer who feels part of your community. (Loyalty/VIP schemes are an effective way of making your clients/customers feel involved).
Client/Customer – is a Shopper who has bought on more than one occasion (they’ve liked what they tried and returned). But you want your clients to feel like Members…
Shopper – Someone who’s tried your services once.
Prospect – A suspect whose contact details you have and could become a lead/Shopper.
Suspect – Anyone who would be interested in your services (you don’t know who your Suspects are).
As a business owner, you must consider how many of your clients/customers are on each stage of the ladder of loyalty, as this will give you an idea about how many of your clients/customers are helping you bring in more business. Also, knowing which rung of the ladder your clients/customers are on will help you identify what improvements you need to make to your offering so that they move up the Ladder of Loyalty to become Raving Fans of your company.
How can I get clients to the top of the Loyalty Ladder?
The best way to help your clients/customers to become Raving Fans is by delivering outstanding service AND products. Deliver what they want, when they want it!
When you meet (or exceed!) your customers’ expectations and deliver a service/product that they love, they will want to spread the word and tell others about your offering! Consider now, when was the last time you used a product or experienced service you couldn’t help but tell others about? This is precisely how you want your clients to feel about your offering! So strive towards delivering customer service which encourages that response.
If you have clients/customers further down the ladder, a great way to turn Clients into Members is by making them feel like a part of your community. The Costa Coffee VIP Club (or any other loyalty scheme!) is a fantastic example of how you can do this. Involve your clients/customers with your business, reward them for purchasing from you and they will engage more with you and your business.
To help your clients/customers progress up the ladder, put them in touch with people who can help them and/or their business. Once they have been introduced and used the recommended party’s services, they will really appreciate you thinking about them, that you have their best interests at heart and so increasing their loyalty to you and moving them up the Ladder of Loyalty.
Do you need Bill’s help?
Would you like to establish a Ladder of Loyalty for your business and discuss where your clients/customers are on the ladder? Or perhaps you need a helping hand brainstorming how you can turn your clients/customers into Raving Fans? No matter what stage you’re at, Bill can help you identify and increase customer loyalty (which ultimately has a positive effect on your revenue!) To get started, book a call with Bill.
In the meantime, if you’d like to learn more about how you can deliver outstanding customer service and get Raving Fans, we highly recommend you give “Raving Fans: A Revolutionary Approach to Customer Service” a read.
