Do you know the people who can do the best in class branding for you, are not the ones you have on your payrolls?

Strange as it may sound, the fact remains that your most loyal customers are the best brand advocates you can get. Every business that has tasted success, knows the noteworthiness of customer loyalty. Your customers who have brought your products and are happy with you are the ones who will become your best salespeople. So, if you have still not looked into this valuable resource, then it is time you rethink your strategic blueprints to engage your customers. Businesses also start different customer loyalty programs to gain attention.  

In this highly wired world, where internet penetration has gone up considerably, every next decision to buy is highly influenced by internet reviews and peer suggestions. Thus, the power your present customers wield in driving the next sales cannot be understated. This is primarily the reason why all the latest strategic models have shifted their focus from seller to the buyer. 

So how did it all begin?

Half the world today lives in Levi Strauss jeans, a brand that had won its first patent in 1873 to make an original pair of jeans for men. Do you know how did Levis get its market insights? 

It took the direct conversation route that made this new entrepreneur from San Francisco realize that there was a dire need of work pants by men who go to work. It was because of the effort undertaken by the person that had led to the amazing discovery of jeans. 

The Apparent Rise of Customer Participation

The nuances of the present marketplace suggest that customer participation in your marketing decisions is at an all-time high. It is not wrong to state that the current impact has resulted from the internet revolution and the popularity of social media. Also, businesses have observed that their loyal customers not only love to flaunt their brand-love but also act like marketers.

We are not trying to suggest that the traditional mode of marketing stands phased out, but want to underline the fact that going forward this is not sufficient. This calls for a need for the businesses to move forward in a way that all the phases of the customer journey are addressed. Every brand that arose to this growing reality has been rewarded by their customers who chose to market their products with much conviction than some of its best marketing campaigns. 

How to Gain Customer Loyalty 

Every brand is continuously striving to enhance customer loyalty and is erecting multiple points along the customer journey that builds participation. Most of the marketing efforts addressed the decision-making phase of the customer journey. The new age strides call for a deeper impact spread across different levels of the customer journey. Hence, brands now want to give value right from the trial phase. Let us see how to bag maximum benefit from customer loyalty during different phases of the customer journey:

Multichannel Targeting

Gone are the days when brands used to focus on only one channel for marketing. In the highly competitive world, every touchpoint matters and brands constantly try to catch the customers on all levels of the customer journey. Such customer targeting helps the businesses to capture vital insights about the customers and hence drive highly personalized brand messaging, that further accentuates customer experience. 

Personalization

This is a hyper-local marketing age and everyone wants to be under the spotlight. With the growth of technologies like Artificial Intelligence and social media, marketers now have the power to weave highly personalized experiences for their visitors and customers. These act as positive reinforcements and play a significant role in making your customers happy who will act as brand advocates and ambassadors. As they are doing it willingly, they do it the best and with complete conviction. They not only promote the brand but are also seen helping other users who are stuck at different levels of the buyer journey.

Breathe Customer Service

Yes, we mean it. As a brand, customer service should be your foremost priority. You should constantly strive to achieve it despite all odds. Also, note that customer service does not end with the sale, but takes on a new level with one. Infact, the real customer service begins when your customers face certain concerns with the product and need help with it. Ensure every query, call, the text is suitably addressed and rightfully solved to completion. There should be no gaps left here. Understand that this is your time to win or lose a customer.

Bring Value

Unless your product adds value to the lives of your customers, it will not be accepted. Value lasts and value stays. Fun is momentary. So, when you design your product offering, ensure it has equal portions of fun and value. Balance out every element. 

Customer loyalty is often the result of customer participation and engagement. You have to find innovative techniques to bring in new forms of engagement. As Pareto Principle stated that nearly 80% of future revenue of your business will be driven by 20% of your current customers. This typically means that you have to constantly focus all your current marketing strategies leading to loyal and repeat customers.   

You have to make your choice and see how far you are ready to stretch to build customer satisfaction and make loyal customers. Every person is different and has a unique set of needs. You can no longer afford to miss on the leverage you can gain from happy customers in a time where properly attended customer advocates have helped to turn the tide for many businesses.