While there is a big push to find new customers, there is just as much emphasis on gaining loyalty from existing customers so they continue to do business with you. So how do you go about earning their loyalty? We took a look at different tips and ideas and have listed the top five that you can start using right away.

Tip 1 – Provide Superior Customer Service

This is the absolute best gesture you can make. Providing your customers with superior customer service each and every time shows them you care about them, you want them to be satisfied, and show you stand behind your products/services. This is the whole “the customer is always right” mantra that is often hard to come by. You need to listen to their needs and concerns, and work with them to solve any problems they may be experiencing. Excellent customer service is also something they will tell others about.

Tip 2 – Provide Deals and Incentives

It’s important to reward your customers and thank them for their loyalty. This means offering deals, promotions, and incentives. You can even set up a VIP or preferred customer list where you ask for their email address and/or mailing address to send promotions and incentives to. You want to make them feel important and appreciated. If you get their contact information you can also send those special customers hand-written birthday cards, holiday cards, etc. It’s that extra personal touch that just isn’t the norm any more.

Tip 3 – Hire Staff that Understand

What this means is that you hire staff that understands your products and services, are very knowledgeable, and have excellent customer service skills. Look for those that know how to engage with customers and make them feel comfortable right away. If you have the wrong staff, then you can potentially be driving away customers.

Tip 4 – Offer a Payment Plan

This tip obviously won’t work for all businesses, but if it’s something you can offer it can certainly help to build that customer loyalty. Not only will customers appreciate that they can spread out the payments, but they typically end up buying more because of it.

Tip 5 – Provide a Personal Experience

If you’ve got some regular customers that you want to be sure you keep, then why not treat them to an extra special experience. Allow them a behind the scenes tour of the factory, the workers, etc. These are often called “executives tours”. What a special gesture this is for your loyal customers. It also has a two-fold benefit in that your customer will see the business in a new light, a more personal light, which helps to solidify the relationship.

Build Upon your Successes

Earning your customers’ loyalty is all about building upon the various successes in your business. It’s about listening to their needs, making them feel important and understood, and providing them with an exceptional experience from beginning to end. It’s these little things that will keep them coming back and set you apart from your competition.