16.01.2012
Client loyalty. How to get it?
After the economic crisis, the market has changed dramatically in the direction of a customer-oriented business: competition is too high in almost any niche, the client has become too spoiled. The struggle for its buyer goes on at all levels of the passage of the product from the manufacturer to the consumer. In traditional business, the so-called “product approach” is most often used, when the main business processes fit into the framework of a three-stage promotion of a product or service to the final consumer: product creation, sale to a distributor or end customer, and after-sales relations (warranty service, cross-selling and etc.)
However, customer preferences change quite quickly and today it is not enough just to monitor the mood of your target audience and influence the tastes and opinions of the consumer with the help of expensive marketing.
What is customer loyalty
A pleasant word for any businessman "loyalty"(loyal - faithful) is translated from French as "loyalty", "loyalty". Wikipedia defines consumer loyalty as: “customers' loyalty to a brand, motivated by a well-established habit of buying the same product, product or use the same service, insensitivity to the price of a product, rejection of an alternative.”
That is loyal client - a person or company who has a positive attitude towards the product of some manufacturer, brand, brand, which is not so easy to "recruit" direct competitors, promising mountains of gold. Customer loyalty is formed not suddenly and not immediately. Improving the quality and level of customer service are the main, but not the only factors in the formation of consumer loyalty.
Main constituents components creation consumer loyalty programs considered to be product understandable and accepted by the client, the consumer himself, his preferences, and staff, capable of becoming a key link in the "client-company" communication system, to implement the developed program.
Levels of customer loyalty
Marketers around the world make up a lot of customer loyalty grading systems, dividing them into types, types, analyzing and deriving practical benefits from the materials received. Traditionally, customer relationship marketing divides consumer loyalty as perceived, emotional (relationship to the product and company) and behavioral (possibility of re-purchase). behavioral type Loyalty is measured using metrics to monitor the behavior of buyers when choosing a product. Emotional Loyalty of customers is expressed in their degree of awareness about the product of a particular manufacturer, the strengths and weaknesses of the product and, most importantly, about what specific need or problem this product can solve.
Emotional loyalty plays a major role in the customer-seller relationship, since the purchase of any product or service is based on some kind of emotion. In 90% of cases, customers become disloyal to the company due to emotional dissatisfaction. Selling in such a way that a pleasant aftertaste of the purchase remains is a real art.
At the stage of satisfaction , at the first level, the client receives a special aftertaste with a plus sign after purchasing a product or service, but still continues to compare products and at any time can give preference to similar products of competitors. This is a period of market monitoring by the consumer, who is receptive to positive experience, but still reacts violently to a negative result. It is impossible to control the mood of such a client how it is impossible to calculate in advance his preferences. This level of client loyalty is very fragile and depends on a whole factor of conditions: the age and social status of the client, his psychotype, market fluctuations, etc.
To move a customer from the first level of satisfaction from a purchase to a higher one, instilling a culture of consumption and forming loyalty to the brand and company, it is necessary a clear sequence of actions. You can consolidate the first positive experience with a client by arousing a special interest in the product, building personal relationships with it at the level "seller buyer".
At the stage of building loyalty to the brand the client is offered a choice of several interesting promotions, a comparative analysis with competitors and the opportunity to communicate in non-standard situations, when the commodity producer takes upon himself the solution of some specific consumer problems. That is, active proactive work is carried out, when a comparison of a product or service is always in favor of a particular brand, when the proposed product not only corresponds to the competitive one, but is many times better. The consumer has no alternative, he is “forced” to choose the promoted product as unique and of high quality.
This is how the consumer moves to the second level of customer loyalty - brand loyalty. This stage is characterized by loyalty to the chosen brand, when the consumer is not going to change it to competitive analogues. At this stage of building a relationship with a client you should not bother him and bother him with offers. However, the development of customer loyalty should always be monitored: brand loyalty is not a reason to relax, since there is always a danger of losing a customer due to the skillful strategies of competitors. This level of loyalty requires enhanced analysis of customer sentiment, fluctuations and changes. Company marketers should conduct strategic planning and in-depth study of the reasons for such brand loyalty, enhancing these characteristics.
However, loyalty to the brand is still passive, the client begins to respect the brand, only allowing himself to be loved. Therefore, it is important at this stage of the relationship with the client move on to personal relationships, mutually beneficial mutual acquaintance, which in the future, ideally, will grow into a partnership - the highest degree of customer loyalty.
partnership implies not just “courtship”, but a real “legal marriage” with a client, when the consumer becomes a like-minded, ally, helping to promote the product on the market, to improve it. This is the most active stage of the relationship, when the client begins to advise in which direction the company should move, how to improve the structure, monitors the actions of competitors and becomes a kind of “co-owner” of the business.
The task of each company is to form customer loyalty, quickly transferring the main group of its consumers into partners, keeping their attention. Such relationships help the company become a market leader, create a product that society needs and increase its profits.
In the struggle for the “hand and heart” of the client, it is necessary to observe tact, measure and demonstrate highest culture . Examples to follow in building relationships with their customers are world market leaders - the Dutch company selling prefabricated furniture IKEA, the world's largest online store Amazon.com, the oil company Lukoil and others.
Customer Loyalty and Retention Activities
We will take as a basis the highest quality and uniqueness of the product on the market, that is, by default, the product or service to which consumer loyalty is formed has certain advantages and features that are of interest to a potential client. Wherein the price is not an element of retention and formation of customer loyalty. It has been proven that with the appropriate quality of the product and / or service, justified expectations, the client is ready to pay more. A disloyal, hesitant customer who receives a discount from a competitor will "betray" the company without regret. Wherein "discount drug" is not the best program for a stable business capable of destroying even solid veteran enterprises.
The traditional measures for building customer loyalty are considered to be a high level of service, customer incentive programs, a “fair price” for a product, studying customer satisfaction, receiving feedback, and staff training.
The most common customer loyalty programs in many business areas are bonus events , payment cards with discounts, premium privileges and so on. Not a single event for the formation of consumer loyalty is possible without an information array - customer databases , which contains confidential information about each consumer (name, contact information, age, gender, social status, hobbies, preferences, purchase history, etc.).
Any loyalty building event begins with answers to the following questions:
Who is our client?
What are his needs?
What problems does our product solve?
How does our company keep in touch with him?
Next, a specific loyalty program is developed that can attract the attention of the client and keep him in the company. For example, Russian retail chains give their customers accumulative bonus cards, with a short duration of action, thus tying them to stores. The client begins to play the "game" with the retailer, collecting points, accumulating bonuses when making purchases.
After a specific program has been implemented, a thorough analysis matching the level of expectations from the event to the actual attraction of new customers.
Customer Feedback
When a consumer likes something, he takes it for granted, as a pleasure. If the client is outraged by something, he will write a long complaint, tell his environment about it and thus “take away” potential customers from the company. Feedback from customers is one of the most important components of building customer loyalty. , because it gives food for thought both for the company that provided the service or sold the product, and for the client. After the money for the purchase has been credited to the account or to the cashier, client needs support, he must be sure that he took the right step, that he did not waste his time and finances in vain. The task of the company's staff is to ask after some time whether everything suits the purchase, whether there are any complaints, claims.
For the client, this can mean only one thing: he is understood, cared for, loved. For a company, receiving feedback is an opportunity to improve, to quickly make a decision to correct an error. The ancients wisely remarked: "It doesn't matter how many times you fall, it matters how many times you get up." A sane client will always be able to assess the degree of empathy, note the speed of response to his complaint or negative feedback, and remain loyal to such a company.
Feedback easily solves two important tasks: communicative and informational. Receiving information from the client, it is easy to track his expectations and needs, the level of their satisfaction after purchasing the company's product. The communicative task is solved by the very fact of feedback: the client is heard, not left alone with the problem that has arisen. That is why customer feedback is one of the most effective ways to build consumer loyalty.
A business that is not going to think about building customer loyalty events is doomed to near death. Today, the client, and only the client, votes for every business with their hard-earned money. The concept of "consumer loyalty" is slowly beginning to transform into a higher quality, acquiring the status relationship capital. Behind this term is not the distant future, but our today. It is important not to miss in the bustle of business the most important, the most valuable thing in the company - your client, His Majesty the Consumer, for the sake of which any business is started, without exception.
20% of customers bring 80% of profits. And these are regular customers. Increasing their number is one of the important tasks of any business, especially relevant in times of crisis. To this end, organizations often use various loyalty programs, offering bonuses, discounts and other benefits.
Meet Olga, she has a small women's clothing store. Olga agrees with all of the above and also wants more regular customers. But it seems to her that the loyalty program is very expensive, difficult and only big companies can do it.
Loyalty program? What is it anyway? I just want to attract regular customers and I'm ready to give them some discounts. How can I organize all this?
Let's try to help her.
1. Format selection
First of all, you need to choose the format of our loyalty program. There are two types of such programs: discount and bonus. Discounts involve the provision of a discount, expressed as a percentage. In bonus programs, buyers receive virtual points (bonuses) that can be exchanged for a gift or for the same discount. Bonus programs are a little more difficult to implement, but they are more flexible and easier to end early if there is no .
Olga does not want to simply provide discounts, she is interested in the option of a bonus program, when she can set both the number of bonuses and their value.
Also, all loyalty programs can be divided into cumulative and fixed. In accumulative, the amount of the discount (bonus) increases along with the amount of purchases. Fixed discounts mean a constant amount of discount. Cumulative ones are definitely preferable, but more difficult, since you have to solve the problem of identifying a client and accounting for the amount of his purchases.
2. Implementation of the loyalty program
The most commonly used is the issue of discount or bonus cards. Cards are magnetic and barcode. In addition to the cards themselves, you will need equipment to read them: a magnetic card scanner or a barcode scanner. The scanner is connected to a computer on which specialized software is installed, for example 1C. To the costs, you should add the payment for the services of a specialist in setting up the system.
tuthelens/Depositphotos.com Advantages of plastic cards: automation of the process of identifying a client and accruing bonuses, storing information about clients in a convenient form. If the average check is low and/or the flow of customers is large, then this is the best option. But it does not suit Olga, as it is associated with significant expenses for her budget.
The next way to identify a client is by some unique code. For example, a phone number or last name. In this case, the seller manually searches the database for the buyer and gives him bonuses (or makes a discount). The database itself can be stored in various formats. In its simplest form, this is . The advantage is the minimum launch costs, and the main disadvantage is the time spent by the seller. Such a system is convenient for a client who does not need to have a card with him. As a result, discounts and bonuses will be used more often.
You can do without personalization. For example, the Magnit supermarket chain periodically arranges promotions during which customers are given stickers. You collect a certain number of stickers - you get a discount or a gift.
To save on printing, you can print coupons instead of stickers and distribute them to customers. The buyer who has accumulated and presented the required number of coupons receives a discount (gift).
Another version of such a system was practiced by Yves Rocher: regular customers were given cards with stamps that marked the number of purchases.
Bonuses are not tied to a specific client: coupons and stickers can be transferred to anyone. But Olga believes that this is not scary for her. The apparent plus of a depersonalized loyalty program is that you do not need to maintain a customer base. It seems to be because Magnit does not need such a base, but Olga would like to keep in touch with her customers, and she needs their contacts.
3. Improve program performance
The purpose of the loyalty program is not to thank for the purchase, but to encourage them to make a new one. Therefore, program participants need to be periodically reminded about the store, bonuses and discounts. When registering a client in the program, you need to find out his phone number and email address and try to get consent to receive information materials. Modern services will help you keep customers up to date with the latest arrivals, promotions and other news.
Psychological studies show that people are more willing to participate in programs where discounts and bonuses are given on the first purchase, when a card is issued.
It is also known that active, active consent increases the chances of participation. It is desirable that the client personally write at least “I agree to participate” on the application form and sign it. Moreover, by law, you must obtain permission to process personal data.
All good things come to an end sometime. You can immediately limit the duration of the loyalty program, for example, a year. By introducing temporary restrictions on the effect of discounts and bonuses, you achieve two goals at once. First, it is a reduction in program costs. Secondly, lack of time can spur people to additional purchases in order to have time to use the accumulated bonuses. Although some such restrictions, on the contrary, will repel.
After reading everything that we have written here, Olga decided to give out coupons, because she does not want to install a computer for the seller yet. Now she has to decide how much she will distribute these coupons for and what buyers will exchange them for. But this is a purely individual decision.
If you have experience implementing a loyalty program for, write about it in the comments. We promise Olga will read them.
This concept arose along with the advent of market relations. It did not always have a modern name, but was certainly put in the first place by every successful entrepreneur. How do we understand the term "loyalty" today?
Why is it beneficial, how can it be achieved and can it be measured?
Loyalty is, first of all, the positive attitude of the consumer to the goods or services of a certain company. Moreover, this positive is so stable that when a need arises, the buyer turns only to this company, ignoring other similar offers.
Loyalty is a high consumer confidence in a particular brand. A loyal customer is more inclined to be guided by emotions than by reason, and in his choice he follows not so much rational arguments (affordable price, high quality), as irrational ones (I love, I only need this).
Loyalty programs
Loyalty programs are divided into four main types: discount, discount cumulative, simple bonus and bonus, implemented by the catalog system.
A simple discount loyalty program is the least effective method, as it provides the customer with a discount simply for the purchase made, without stimulating them to contact the company again. A discount savings program is more effective than a simple one, as it focuses the client on making a large number of new purchases, and each time receiving more significant discounts for this.
Bonus and bonus catalog systems for increasing loyalty also work successfully for the organizing company and are designed for customers who do not like discounts, but gifts, rewards in the form of a product or service.
How to measure loyalty
Despite the fact that loyalty is largely a subjective value, it is also measurable.
The simplest tool for measuring the level of loyalty is a customer survey, during which their attitude to a product or service is clarified and two main questions are asked: will they buy it again and will they recommend it to their friends, relatives or acquaintances. The percentage of error here is very significant, since not every person answers these questions frankly.
More accurate results are achieved by counting purchases. It compares the frequency of purchases of a product or service of a particular brand with a reference level, the excess of which indicates customer loyalty.
Another effective way to measure loyalty is to calculate the share of purchases of a particular brand of product or service among purchases of similar products or services.
Customer loyalty and CRM
Modern CRM-technologies help to increase the level of customer loyalty. The new development of Class365 greatly simplifies the work with clients, automates the main business processes, helps to increase the productivity of employees and the level of service in the company.
9 behavioral signs that will help you distinguish a loyal customer from everyone else
Why do we strive to constantly improve the quality of customer service? Of course, in order for more Clients to be loyal to us!
But - who is a loyal customer? We can't always explain this exactly, even to ourselves.
Recently, I discovered a very useful concept in a video by fellow trainer Ron Kaufman - 9 behavioral signs that distinguish a loyal Client:
So: a loyal Client is one who:
1. Returns to you and makes repeated purchases.
2. Buys more - more than others, and more than last time.
3. Buys your premium goods and services - more expensive than others - and also purchases sets, packages of goods and services - everything that costs more on average than a regular purchase.
4. Recommends you to others, talks about how good your products and services are, recommends you and brings you other Clients.
5. Gives compliments to you and your team - he tells you not only what is bad, but also what is good, keeps your people enthusiastic and in a good mood, telling you what he likes.
6. Talks nicely about you in public, tells others how he likes you.
7. Protects you in case of mistakes you make or attacks on you by other people - he is on your side when something goes wrong.
8. Gives constructive feedback - if you have room for improvement, he gives you feedback in a constructive and respectful manner.
9. Helps you with "competitive intelligence" - talking about what is happening in the industry, what competitors offer him, helps to keep abreast of events.
There is something to try for - is not it?
The most important thing to emphasize here is that your relationship with the best Clients is mutual. Not only are we loyal and do our best for them, but they are also ready to take a step forward.
Setting up a customer service management system and perfect service will definitely help you to make more of your customers become loyal.
