April is customer loyalty month (although, of course, every month should be directed to customer loyalty). Is your organization inspiring loyalty? How do you know?
In it most simple form, customer loyalty means the customer will keep using your products or services. One step up is when the customer uses your products or services regardless of price or convenience simply because he/she likes your organization. And the most advanced form is when the customer actually becomes your ambassador–speaking well of you and referring business your way.
(A caveat to the above: this does not apply to utility companies and other monopolies where customers have no choice but to stay with you. This is not loyalty to your company but rather a need for your services.)
To measure customer loyalty, you could start by measuring repeat business by customer. Do you have it and from what percentage of your customer base? To measure more advanced forms of customer service, you could ask new customers if they have been referred, and by whom. You could also track your best customers and their spending over time, to see if price increases have made them drop off.
If you have low numbers of customer loyalty, it is time to audit your customer service to see if you are indeed inspiring company loyalty. How hard is it for customers to get customer service? How long do they have to wait or what information are you requiring? Are you processing complaints, and if so, what is the main source of complaints? Do you canvass your customer service representatives to see what customers are unhappy about, beside any issue they have contacted your company about?
Business Insider offers up “Ten Customer Service Tips for Customer Loyalty Month,” which include:
- Treat customers as if they are special
- Send thank you notes
- View your customers as a community and actively engage with them.
- Be personal
How will you mark customer loyalty month?
