Have you ever stopped and had a “They love me! They really, really love me!” moment when it comes to your customers? That’s the feeling of your hard work for providing a top-notch customer experience for every person who waltzes through your doors … or onto your website. 

Customer loyalty is the goal when running a business, but it doesn’t always come easy. Sometimes you have to change what metric you measure loyalty to better suit your industry to truly measure success.

Other times, you have to change your approach to building a stellar relationship with your customer.

A mere 5% increase in customer retention yields between a 25-100% increase in profits.

While it’s not the most exciting conversation to have, customer retention is an important one. When your customers are happy with you, they’re willing to spend more money and they’ll do it more often.

Even better, happy customers share their experience with your business with their friends, who are more likely to stop in and give you a shot. 

Get Better Acquainted

My favorite part of getting my monthly spa services is the woman providing the service. I’ve gone to her, and only her, for the past year for one reason: It’s not because she’s cheaper or less booked than her competitors.

It’s because she knows me and allows me to get to know her. She remembers the smallest of my life details and opens up when I ask about her. 

While remembering every detail of hundreds of customer conversations is a tough task, there are ways to make it easier and show your customers they are more than a dollar sign to you.

Do you have a patient with several children? Add their names and ages into your client’s file (use customer relationship management software — CRM — to make this seamless and centralized so other team members can access the info, too).

Imagine being able to casually toss in a “How is little Johnathan? He should be getting ready to head to school now, right?” It’s a natural conversation that’s general but sounds genuinely invested.

If you’re like me and have a 5-minute memory, there’s a simpler way to make that personal connection. Make your customer feel valued by creating automated campaigns set for their birthday or anniversary.

Tossing in a coupon will give them a reason to treat themselves to your business sooner than planned. Who doesn’t love a treat and a nice personalized message to their email or phone?

Reward Loyalty

Before you go wondering how you can implement a credit card rewards program, take a minute and pause. Often, the easier route is the better route.

Remember punch cards? They’re still alive and well, although some may go a more digital route in tracking now.

Offering rewards for completing a full punch card or package of services gives your customers all the more reason to come back to your location, rather than the big box name shop down the street.

Plus, consider offering a discount to customers who pay for the full package upfront, and now they’ve got some skin in the game, too.

Make Doing Business with You Easy

Customers are craving convenience. Put yourself in your customer’s shoes. If your client logs on to your website to order a yoga package every other week, the last thing they want to do is to sit and reenter the same information each time.

That bond can’t fully form because that customer is digitally treated like a guest every time and never allowed to feel like a member.

This is why having a CRM tied to a client portal for one-on-one interactions is important. But what about when it’s payment time?

80% of consumers prefer card payments over cash.

Another aspect of being the convenient choice is expanding beyond accepting cash and check payments. By offering clients the option of paying by card or SMS messaging, you open yourself up to even more potential clients.

Even before COVID-19 hit, there was a surge of nearly 14% in non-cash transactions. But, before you make the jump to accepting credit cards, be sure you double-check how processing fees work and will affect you, as well as ensure that your business is PCI-DSS compliant.

You want to provide your customers with the best encounter you can provide. Excellent customer experience is what you strive for, and it is the root of building customer loyalty.

As long as your focus is set on building long-term relationships with your customers, you’re headed in the right direction.