Loyal customers are more valuable than new ones for a number of reasons: they’re worth up to 10 times the value of their first purchase, the cost of gaining a new customer is significantly higher than that of keeping a current one, and when a business has more loyal customers, it’s better able to manage marketing costs and work on improving its product or service. Therefore, if a business wants to stay competitive, it should work on keeping its customers.

Here are a few strategies to build and maintain customer loyalty:

1. Work on the customer experience  
Good customer experience one of the most important tools for raising loyalty and patronage.  Customers will keep buying your product or service if they feel like they’re getting their money’s worth. Additionally, by constantly improving the experience, you minimize the risk of losing customers to your competition.

2. Boost employee morale  
Whether your employees directly interact with customers or not, they’re sure to affect the experience your consumers have.  If your employees value and enjoy their jobs, that will affect how they look at the product and, in turn, how they treat your customers.  Train your employees to handle customer requests patiently, productively and efficiently. It may be a bit tedious, but the results are definitely worth it.

3. Showcase your consumers’ stories  
There are two ways this benefits your brand - it makes your current consumers feel appreciated and even celebrated, while it encourages your potential market to try your product out after hearing positive feedback from people they can identify with.  On one hand it’s a way to reward your patrons for their longstanding support and to encourage word of mouth (WOM) advertising; on the other, it’s a less aggressive, more relatable way of targeting your audience.

4. Run loyalty programs
In the same vein as the previous tip, rewarding your customers for their loyalty is another strategy that works wonders.  Loyalty programs can be in the form of earning points, enjoying certain discounts or availing of special promos. With the right loyalty programs targeted to specific patrons, you can even encourage them to become repeat customers.

There are many ways to keep your customers loyal, and they all stem from one thing: appreciating them and being grateful for their patronage.  Consider showing your support for them also by encouraging feedback, making them feel that your product is there to answer their needs, and letting them know how much they matter.

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