It’s no secret that having loyal customers boosts sales. But getting to that point is quite a complicated process. Brand loyalty isn’t exactly easy to come by and requires careful planning and strategizing.

4 Ways to Foster and Reward Brand Loyalty Among Your Customers

Before we move on, it’s worth noting that brand loyalty is distinct from customer loyalty. Customer loyalty refers to an individual’s overall purchasing power in terms of your company’s products.

Brand loyalty, on the other hand, is a measure of your customers’ trust in the brand. It’s also how likely they are to try your company’s other products. As a rule of thumb, the higher your brand loyalty, the more likely a customer is to buy a product from you rather than a competitor.

That said, here are four methods you can utilize to foster brand loyalty:

How to Build Brand Loyalty

1. Provide stellar customer service

Consistent and reliable customer service is one of the best ways to boost brand loyalty. It shows your customers that you care about them before and after their purchase.

Plus, it’s one of the simplest ways to improve customer experience. And good customer experience translates to better brand loyalty.

A great example of this is in The Ritz Carlton Hotel’s customer service standards. This boils down to three steps: a warm and sincere greeting, calling the guest by their name, and the anticipation and fulfillment of the guests’ needs.

By laying down this admittedly simple framework of making the customer feel welcome, stellar customer service is guaranteed regardless of the industry you’re in.

2. Use customer sentimentality to your advantage

The more a customer relates to a product, the more likely they are to purchase it. Feelings such as joy, love, and nostalgia apply. In fact, a study on the International Journal of Business Innovation and Research reveals that feelings of nostalgia can be the most engaging when it comes to marketing. This powerful link stems from the adult’s desire to recapture cherished memories.

One industry where the play on nostalgia is evident is gaming. Foxy Games notes how various classic titles have been remade to keep up with emerging technologies.

Games, like the 8-bit favorite Star Raiders, have been reimagined to tickle the fancy of older generations of players and attract newer ones. Other examples include entries from the Zelda series and the long-running Final Fantasy games.

These remakes draw in older gamers who want to re-experience their old favorites. Remastering old games is one way to build a rapport with clients. This is because you’re giving them an opportunity to relive good memories, which can trigger positive emotional responses that they might associate with your brand.

3. Utilize giveaways and promos

Giving back to your customers is one sure-fire way to gain their loyalty. Promos, such as coupons and discount codes, will keep your customers coming back for more.

And as for giveaways, you’ll be happy to know that there are plenty of promotional materials to choose from — clothing, office supplies, and even product samples. Just make sure to tailor them to your target market’s preferences.

McDonald’s and other fast-food chains are great examples to look up to for promos. They offer plenty of coupons and digital discount codes that entice you to make another purchase from them.

By doing this, food companies are rewarding their clients for supporting their business. And the rewards make them more likely to come back.

4. Stick to your branding

Don’t forget to stay consistent with your branding, whether it’s in your products, promotional events, or social media strategies. It’s not enough that customers have a good experience with your company. They need to connect that experience to your business’s identity.

Apple’s brand is one of the best examples of consistent branding. The company built its identity with a series of products that were uniquely Apple — the lowercase “i,” the innovative design, and its ever-recognizable logo.

This is why the brand is now a household name and a globally renowned digital powerhouse.

Rewarding Brand Loyalty

Once your business has dedicated customers, you’re going to want to retain their loyalty. Here are three simple ways to do that.

Shoutouts

If your business has a sizable following on social media, you could do regular shoutouts to loyal customers. This shows your client base that you’re connecting with them. And it’s an added bonus for the lucky customer.

Loyalty Program

Loyalty programs are another way to foster brand loyalty, but it’s also an avenue to reward dedicated customers. Offer them special discounts or item bundles as rewards for their continued trust in your business. This way, they’re given the incentive to make more purchases.

Personalized Offers

If you really want to make your customer feel special, send them special product recommendations, tailor-fit these offers for them. To make the perfect sales pitch, consider the individual’s background, personality, and attitude.

This will give you a good idea of what you should recommend. And it’ll show them that you’re paying attention to what they like. These are just some of the tried and tested ways to build brand loyalty with your client base.

Make sure to be consistent in the services you provide. In good time, you will be sure to see more dedicated customers and, hopefully, more sales.

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