Brand loyalty doesn’t happen overnight. Your existing customers will only stay if you consistently give them a reason to do so.
The internet has made it easier than ever for consumers to pick from the best brands online. If you don’t focus on what your current customers want or need from you, you can lose them for good.
Luckily, building long-term customer relationships is not as daunting as it seems. This guide will help you increase customer loyalty through relationship marketing and raise your bottom line.
What is relationship marketing?
Relationship marketing is designed to build meaningful customer relationships. Its goal is to not only cultivate greater engagement but also to encourage shoppers to form emotional connections with your brand. When done right, the result is more consistent sales and a greater customer lifetime value.
This marketing method is unique because it fully focuses on supporting your current buyers rather than seeking new customers. It also recognizes the ongoing importance of the customer experience for every shopper, as buyers can go through the sales funnel multiple times. Relationship marketing techniques drive returning buyers to fully trust your business—and in some cases, never consider your competitors again.
Why relationship marketing matters
Most business owners will tell you that finding new buyers can be hard—and expensive. Customer acquisition can cost up to 25 times more than customer retention. Through relationship marketing, you can strengthen your base of repeat buyers and cut back on acquisition costs.
Loyal customers can help you do more than save money and time. They’re also valuable assets who help you profit more in the long run. When your relationship marketing efforts improve your retention rates by just 25%, you can boost your company’s profits by 25% to 95%.
Despite the power that long-term customers hold, your competitors are twice as likely to set their eyes on acquisition instead of focusing on keeping their existing customers. Relationship marketing is your opportunity to not only win over your target audience but also keep them as long-term and loyal buyers.
5 steps to build your relationship marketing strategy
Creating a strong relationship marketing plan is the first step to growing your business through customer loyalty. By building an organized strategy before you take action, you cultivate more effective relationships and amplify your results.
Here are a few examples of how you can work toward your first customer-focused marketing campaign:
01. Create a customer loyalty program
One of the most effective relationship marketing tactics is developing a program that’s built to increase customer loyalty. Loyalty programs can take many forms—including points-based programs and even paid VIP clubs—but their main role is always to reward your repeat customers for choosing your brand. Whether you’re an airline offering frequent flyer miles or a coffee shop with punch cards, you can make sure every buyer feels valued by rewarding their continued business.
Loyalty rewards provide far more than short-term customer satisfaction. An MIT study found that participants in top-performing loyalty programs were 77% more likely to purchase from the rewarding brand as opposed to competitors. They also tended to spend more money with the brand and recommend the brand to others. Consequently, this relationship marketing technique can even increase your word-of-mouth promotions and online reviews.
02. Guarantee reliable customer service
Regardless of whether a consumer is buying from you for the first time or back for the thousandth purchase, they may need your support at any time. When they look for ways to reach out, your company should be ready to respond. Approximately 96% of consumers agree that customer service has a huge impact on brand loyalty.
Relationship marketing can be as simple as demonstrating your brand’s attentiveness to current customers by providing responses with a quick turnaround—think a couple of hours max. With Podium’s automation tool, you can automate instant responses (even to confirm a message has been received) to help buyers immediately feel heard. With Webchat, you can ensure that messages are routed to the right teams quickly and that nothing falls through the cracks.
When it comes to responding to your customers’ feedback and inquiries, your team members should be well-trained to provide shoppers with a consistent experience that they love.
03. Collect customer data
The richer your data, the better you’ll be able to curate your customer experience to your buyers’ needs. Relationship marketing is all about showing how much you care about your customers. Presenting enough data to prove you’re listening can help big time.
When compiling data, many companies choose to use a customer relationship management (CRM) software to keep it organized in a centralized place. Using your company’s CRM tool, your employees can better understand buyer needs in every customer interaction.
04. Personalize every interaction
With enough customer data, you can continue building close relationships with your shoppers by personalizing every message. When companies add personal elements to their email marketing alone, their click rates end up 27% higher. You can personalize interactions by recalling purchase history and preferences and addressing customers by name along with relevant promotions or information.
This relationship marketing strategy works because it’s an effective method of showing customers they’re more than one face in a massive group. Rather, you see them as individual humans who play a big role in the success of a business. As a result, you’ll drive your customers to return and continue to support your brand.
05. Follow up
When you think about how to build great relationships with your customers, consider how you maintain relationships with your closest friends. You talk and you interact—and then you follow up.
Just as you and your friends keep your relationships strong by checking in and asking each other to hang out, relationship marketing calls for business owners to consistently reach out to consumers. For example, you could follow up each time a customer makes a purchase to check if your product or service has reached their needs. A couple of weeks later, you may reach out again to re-engage them with what you have to offer.
What’s the difference between customer loyalty and customer retention?
The ultimate goal of great relationship marketing is to keep customers longer (customer retention) and encourage them to buy/use more of your products and services (customer loyalty).
Customer retention
Customer retention refers to the ability of a company to keep its customers over time. This can be achieved through various means, such as providing excellent customer service, offering competitive pricing, and regularly communicating with customers.
Companies with high customer retention rates are able to maintain a stable customer base and can continue to grow their business.
