3 ways to keep your customers loyal

By Sean McPheat

Gaining a customer’s loyalty to your products and services is the Holy Grail in today’s business world. Gaining advocates for your company can prove advantageous for many reasons, including additional profits, easier additional sales and increased word-of-mouth advertising.

Many business owners think that loyalty is primarily driven by the relationship aspect; the client will be happy to use you because they are happy with you. However, the reasons for loyalty have changed quite considerably over the last few years. Yes, relationships still drive many sales and keep the loyalty factor high in the client’s mind. But another concept has risen to the surface for many clients, and it’s an area that is getting more and more important to buyers as time goes by.

Clients today need more help than ever in running their businesses, so if you are able to assist their business opportunities and identify benefits that will take their business onto the next level, there are more reasons for them to remain loyal to your company.

The best way to offer this value is to increase the amount of attention and focus on the three main areas that drive customer decision-making. These revolve around the components of money, time and risk.

So, if you’re able to help the client see how their profitability will improve, or their time will be saved, or their risk will be lowered, you build reasons for them to say ‘yes’ to your solution, and remain loyal to your future direction.

Interestingly, most buyers tell us that they don’t much need people to “sell” to them anymore. They can do all the work that salespeople used to do before they talk to the salesperson. They can find out all the information they need and match them to your products without you or your salespeople helping them.

But they will pay for experts who can help them achieve what they couldn’t without them. And that includes showing them how to remain productive and profitable, how to save time and effort, and how to reduce risk. Those three areas will drive loyalty, because it will help them achieve goals and establish a great foundation for future business.

You start off by studying your customer’s industry, business challenges and competitors. The way you do this is by identifying the best and most informative blogs that keep you up-to-date with the customer’s industry. You subscribe to Google Alerts to find the main issues your clients are facing today. And you link up with thought-creators in LinkedIn and other social media to keep abreast of what is causing clients the challenges that they need to deal with.

Money

In order to get clients to be loyal when it comes to the ‘money’, help them gain more repeat business from their customers. Show them how you can reduce their productivity problems. Identify how you can help them price their products so they can compete with their competition.

Time

When discussing ‘time’ with them, show them you’ll meet your deadline promises. Help them see that dealing with you will reduce their customer complaints. Determine how much actual time and effort your solution saves them.

Risk

When dealing with ‘risk’, show how they reduce the risk of missing their deadlines with their customers when using your services. Show them how your warranties and guarantees reduce any risk they have in dealing with you. And strengthen your chances of loyalty by showing how your solutions help your client’s customers build confidence in them as a supplier.

Loyalty is built over time when emotional and rational reasons combine to prove confidence in the supplier. These three tips, relating to money, time and risk, help your clients maximise their confidence in using your services and hence have the decision-process made easier for them.

Author Credit: As a sales expert and successful entrepreneur, Sean McPheat is asked to help businesses to improve their sales through consulting, coaching or training. He is also the Managing Director of MTD Sales Training, the internationally renowned sales improvement firm where he leads a team of 25 sales trainers who have delivered sales solutions to over 50,000 staff.

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