Customer loyalty is the most important investment modern companies can make. The devotion of long-term customers can improve a brand’s reputation, provide stability in volatile economic conditions, and enable growth for the business overall. A company’s success is measured not simply by the total number of customers but by the longevity of those accounts. Companies with loyal customer bases increase revenue 2.5 times faster than their peers, according to research shared in the Harvard Business Review. Customer satisfaction ties directly to business success.
Customer loyalty is the most important investment modern companies can make. The devotion of long-term customers can improve a brand’s reputation, provide stability in volatile economic conditions, and enable growth for the business overall. Unfortunately, too many companies focus primarily on securing new customers and wooing prospects, neglecting the needs of their existing customers.
Across industries, we’ve come to understand the brand and customer relationship to be temporary—it starts and ends with purchasing a product or service. Modern sales cycles, even in the B2B space, have left companies and prospects more isolated, limiting the number of opportunities a brand has to connect with a prospect. In addition, digital access has made it more challenging to win the attention of prospects, secure their interest, and hold onto it long enough to develop loyal customers.
But customer loyalty offers measurable value for businesses. A company’s overall value is calculated, in part, by the value of its existing customers. A company’s success is measured not simply by the total number of customers but by the longevity of those accounts.
Companies with loyal customer bases increase revenue 2.5 times faster than their peers, according to research shared in the Harvard Business Review. Customer satisfaction ties directly to business success.
Companies need proactive, practical strategies to facilitate customer engagement, encourage loyalty, and build long-term trust with their existing customers. Customer loyalty comes down to key values that, when applied, help companies build trust with customers over time. Loyalty is a long-term investment that can ultimately future-proof businesses and provide stability no matter how the market changes.
Drive collaboration by streamlining communication
Communication is the ultimate determining factor in the success of a customer relationship. If you cannot communicate frequently and effectively, you will not be able to build trust with your clients. The first step to developing loyal clients is to remove all barriers to effective communication. Early in every client relationship, identify best practices—from which communication platforms are preferred to whoever on your team will be the main point of contact—and stick with them.
Identify one person your customer can trust will hear (or read) information, disperse it to the correct stakeholders, follow through on any necessary action, and report back with results. This dependability is the foundation for trust in any customer-vendor relationship. Without clear boundaries for communication and proven communication success (meaning: you reply to your customers’ emails promptly, and they know that they’ll get a response when they reach out to you), you won’t be able to build trust.
Be an equal collaborator in your customers’ goals.
Investing in your existing clients and cultivating loyalty means ensuring that your customers view your brand as a critical partner in their success. Collaboration is vital both to the success of a strategy and to the overall sentiment about a partnership between a brand (your customer) and their chosen vendor (you). If your customers rely on your industry expertise, trust you to advise decisions, and return to you again and again for insights, you’ve won their loyalty. Trust and camaraderie like this are achieved when brands regularly collaborate with their customers, identifying pain points, providing solutions, and following up or adjusting depending on the outcome.
Invest in your clients by demonstrating, time and time again, that you understand the needs that their business has and that you share a passion for their goals. This can be practical and methodical. Schedule time to brainstorm new strategies, plan ahead for the future, discuss additional services you may lend to your client, or assess changing industry trends.
Don’t shy away from identifying pain points—whether in your relationship with the customer or, more broadly, in their overall strategy—and then providing actionable strategies. This must be strategic. Keep a record of pain points and follow up as your team adjusts to show customers that their concerns are heard and addressed. These conversations—whether in a synchronous meeting or through messaging and email—allow you to invest in existing clients and build a genuinely collaborative customer experience.
This is the value of customer retention in a nutshell: keeping clients around longer offers stability and continuous opportunities to sell and upsell. Your company’s name—how you are known and recognized in the market—can be significantly impacted by your existing customers. Your network—the more narrow market within which you sell your products or services and grow your brand—will likely include existing customers. Building and maintaining your name and network are critical to loyalty and retention.
Future-proofing a business doesn’t require a new strategy or an index of new prospects. Existing customers provide a wealth of value for brands because they accelerate company growth, improve company reputation, and can provide incredible opportunities for collaboration. Prioritizing existing customers is the most impactful investment you can make for your business.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Annie Raygoza, Director of Client Services at WebEnertia
Annie Raygoza is the Director of Client Services for WebEnertia, a full-service Silicon Valley digital brand experience agency headquartered in San Jose. With 20+ years of experience in delivering award-winning results for its clients, Clear Digital specializes in building strategic digital brand and web experiences for B2B organizations.
She dedicates her time to building client relationships, and her team at Clear Digital has garnered a 90% client retention rate. Annie sits on the board of the Silicon Valley chapter of the American Advertising Federation and is active in the local community of tech leaders.
As a woman in marketing, advertising, and technology, she understands the importance of representation and of advocating for women in the field. When not at work, she loves to read and spend time with her dog, Fozzie.