Retaining a customer is more cost-effective than acquiring and that’s as true of Business to Customer commerce as it is of selling Business to Business.
So, this post discusses how to focus your B2B loyalty strategies on customer retention. With a customer base consisting of fewer customers in this set-up, customer retention needs to be a priority.
You’re not looking to cast a wide net. You’re looking to keep the customers you have in place, so a tailored, focused approach to retaining your primary customers is essential.
Your branding tells customers who you are and what matters to you. It’s what attracts them and it’s what retains them.
But part of your loyalty strategy involves walking your talk, as terms of your brand values. Customers who know you well stay when they see that you’re true to those values.
Whatever those are, they must be visibly reflected in the presentation of your loyalty program and what it’s there to do. Your values and branding are the vehicle for communication to the customers you’re targeting and the behaviors you reward. It’s also reflected in what those rewards are.
A brand image that promotes first-in-class solutions for retail marketing might reward innovations in the field or particularly successful marketing campaigns.
But part of successfully mounting a loyalty program like this is transmitting your brand message and the values underpinning it clearly. Your customers need to feel a connection to that message and want to be part of it.
The internet has transformed the world of customer experience, translating it from the Real-World brick-and-mortar commercial space to the vast marketplace of the information superhighway.
Online, you have numerous opportunities to elevate the customer experience. Your online loyalty game brings with it finely tuned personalization and individualized loyalty programs, using tools like avatars and wish lists.
A personalized loyalty program frames the customer experience as a rewarding one in which their needs are met as the result of their commercial connection to your business.
Building communication into your online loyalty strategy changes the game. With the right technology in place, you can send tailored texts, emails and push notifications but only to those customers who are comfortable with the digital world. You choose the people you communicate with using these methods.
You can still send traditional, communications like postcards and flyers to people who prefer these informational modes. They’re still out there. They’re still customers. So, you’ll be working in a multi-tiered environment that’s personalized to the customer on every level.
This is the age of convenience and customers love it – especially B2B customers. They’re busy! They may be at meetings or on site and not in front of their computers. What they want is a loyalty program that’s friendly and understands their needs.
A loyalty app or mobile-optimized program satisfies this need for ease. Strategic tools like these maintain contact and provide your customers with information about your loyalty program, like promotions and updates.
Ready to strategize? Contact us to get started.
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