October 2016
Stand by Me: How to Use Your CRM to Encourage Customer Loyalty
Over the years, CRMs have come to mean so much more than simply customer service tools, now serving as marketing systems, databases and workflow management tools as well. Although they now have more capabilities than ever, CRMs still remain a key tool in encouraging customer loyalty – but how? And why is loyalty so essential?
Why Loyalty is So Important
It’s a fact: loyal customers will keep your business running all year round. Retainer projects/repeat purchases are key to mastering the cash flow which will keep you afloat. Not only that, but the most loyal of customers become spokespeople for your brand, generating even more repeat business.
To help you get going on your loyalty drive, we’re going to run through a few pieces of advice we’ve learned from (and imparted on) our clients regarding building customer loyalty using a reliable CRM. Get your pen and paper ready and let’s begin!
Keep Them Up to Date
About to set up a CRM or implement a system change which affects customers directly? Then this one is definitely a great starting point for you: be transparent with your customers and make sure they know how it will affect them.
Keep the information short, to the point and be open to answering their questions – they probably won’t read an essay you email out to them, after all. But if you can do everything possible to help them to understand that it’s there to make life easier for them, improve your services, and help you to communicate with them better, then you’re sure to win their affection.
Respect Their Wishes
On the subject of communicating, it’s absolutely essential to be aware of your customers, their demographics and the way in which they prefer to be communicated with. Younger markets, for example, may prefer text messaging to email – which is now a simple affair with a bespoke CRM. Older individuals, however, may not have access to the internet, in which case a phone call would be preferable. Even better is to make sure that your team are aware of each individual’s preferences, recorded within the CRM – this way, they feel much better looked after and they can enjoy a consistency in your communications.
Do a Great Job
Your CRM is no longer just about recording phone numbers and taking notes. Built to your exact specifications, a bespoke CRM solution can help your team to perfect productivity, tackle tasks remotely, and provide up-to-the-minute reporting for better strategic decisions. With such a powerful tool at your disposal, it’s never been easier to do a good job for customers – and trust us when we say it’ll show in their relationship with you.
Ask for Their Feedback – and Do Something with It
Keeping in mind the first point (re: preferred communications), be sure to ask your customers for feedback on everything from your services to your team. After all, customers are your greatest critics and the business revolves around serving them. Use your CRM to compile feedback communications and then to analyse the resulting data to pinpoint where the business can improve. Then – and this is the crucial part – act on it. Make sure you consider all feedback (both good and bad) and do something with it. If feedback directly leads to a change, get in touch with the customer who recommended it and extend your thanks to make them feel like a part of the team’s success.
With a bespoke CRM solution at your side, it really has never been easier to ensure customer loyalty to your business. Make sure to continuously revisit these points and ask if you could work them into your organisation in any other way to build relationships that last a lifetime!
Interested in finding out more about a bespoke CRM which can help you to achieve all this? Get in touch with Lunar CRM to arrange a free, no obligation demo and encourage greater loyalty from your customers right away!