Every day, fresh, new ideas are formed, companies are launched, however most of them fail. Then again, you don’t want to be like most.One way is to focus on more than simply acquiring customers. Instead, you could identify ways to turn some of those customers into your loyal brand advocates.
Customers are smart, and they won’t become advocates without reason. They have to identify and feel affiliated with your brand.
Identify and Find Your Advocates
You won’t be able to turn everyone into a loyal brand advocate. Some customers will arrive, buy something and leave. Some will become regular customers, but do little else to benefit your brand. However there are SOME that have the potential to become brand advocates.
How do you sort out your customers by interest?
Create a simple survey and ask your customers on a scale how likely are they to recommend you to their friends, family or colleagues. Customers who answer with a 9 or 10 are potential brand advocates. When possible use some extra resources into building relationships with these people.
Offer some Excellent Customer Service
According to CreditDonkey, 35.9% of customers at large businesses and 5.7% of customers at small businesses are disappointed with the service they receive while many only rate the service as adequate. Clearly, something’s not right. Adequate experiences don’t stand out to customers either. The customer may not simply complain about you, but chances are they won’t be telling their friends about you either.
Go above and Beyond
If you want to turn customers into brand advocates for your brand, you need to go above and beyond and exceed their expectations at every opportunity!
Create a loyalty program
If repeat business will earn the customers rewards, it makes sense to return to the same company instead of switching to a competitor.
Remember their name
Many of you probably don’t realize it, but we love to hear our own name. It affirms our worth and makes us feel wanted. Take some time to try and remember your customers name.
Offer personalized services
It’s often the little things that make the difference: when a place allows to to modify a product to your tastes or a bartender remembers your drink order. Personalized services help to make customers all feel like VIPs. That feeling of being special really butters up the customer ego and makes them want to come back for more.
Surprise Them
One of the most effective means to making your customers happy is to surprise them. Just receiving a freebee can be great but when it’s a complete surprise, it’s even better. Just think about the last time your partner or family member gave you a gift on your b-day. It was nice but you may ave saw it coming. You probably weren’t that exited about receiving it. Now think about a time someone just gave you a gift completely out of the blue. Think about things like free upgrades, or giving customers a surprise gift, or a hand written thank you note.
Give out Free T-Shirts
If you want to make people happy. Give them free stuff, especially something they can wear. Just by wearing your t-shirt, your customers are instantly becoming brand advocates for your company.
Google Allow Self-Customizable Swag
Under-Promise and Over-Deliver
You ever tell someone you’d do something, knowing full well that you’d struggle to deliver on your word? I know I have, it’s natural. It’s part of wanting to please people you care about. Thankfully, there’s a solution to this dilemma. Under promise and over deliver.
Send a personalized thank you note
Thank you notes are a really easy and ver personal way to surprise and delight your customers. They show you care about their business that they simply aren’t a number, that likewise that you aren’t simply a faceless corporation.
These are just a few ideas and we could definitely add to this list. Feel free to comment, share or add your own input to the conversation! If you have questions about experiential marketing, pop-up shops, engagement marketing, or just want to say hi, contact BeCore today. We’d love to partner with you on your next project.