In today’s crowded market, companies must focus not only on creating a great marketing plan but also on creating strong consumer relationships. Developing customer loyalty is essential for retaining customers and for building potentially new ones. While customer loyalty can be defined in different ways, it is essentially when a buyer has a positive connection with a business and makes purchases on an ongoing basis. This bond means your patrons will choose your establishment over competitors, and potentially recommend it to family and friends.

Customer loyalty does not happen overnight but rather over a period of time. As your customer has multiple interactions that together develop a feeling of trust with the brand. However, not every interaction must be positive. If there is a negative experience, a customer tends to respond better if the company can resolve the problem quickly and make them feel valued. In fact, buyers who have bad encounters with a company which are then addressed pleastantly may be even more loyal than those who no issues in the first place.

Building customer loyalty involves more than offering flashy deals and low prices. It encompasses the emotions that consumers have about your operation and its offerings. A truly dependable customer believes your product or service to be a great advantage and identifies with your business on a personal level.

You may not even have to promote to make customer loyalty happen. Loyal customer are also likely to recommend your business to others. They may talk about your great work on social media as well as write positive reviews. They might also mention your enterprise to family and friends. In fact, word of mouth advertising is the strongest form of advertising. 92% of consumers say they trust earned media over other forms of advertising.

Organizations that understand the impact of customer loyalty can help plan and implement it in a variety of ways such as a package design. For more information, check out the accompanying guide below. It details how online retailers can boost retained business with unique packaging ideas.