4 Ways to Create Brand Fanatics

4_Tips_To_Create_Brand_Fanatics

You are always looking for ways to increase sales at your business. That might mean getting new customers. But new customers are not the only possible solution. You can—and should—look at ways to get your existing customers to come back more often to buy more. Increasing customer loyalty is a great strategy. Here are 4 ways to turn one-time customers into raving brand fanatics:

1. Always Over-Deliver

One of the best things you can do is over-deliver. Very few things will frustrate a customer more than a business that over-promises and under-delivers. On the other hand, when you promise conservatively but then beat that promise, customers are thrilled. Beating customers’ expectations will encourage them to come back to you again and again because they know they can count on you to strive for excellence. You will go above and beyond for them, and it makes them feel special. It shows them that you care for them as individuals – not just zeroes on a balance sheet.

2. Build a Broader Relationship with Clients

We don’t believe in selling. People don’t want to be told what to do. They don’t want to be around people who are only and always selling them something. Instead of building the relationship around the sale, put the relationship at the core. Then as you build trust, the sales will come.

3. Keep Their Best Interest in Mind

Don’t sell customers something that does not offer them value. If your product or service is not right for a customer, tell them. You don’t want to push somebody into doing something they don’t want to do; they are likely to come out of it feeling tricked, and that leads to bad word-of-mouth marketing. When you treat customers ethically, they will have more reason to believe and trust you when you do have something that will help them. Santa’s strategy in Miracle on 34th Street really does work!

4. Educate Your Customers

A great way to build a relationship with your customers is to provide them with information. That information both helps them by making them smarter, and it helps you by demonstrating your own expertise and knowledge. It shows that you care and that you have the skills and information to help people. That leads to top of mind awareness, too: a customer might not need your product or service right now, but when they do need it, they will think of your business first because of how you have shared information.

What tips do you have to increase customer loyalty?

 

Matt Tarkenton

Matt Tarkenton is Executive Vice President at Tarkenton Companies, and has started several businesses and is interested in business formation, strategy, and growth. He was part of a group that started Renova Partners, a boutique investment bank, and was recognized as a “40 Under 40: Up and Comer” by the Atlanta Business Chronicle in 2009. Matt performs business planning and marketing training for hundreds of professionals across the country, and co-hosts a weekly coaching program on entrepreneurial education. Matt graduated from Princeton University, and received an MBA from Harvard Business School. He maintains his Series 7, 63, and 79 licenses, and currently serves on the Board of Directors of Youth Villages, on the Education Committee of the National Association of Fixed Annuities (NAFA), and in leadership positions in various organizations.