Flipping the Switch

Turning a casual or potential customer into a loyalist is the dream for every business. But, what we hear from our clients, bridging that gap seems impossible.

And we’ll admit, crossing the bridge is a daunting task. But, if your company is up for some change and some relationship-building, it’s possible.

The good news: It’s not a complete mystery to inspire brand loyalty.
The bad news: There are no shortcuts. It’s hard work.

Even better than a repeat customer, businesses want customers so pleased with their product or service, they just can’t not tell their friends about their experience with the company. They don’t want loyalists, they want ambassadors.

The best option to create ambassadors is to start the company-client relationship off with a positive experience, and maintaining that happiness throughout the consumer journey lifecycle into when the cycle repeats itself. Mistakes and misunderstandings, however, can be inevitable. In the case something happens to break a strand in the relationship, we’ve gathered a few pointers to gain trust, and hopefully a customer, back.

Engage

If a customer ends a relationship with a brand, it’s likely due to a poor experience. Giving consumers an easy way to access your brand – whether that means a phone line that connects directly to an actual representative, or a hyper-responsive Facebook page – helps removes the barriers they may encounter after a bad experience.

Ask

Collecting customer feedback is essential to finding out what’s working for your brand and what is not resonating. Unless someone is extremely happy or extremely dissatisfied, it can be hard to convince people to share their opinions. Offering discounts, raffles or other prizes is a great way to convince middle-of-the-road consumers to share their opinions.

Act

Just getting feedback isn’t enough. Making adjustments based on feedback you’ve received can prevent one unhappy customer from turning into dozens unhappy customers. Even better, once you’ve found a solution to a common complaint, reach out to customers who provided you with feedback in the first place, and let them know you listened! Maybe in the form of a coupon or discount.

Experience

To better understand the user experience, you need to experience it yourself. This doesn’t mean mindlessly clicking around your site or trying to buy a product. It means exploring every route a user could take to see an item or complete a purchase. The more thorough you are, the more streamlined your UX should be.