20% of your existing customer base will equal 80% of your future income, statistically.

Not only are your current customers your most lucrative ones, but they’re also costing you the least. Yes, it costs much more to gain a new customer than it does to keep an existing one happy.

Loyalty is an incredible asset – and increasing customer loyalty should be a prime focus for every business.

After customers make their way through your customer journey, they arrive at the final stage: Loyalty. (Missed the other articles in the 4 part series? See Awareness, Consideration, and Decision)

The key to increasing customer loyalty is to seek out, take advantage of and create loyalty-building opportunities.

How do you keep wine club members? How do you get them to tell their friends? What perks will help keep members on board?

Loyalty.

Here are a few ways to increase customer loyalty:

Offer incentives to join

Everyone loves a good reward. If your customers are interested in joining your wine club or membership, why not offer them an added incentive? It could be product like a set of stainless steel wine tumblers or a discount to sign up.

This will help them decide to follow through and will make them feel more appreciated.

Loyalty: The most valuable asset in your customer journey

Clear descriptions of wine club, wines and price

Clarity makes decision-making easier. When your product descriptions and offerings are crystal clear, your customers will feel more at ease buying from you again and again.

Don’t confuse them with too many options. Research shows people feel more satisfied with their choice when they have a limited number of choices.

If you are charging for shipping, make sure you explain your rates before they get all the way to checkout.

Celebrate the customer

Who doesn’t want to feel special? Celebrate your customers for being your customers!

Your customers experience your brand and your product every time they interact with you. When you create positive, celebratory experiences, your customers remember the good feelings associated with those experiences. This encourages loyalty because they feel genuinely connected to your brand.

Feature your top customers in your social media with re-posts and your email marketing with customer’s of the month.

One of our clients has a very successful birthday program, where customers get a free lunch on their birthday. All it takes is asking your customers for their birthdays at email sign up and then sending out all September birthday emails at the same time. And the best part? People always bring a friend or more for lunch, buy bottles of wine, plus tell their friends on social media.

Loyalty: The most valuable asset in your customer journey

Request reviews

When you ask your customers for reviews, you’re signaling that you appreciate their feedback and their perspective.

The above graphic with Awareness, Consideration, Decision, and Loyalty? Think of that graphic wrapping around a globe. Asking your most loyal customers, usually wine club members, to give you reviews helps your brand receive the most 5-star reviews and raise Awareness to future customers.

Plus, being able to showcase your customers’ reviews means you’re building a community of people who love your products and your brand. This sense of community fosters loyalty.

Create a referral or reward program

Social proof has a huge impact on the way consumers make buying decisions. Even if you think a wine club is too complex for your brand, create a referral program. Referral programs allow your customers to be rewarded for telling their social circles about your brand.

One of our clients created a simple reward program where they could purchase a metal pin for $25 and then every future visit where they showed the pin they received a percent off wine. Plus, many members put the pin on their purse or hat, which led to friends asking about the winery. Free advertising for your wine brand.

This added encouragement to promote your products to their friends makes your customers feel like they’re in on something – connected. This, too, fosters loyalty by creating a strong sense of community and togetherness.

Take advantage of opportunities to build loyalty amongst your customers. Give value, build community, and grow your network by delighting loyal customers every chance you get.

Just like every other stage of the customer journey, loyalty can be worked into your marketing strategy. At Bauerhaus Design, we offer marketing strategy and monthly marketing packages to help you do just that.

Schedule a free discovery call.