7 Ways to Build Long-Term Customer Relationships with Examples
Long-term customer relationships are the key to business success and growth. They help you retain loyal customers, increase customer lifetime value, reduce marketing costs, and generate positive word-of-mouth. But how do you build long-term customer relationships that last? Here are seven ways to do it, with examples from real brands.
Key Takeaways
Long-term customer relationships are the key to business success and growth.
Long-term customer relationships can be built by delivering personalized, consistent, and engaging experiences.
Long-term customer relationships can be measured by using metrics such as customer lifetime value, retention rate, churn rate, net promoter score, etc.
Long-term customer relationships can be improved by soliciting and acting on customer feedback, rewarding loyal customers, educating and informing customers, and creating a community of customers.
Long-term customer relationships can be inspired by examples from real brands such as Netflix, Zappos, Starbucks, Apple, Sephora, HubSpot, and Lego.
1. Deliver personalized and relevant experiences
Customers expect personalized and relevant experiences from the brands they interact with. They want to feel valued, understood, and catered to. Personalization can increase customer satisfaction, loyalty, and retention. To deliver personalized and relevant experiences, you need to collect and analyze customer data, segment your customers based on their needs, preferences, and behaviors, and tailor your products, services, offers, messages, and channels accordingly.
For example, Netflix uses data-driven personalization to recommend movies and shows based on each user’s viewing history, ratings, and preferences. Netflix also creates personalized artwork for each title, showing different images to different users based on what they are likely to click on.
2. Provide consistent and excellent customer service
Customer service is one of the most important factors that influence customer loyalty and retention. Customers want to receive fast, friendly, helpful, and reliable customer service across all touchpoints. They also want to have multiple options to contact you, such as phone, email, chat, social media, etc. Providing consistent and excellent customer service can increase customer satisfaction, trust, and loyalty.
For example, Zappos is known for its exceptional customer service culture. Zappos empowers its customer service representatives to go above and beyond to delight customers. Zappos also offers free shipping, free returns, 365-day return policy, and 24/7 support.
3. Engage customers through multiple channels
Customers interact with brands through multiple channels, such as websites, apps, social media, email, etc. To build long-term customer relationships, you need to engage customers through multiple channels and provide a seamless and consistent experience across them. You also need to use the right channel for the right message and the right audience.
For example, Starbucks engages customers through multiple channels, such as its mobile app, website, email newsletter, social media accounts, etc. Starbucks also integrates its loyalty program across all channels, allowing customers to earn and redeem rewards easily.
4. Solicit and act on customer feedback
Customer feedback is essential for understanding your customers’ needs, expectations, opinions, and satisfaction levels. It can help you identify your strengths and weaknesses, improve your products and services, and enhance your customer experience. To solicit and act on customer feedback, you need to use various methods and tools, such as surveys, reviews, ratings, testimonials, etc. You also need to thank your customers for their feedback, acknowledge their issues or complaints, and follow up with them on the actions taken.
For example, Apple solicits customer feedback through various methods, such as its website, email, phone, and in-store surveys. Apple also acts on customer feedback by improving its products and services, launching new features, and addressing customer problems.
5. Reward loyal customers
Loyal customers are valuable assets for any business. They buy more often, spend more, refer more, and cost less to serve. To build long-term customer relationships, you need to reward loyal customers and make them feel appreciated and special. You can reward loyal customers by offering them discounts, coupons, freebies, upgrades, exclusive access, or recognition.
For example, Sephora rewards loyal customers through its Beauty Insider program. The program allows customers to earn points for every purchase and redeem them for rewards. The program also offers different tiers of membership with different benefits, such as free shipping, birthday gifts, early access, etc.
6. Educate and inform customers
Customers want to learn more about your products and services, how they can benefit from them, and how they can use them effectively. Educating and informing customers can help you build trust and credibility, increase customer value and retention, and position yourself as an authority and a leader in your industry. You can educate and inform customers by creating and sharing valuable content such as blogs, videos, podcasts, webinars, e-books, etc.
For example, HubSpot educates and informs customers through its blog, which covers topics related to marketing, sales, service, and software. HubSpot also offers free courses and certifications through its HubSpot Academy.
Tips
- To build long-term customer relationships, you need to understand your customers’ needs, preferences, and behaviors.
- To build long-term customer relationships, you need to provide value to your customers beyond your products and services.
- To build long-term customer relationships, you need to communicate with your customers regularly and effectively.
- To build long-term customer relationships, you need to appreciate your customers and reward their loyalty.
- To build long-term customer relationships, you need to create a sense of community and belonging among your customers.
7. Create a community of customers
Customers want to feel connected and belong to a community of like-minded people. Creating a community of customers can help you foster engagement and loyalty, increase word-of-mouth and referrals, and collect feedback and insights. You can create a community of customers by using platforms such as forums, social media groups, online events, etc.
For example, Lego creates a community of customers through its Lego Ideas platform, which allows customers to submit their own Lego creations, vote for other customers’ ideas, and interact with other Lego fans. Lego also produces some of the most popular ideas as official Lego sets.
How Long-Term Customer Relationships Boost Global Demand
Customer relationship management (CRM) is the art of building and maintaining strong connections with your customers and prospects. CRM can help you improve customer satisfaction, loyalty, retention, and revenue. In this blog post, we will look at some examples of how long-term customer relationships can increase global demand for your products or services.
Example 1: Capgemini
Capgemini is a global leader in consulting, digital transformation, technology, and engineering services. The company has been using data and AI to drive customer experience across various industries. One of the ways Capgemini fosters long-term customer relationships is by creating a unified customer profile that gives customers full control of their own data and consent preferences. This builds customer trust and transparency, which are essential for long-term loyalty .
Example 2: REVE Chat
REVE Chat is a cloud-based live chat platform that enables businesses to provide personalized and engaging customer service. The company has been using CRM to create good customer engagement examples and strengthen relationships with clients. One of the ways REVE Chat does this is by offering omnichannel support that allows customers to communicate with the business through their preferred channel, such as live chat, voice call, video chat, email, or social media. This enhances customer convenience and satisfaction, which are key factors for long-term retention .
Example 3: Zendesk
Zendesk is a software company that provides a suite of tools for customer service, sales, and engagement. The company has been using CRM to set better customer relationship management examples and deliver consistently great customer service. One of the ways Zendesk does this is by analyzing customer feedback through surveys and customer service interactions. This helps the company understand customer needs, expectations, and pain points, and improve its products and services accordingly. This increases customer value and loyalty, which are vital for long-term revenue .
Long-term customer relationships are not only beneficial for your business, but also for your customers and the global market. By building and maintaining strong connections with your customers, you can create a loyal fan base that will advocate for your brand, refer new customers, and generate more demand for your products or services. To achieve this, you need to use CRM to deliver personalized, contextualized, and impactful customer experiences across all touchpoints.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q1: What are the benefits of building long-term customer relationships?
A: Building long-term customer relationships can help you increase customer loyalty, retention, value, and advocacy. It can also help you reduce marketing costs, improve customer satisfaction, and gain a competitive edge.
Q2: How do you measure long-term customer relationships?
A: You can measure long-term customer relationships by using metrics such as customer lifetime value, retention rate, churn rate, net promoter score, customer satisfaction score, and customer loyalty index.
Q3: What are the challenges of building long-term customer relationships?
A: Some of the challenges of building long-term customer relationships are managing customer expectations, providing consistent and excellent customer service across all channels, collecting and analyzing customer data, personalizing and segmenting customer experiences, and creating a loyal customer community.
Q4: What are the best practices for building long-term customer relationships?
A: Some of the best practices for building long-term customer relationships are delivering personalized and relevant experiences, providing consistent and excellent customer service, engaging customers through multiple channels, soliciting and acting on customer feedback, rewarding loyal customers, educating and informing customers, and creating a community of customers.
Q5: What are some examples of brands that have built long-term customer relationships?
A: Some examples of brands that have built long-term customer relationships are Netflix, Zappos, Starbucks, Apple, Sephora, HubSpot, and Lego.
References:
http://www.hcltech.com/sites/default/files/CRM_Trends_Insurance.pdf
https://eprints.soas.ac.uk/21171/1/Chapter%209%20-%2010%20Dec%202014%20-%20ANA-ACT%5B1%5D.pdf
http://www.destinationcrm.com/Articles/Columns-Departments/Reality-Check/Demystifying-CRM-Adoption-Rates-42496.aspx
https://www.capgemini.com/insights/expert-perspectives/seven-ways-to-foster-long-term-customer-relationships-2/
https://www.revechat.com/blog/customer-relationship-management-examples/
https://www.zendesk.com/blog/customer-relations/
https://www.zendesk.com/blog/customer-relations/
https://www.revechat.com/blog/customer-relationship-management-examples/
https://www.capgemini.com/insights/expert-perspectives/seven-ways-to-foster-long-term-customer-relationships-2/
https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbescommunicationscouncil/2021/10/11/three-ways-brands-can-build-long-term-relationships-with-customers/
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