Building Customer Loyalty

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   Posted on behalf of Dann Whittaker

Building Customer Loyalty: Chain Store Affiliation Not Necessary!

Each day business owners get dozens of customer loyalty and affinity program offers by mail or email.  Most managers and owners discard the information because they think their chain is too small; perhaps they only own one or two locations.  

So now, the million dollar question!  No matter what the store/chain size, HOW MUCH IS THAT CUSTOMER WORTH TO YOU?  $10.00 a day?  $50.00 a week ? $200.00 a month?  No matter what you answered, every individual walking into your establishment is worth something to you.  Don't you think gaining their loyalty is worth a small investment in building a customer loyalty program?  

Chances are your competitor's do!  There is one large oil chain currently running a radio campaign touting the fact their local managers know the names of their regular customers.  This is how important customer loyalty is in today's economy.  So, as a small to mid-sized operation, what can you do to build customer loyalty?  Let's explore some options!

1.  Know your customers by name:  You see them several times a week.  Get to know them, their family, shopping habits, what they like and don't like.  Getting to know your customer costs nothing, but it can help you increase sales.  Perhaps you are now carrying a new item that your customer hasn't noticed, but has expressed an interest in your carrying... "Hey Joe, did you see we got our new cappuccino machine in?"  Joe currently has a .69 cent cup of coffee in his hand, but the next time he's in he buys a $2.00 cappuccino... You have just increased this customer’s worth by $1.31 cents!

2. Loyalty cards: The new craze in creating Customer Loyalty.  Although automatied customer loyalty programs are becoming less expensive, a simple punch card will still work well.  Have the customer complete a short lifestyle survey in return for the punch card.  After so many punches, the customer receives a reward to be determined by you.  Rewards can change weekly, monthly or quarterly.  The important part of this process is taking the data you gain upon sign-up and placing the information in a database that will alert you to a customer's life event (e.g. birthday, anniversary, etc.).

3. Provide a specialized service:  You cannot be all things to all people.  Choose what you sell and sell it well.  In an effort to combat reduced in-store sales (due to in my opinion the ease of pay at the pump technology) one C-store in my area has added dry cleaning drop-off and pick-up at his location.  The operator dedicated a very small area of his store, partnered with a locally owned dry cleaner, bought a couple of racks to hold clothes and began promoting the service.  What a concept!  The customer needs gas, needs to pick-up and drop-off cleaning.  This operator has just saved the customer one stop on the way to or from work and about a half an hour of time saved!

Building customer loyalty does not have to be expensive.  The Dann Whittaker Creative Team is adept at developing low-cost, but effective customer loyalty programs

--------------------------------------

Dann Whittaker is the Chief Creative Officer for Dann Whittaker Creative a full-service marketing, consulting, and branding company based out of Columbus, Ohio. 

They provide clients with the option of working by project or on a monthly production retainer.  For more information contact the DWC team at 614.842.4363.

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Jon Davito Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Visit Members Homepage Add to Buddy List Admin Group Forum Administrator Joined: Dec 31 2008 Location: St. Louis, MO Online Status: Offline Posts: 19	Quote Reply Topic: Building Customer Loyalty Posted: Mar 04 2009 at 5:32pm
	Posted on behalf of Dann Whittaker Building Customer Loyalty: Chain Store Affiliation Not Necessary! Each day business owners get dozens of customer loyalty and affinity program offers by mail or email. Most managers and owners discard the information because they think their chain is too small; perhaps they only own one or two locations. So now, the million dollar question! No matter what the store/chain size, HOW MUCH IS THAT CUSTOMER WORTH TO YOU? $10.00 a day? $50.00 a week ? $200.00 a month? No matter what you answered, every individual walking into your establishment is worth something to you. Don't you think gaining their loyalty is worth a small investment in building a customer loyalty program? Chances are your competitor's do! There is one large oil chain currently running a radio campaign touting the fact their local managers know the names of their regular customers. This is how important customer loyalty is in today's economy. So, as a small to mid-sized operation, what can you do to build customer loyalty? Let's explore some options! 1. Know your customers by name: You see them several times a week. Get to know them, their family, shopping habits, what they like and don't like. Getting to know your customer costs nothing, but it can help you increase sales. Perhaps you are now carrying a new item that your customer hasn't noticed, but has expressed an interest in your carrying... "Hey Joe, did you see we got our new cappuccino machine in?" Joe currently has a .69 cent cup of coffee in his hand, but the next time he's in he buys a $2.00 cappuccino... You have just increased this customer’s worth by $1.31 cents! 2. Loyalty cards: The new craze in creating Customer Loyalty. Although automatied customer loyalty programs are becoming less expensive, a simple punch card will still work well. Have the customer complete a short lifestyle survey in return for the punch card. After so many punches, the customer receives a reward to be determined by you. Rewards can change weekly, monthly or quarterly. The important part of this process is taking the data you gain upon sign-up and placing the information in a database that will alert you to a customer's life event (e.g. birthday, anniversary, etc.). 3. Provide a specialized service: You cannot be all things to all people. Choose what you sell and sell it well. In an effort to combat reduced in-store sales (due to in my opinion the ease of pay at the pump technology) one C-store in my area has added dry cleaning drop-off and pick-up at his location. The operator dedicated a very small area of his store, partnered with a locally owned dry cleaner, bought a couple of racks to hold clothes and began promoting the service. What a concept! The customer needs gas, needs to pick-up and drop-off cleaning. This operator has just saved the customer one stop on the way to or from work and about a half an hour of time saved! Building customer loyalty does not have to be expensive. The Dann Whittaker Creative Team is adept at developing low-cost, but effective customer loyalty programs -------------------------------------- Dann Whittaker is the Chief Creative Officer for Dann Whittaker Creative a full-service marketing, consulting, and branding company based out of Columbus, Ohio. They provide clients with the option of working by project or on a monthly production retainer. For more information contact the DWC team at 614.842.4363.