Wednesday, March 16, 2011

What are you Doing to Develop Loyal Customers?

What's the secret to developing a reliable lasting relationship with your customers?

Providing quality goods coupled with a high level of customer service is always a good recipe for generating repeat business, but what else should you be doing to develop a customer's loyal?

Every grocer struggles with this challenge and the answer is it's all about the relationship. And what are the cornerstones of any successful, lasting relationship, trust and communication. Trust is built and maintained over time with consistent quality goods and services. The communication, on the other hand, can be a little trickier to master. Beyond staff training and weekly ads, how and what do you communicate to your customers. This is where developing and implementing a preferred customer program tailored to your clientele and targeting specific buying habits can be invaluable. Launching a preferred customer card program can seem daunting. You can start simply rewarding enrollment in the program and offering item discounts to all members. This will get the ball rolling allowing you to begin tracking purchasing habits and getting to know your customers in a whole new way. From there you can institute specific rewards programs and target customers with receipt messages and mailings that connect in a personal way. With routine analysis of the collected customer data you can create new rewards programs, targeted marketing campaigns and direct mailing initiatives. By evaluating the success and redesigning you gain further insight into what makes your customers tick and consequently communicate that you’re listening to them and appreciate their patronage.

These efforts have proven effective across many industries and help take the relationship with your customers to a new level. This in turn will not only incent a loyal following but can also lead to a buzz on the street. This is when the magic begins and your business grows. If you're interested in learning more about preferred customer solutions contact STCR at (607) 757-0181.