Customer retention is one of the most critical factors in expanding any business. However, customer retention depends entirely on the loyalty of the customer to the brand. Inciting loyalty within a customer ensures they’ll turn to the same brand for all their problems. After interviewing many branding agencies, we’ve compiled a list of the top five factors that influence the loyalty of any customer.
4 factors that influence customer loyalty
1. Customer service
According to surveys, over 96% of customers decide their loyalty to a brand based on the customer service they receive. Customer service is a simple, yet effective method of identifying the problems a customer may be facing in the product.
When businesses contact a branding agency to rebrand their business, the agency first understands the customer service policy. It is proven that a thorough and well-implemented customer service policy can make 91% of customers make a second purchase.
2. Customer journey
Creating a personalized customer experience becomes easier when businesses understand the customer’s journey. This journey starts from the beginning – where the customer decides they need a product. Part of this journey is to understand what properties or values the product or business has that make the customer come back.
An easy-to-use website interface, availability of information and the reviews of the product all influence the customer’s journey. Developing a thorough journey will ensure a customer feels valued by the business. This will encourage them to come back.
3. Business values
In the current world, a business’s values and ethics are the leading influential factors. Environmental awareness, social responsibility and transparency are just three factors in a long list of business values. 75% of businesses say their vendor’s ethics and values are deciding factors.
Furthermore, 62% of customers claim that they stop buying products from companies whose ethics don’t align with their own. 89% of customers expect businesses to clearly state their values while 90% of customers expect businesses to demonstrate values they have stated.
These statistics go to show that businesses should focus more not only on their product development but also on the business values they display. These factors affect the long term perception of the brand, which has an impact on both – the business’s finances as well as the customer base.
4. Personal interaction
Domancier, one of the leading digital marketing agencies in India, recently found that personal interaction is a leading factor in customer loyalty. How a business opts to contact its existing and potential customers can make a long-term impact.
More than 66% of customers feel like they are treated as a phone number and don’t feel valued. Still, phone calls are among the top five preferred methods of communication. Other channels of communication include emails, in-person conversation, online chats and mobile apps.
As the world recovers from the pandemic, customer loyalty has become the key to unlocking new business ventures. As many branding agencies will tell you, if a business is unable to generate loyalty, they may find it difficult to survive in the competitive market. The above-given list of factors is small, however, these are the four main factors that businesses of all sizes and industries should focus on.