How to make loyal customers

On average, loyal customers are worth up to 10 times as much as their first purchase according to White House Office of Consumer Affairs. Simply put, the more loyal customers you have, the more money your company makes.

At Jitbit, we have a handful of customers who are very loyal to us. They’ve been with us for a very long time and are very engaged with the company and the product. Recently I started thinking about what have we done differently with them as opposed to regular not-so-loyal customers.

Being consistent

Every customer support ticket from our loyal customers has been answered quickly and the issues were quickly resolved. I think this was the essential part – we were very consistent providing exceptional customer support to them. We often went an extra mile and did things that we usually don’t do. Like remote support or installation help.

Responding to an email quickly just once or twice is not enough. You’ve got to stay on point with your customer support every single time if you want to get loyal customers.

We are treating them as equals

I almost don’t want to call them “customers.” Most of our loyal clients are more like partners to us at this point. They’ve provided so much help and suggestions with our product I honestly don’t believe we would be here today without their help.

But it all started with their first couple of support emails with questions and suggestions. We took every feature request seriously. If we have to refuse, we thoroughly explain what are the reasons behind that decision. If we have any questions about implementing a feature, we consult them and ask how to make it better for them.

I honestly can’t say that we do this with every customer, but we really should try our best. I know how hard it can be when you get a 50th feature request a day. But the default thinking should be “What if they are on to something?” instead of “This person can’t understand our app better than me and their suggestions make no sense”.

Let them know you are doing something special

Speaking of extra miles, whenever we do something that we don’t do for everyone, we make sure that the customer knows that they are getting special treatment. After all, you’re doing extra work – you want people to know about it.

Special treatment, even if it’s something insignificant, makes a difference. Small things like “We usually don’t do it, but I can help you install the app remotely” could easily earn you thousands of dollars in the long run. People tend to remember this. Admit it – you still remember every restaurant where you got a free dessert.

We are honest with them

This is almost the same as treating them as equals, but I wanted to make a special point on this. Being honest is crucial for any long lasting relationship. Here is what I mean:

• If we screw up we admit it and offer an explanation
• If we need to say “no,” we don’t go willy nilly and just say “no.”
• If they ask us a question we provide an honest answer

One of the most valuable skills you can have as a customer support agent is creating loyalty. I believe that these four points helped us get those “customers for life” we have today. Share yours in the comments.

Check out What is Customer Advocacy and 11 Reasons Why it's the Bedrock of Your Business