In our last blog post, Understanding Customer Loyalty for Frozen Yogurt Shops, we discussed the value of a loyal customer base and some of the different ways to measure customer loyalty. This post focuses on how to cultivate a stronger relationship with loyal customers. In other words, we look at best practices for creating, maintaining, and retaining loyal customers.
How to Cultivate Customer Loyalty
The key to cultivating customer loyalty comes down to giving your customers what they want. Respondents to our 2018 National Frozen Yogurt consumer survey rated the taste of the frozen yogurt as the most important attribute, followed by cleanliness of the shop, quality of frozen yogurt and toppings, and value.
Put yourself in the shoes of your customer. Can you honestly say that your yogurt is the best in the area? Are your toppings fresh? Do you ever offer fun, interesting flavors and toppings? Are your prices fair? Is your shop clean, not just some of the time, but all of the time?
Offering superior customer service comes down to recruitment and training. Frozen yogurt shop employees are typically young and need direction. They’re still learning what good customer service entails. If problems arise, your employees should know how to resolve them without further aggravating a frustrated customer. Have someone greet everyone who walks in, in a friendly manner of course.
Many customers like to frequent small businesses with local owners who care about the local and global community. Some ways of giving back and getting involved include hosting fundraisers, sponsoring local clubs and causes, donating a portion of the proceeds to a non-profit, using eco-friendly packaging, etc.
Loyal customers deserve extra recognition. Show your loyal customers that you appreciate them with special perks, for example, customer appreciation parties, loyalty programs, and exclusive offers.
An Overview of Loyalty Programs
A good customer loyalty program goes beyond rewarding loyal customers. It can also help the business owner learn more about her loyal customers, namely their purchase behavior and responsiveness to promotions. Armed with data, the owner can then create smaller customer segments and tailor more effective offers to these smaller segments.
While paper-based loyalty or frequent buyer cards are easy to offer and have some benefits, they also have some serious drawbacks. For the consumer, it’s easy to lose or damage cards. And they take up space in one’s wallet. For the business owner, digital loyalty programs are far superior for customer tracking.
Buzztime Business reviewed the 10 best restaurant loyalty programs, including LevelUp, FiveStars, and Belly. If you have a POS system, many of them include loyalty program features.
