customer loyalty

Customer retention is a big challenge for businesses. How can you ensure that your customers will continue buying from your business over the long run? Many experts have suggested offering free merchandise as a way to keep customers coming back. Studies show that businesses that gave away free samples saw a significant increase in customer loyalty and repeat business, but why does it work? Below are just a few reasons why free merch makes such a massive difference in customer retention.

Free Merch Makes Your Customers Feel Good

When you give your customers something for free, it makes them feel valued and appreciated. They will remember the gesture and appreciate the fact that you thought of them. This good feeling will make them more likely to do business with you again in the future. This can be a particularly good way to retain customers for a goods-based business, as your customers will have a product they associate with your brand for years to come. Additionally, if you are a business that sells food products, this allows your customers to try your product risk-free. This is a wonderful way to open the door for new customers who may have been apprehensive to buy your product.

Customers Feel Like They Owe You Something

In some cases, customers may feel like they “owe” you after you give them something for free. They may think, “This company was nice enough to give me this freebie, so I should probably buy something from them in return.” While this is not always the case, it can still influence customer behavior in a positive way. To lean into this approach, make sure that you avoid mentioning any exchanges, as your customers will appreciate the no-strings-attached approach. Also, ensure that this is a product that would elicit a response like this. A piece of candy with your brand name is nice, but it likely wouldn’t cause this reaction. Consider which merch items are best for attracting customers in this way.

Freebies Can Create a “Buzz” About Your Brand

When you give away free stuff, people will talk about it. They may tell their friends and family members about the great experience they had or post about it on social media. This can help to generate positive word-of-mouth advertising for your business, which can lead to more customers in the future. Working with a capable brand dedicated to this approach, such as DeSigns Incorporated, can allow you to further build on this buzz through the use of social media posts and content generation. Keep track of new customers through this engagement.

Overall, offering free merchandise is a great way to improve customer retention rates. If you can find a way to give your customers something that they’ll actually use and appreciate, then it could pay off in a big way for your business down the road! If you are not sure where to begin for your specific free merchandise, consider looking at other businesses in your field for inspiration.

“Customer satisfaction is worthless. Customer loyalty is priceless” –Jeffrey Gitomer

Michael LeBouef was once quoted to say that a satisfied customer is the best business strategy of all and in more ways than one, his sentiment could not be any truer.

Regardless of what business or industry you are in, customer satisfaction is paramount. Not only would this ensure that you would not receive any backlash from selling substandard products or purveying inferior services, but in most cases, it would guarantee you customer loyalty as well—the foundation of every thriving business. In this regard, you should steer most of your endeavors to improving customer satisfaction and doing what you can in order to meet their expectations—realistically of course. Your productivity apps for sales can only get you so far, if you want a significant improvement in your sales, it is best if you centered your focus on enhancing customer satisfaction. After all, a satisfied customer would almost always guarantee you a second-time sale or would even refer you to his or her friends and family—raking in the revenue and profit for you. When you have satisfied customers, your products and services would ultimately sell themselves. After all, the best marketing strategy is keeping your customers happy.

Here are some of the ways you can improve your customer satisfaction:

Treat your customers the way you wish to be treated

Sure, this might sound a little cliché but no customer wants to be treated badly. A good sentiment to remember is that you need your customers more than they need you. After all, if you treated them badly, they could just go and do business with your competition. Ensure that you give them a favorable experience for you and your business. Learn to filter yourself whenever necessary and put yourself in their shoes as well.

Develop customer service communities

One way of cementing customer loyalty is to take your existing customer base and building a community for them where they can generate product ideas and test new products. In this regard, your customers would feel like what they have to contribute or say is important. Furthermore, it allows you to get feedback on how your existing products are being used and gives you an insight of the features your customers want as well.

Bring new perspective and ideas

Customers are availing of your product or services because they need it. They are stuck and would need your assistance. Had they been able to diagnose what their problems were and came up with a feasible solution to it themselves, they would do so without needing your help. But since they cannot, you must be able to bring something new to the table to keep them coming back.

Make employee satisfaction a priority

While customer satisfaction is paramount, you should never overlook employee satisfaction as well. Remember, your employees are in providing excellent customer service and that they are the first people your customers would interact with before they can get to you. With this in mind, keep your employees happy. Remember, the happier your employees will be, the better customer service they will provide. In fact, it has been shown that employees that feel appreciated would perform better at their jobs. So, every now and then give praise where praise is due and if possible, introduce an employee of the month program where your employees can take a sense of pride in their efforts.

Turn customer survey data into action

Do not simply install a suggestion box simply just for the heck of it. Make use of it and take advantage of it as it offers you a wealth of things to do which can really improve the way you run your business. Take time to read them and see whether they are feasible enough to integrate into your business. Furthermore, take a look at where you fall short and think of the ways you can start improving in these areas. Take note: The complaints your customers have listed on the suggestion paper are actually avenues for improvement and better customer satisfaction. So, do not take offense.

Tag: customer loyalty

Customer Retention: How Free Merch Makes a Difference