Building Customer Loyalty in the Digital World

It is an undeniable fact that we are currently in the golden age of digital shopping. After the pandemic, there is a sharp increase in the number of digital marketplaces. Face-to-face conversations have been replaced by digital conversations through video, mail or chat. With this digital transformation, customers have come to realize that they have more options at their disposal. If they are not satisfied, they can conveniently switch to another brand. ‘Brand switching’ has become a looming threat to companies from all sectors.

We can see that customer loyalty has suffered greatly in this digital age. Increased competition is one of the main reasons for the decreased customer loyalty. To encourage customer loyalty, brands have started to offer faster service and lucrative deals. While this might be efficient in the short-term, it is will not be effective in the long-run. In this highly competitive digital world, brands need sustainable digital strategies to ensure long-term customer loyalty. And that is exactly what we discuss in this article.

Take a Different Approach

The traditional way of measuring customer loyalty through satisfaction surveys and reviews will not work in this digital age. Instead, brands must look for advocacy and critical feedback. It is important to check whether customers refer people to the brand or share the brand’s products in their social media posts. If customers love your brand then they will act as the brand’s representative, which is the true mark of loyalty. It is also important to ask for critical feedback to customers through digital platforms like WhatsApp. When brands listen to their feedback and show signs of change, customers will feel valued and respected. Thus cementing their relationship with your brand.

Engage! Engage! Engage!

Ever since facetime replaced face-to-face conversations, some brands have slowly forgotten to engage with their customers. It is a universal fact that customer engagement drives loyalty, so brands should actively look to engage with customers. Since millennials make up the most of today’s customer market, brands need to embrace digital engagement. There are several digital tools like Facebook, WhatsApp, Live Chat, etc., through which brands can initiate customer engagement. By engaging with customers and understanding their needs, brands will be able to serve them better.

Double Down on the Basics

Imagine this, ‘you are sending a personalized message and rose bouquet to delight your newest customer, but you forgot to check on your product which turns out to be defective.’ Do you think the customer will come back to you? ‘A bunch of roses doesn’t mask a terrible service’. When it comes to customer satisfaction, it is important to get the basics right before you try to delight. New brands get excited by the set of digital tools like live chat, WhatsApp, etc., and try to delight the customers, while forgetting to focus more on their products. So, the first step to increase customer loyalty is to render a purposeful and flawless product.

Transparency = Trustworthy

In this digital age, this is this most basic formula. If customers feel that a brand is transparent, they naturally feel that it is trustworthy. Having the same business message across all the digital platforms is the easiest ways to portray transparency. Hence, investing in an omnichannel tool will work wonders for any digital brand. Another way to improve transparency and trust is by giving a human touch to all communications. If customers feel that they are engaged in a personal conversation, they will start to trust the brand. WhatsApp, the popular digital messaging platform, is the most apt tool for engaging in personalized and secure digital conversations.

Be Available

While brands have work hours and operate on a timeframe, customers don’t. This is especially the case with digital customers who have numerous options right at their fingertips. Since today’s customers expect ‘instant support’, brands have to provide 24/7 customer support to gain their trust and appreciation. When brands use accessible digital tools like live chat, customers will find it convenient to contact them all through the day. Brands can easily increase customer loyalty by giving instant customer support 24/7. Moreover, this also lets the brand proactively engage with potential customers, which is a double win.

These five tips are just ‘tip of the iceberg’ when it comes to increasing customer loyalty (pun intended). While they provide a generic guideline, brands can find new & more efficient ways to increase customer loyalty in the digital market. However, there is no denying the fact that digital tools like WhatsApp and live chat play an important role in increasing customer loyalty. Hence, brands should proactively add new digital tools to gain the trust and loyalty of their customer-base.