One of your strongest assets you will have this recession is your existing customers. You know they know your brand, they should like your brand considering they have bought from you before and if you keep them sweet then they should keep returning time and time again.

Keeping your customer happy requires time and resources, if successful you will reap many benefit, but how do you do it?

It can vary on the type of product or service and industry you work within. But there are few basics that the majority of businesses can employ:

The best way to start is to look at why your customers chose you, doing a little research into why and what made them choose your brand is the main starting point. Knowing this information not only tells you where you can improve but it also lets you know what you should keep the same. For example, I could take a guess that people buying a Rolls Royce are doing so because it is a luxury item, when they buy a Rolls Royce they are joining an elite group of people that can afford such an automobile. Now if Rolls Royce were to cut their prices because of the recession it may result in existing customers losing this feeling of exclusivity, similarly if McDonalds were to drastically change their menu & cut out all fatty stuff to appease the current fast food backlash then chances are all those fast food fans would jump ship to Burger King.

In essence when it comes to making any drastic changes during these difficult times consider this first: stick to what you know best, listen to what the customer wants and don’t assume what they want, and do not compromise on price.

Be a good brand in the first place

This follows on from giving the customer what they want really. It’s basic common sense: offer a good product/service and good value for money- overall just be good!

Further to this always live up to your promises, betray that trust and you will lose customers; Bernard Matthews made the mistake of promising that their produce was from the UK when it turned out that the chickens were in fact reared in another country all together. As a result of this blatant lie Bernard Matthews suffered massively, losing the trust of the consumer and having to completely rebuild their brand from scratch to recover. Having a quality and honest brand in the first place makes it a lot easier to build the trust of your customer.

Build the trust

Keep your ear to the (digital) ground and monitor what is being said about your brand if there is anything negative being said join the conversation and try to make amends. Offer free advice, alternative products, replacement products, vouchers… some form of goodwill gesture can really turn a situation around. If you can turn a difficult and upset customer into a happy customer through your customer service then chances are that they will be more than happy to deal with you again.

It is always good to start a customer relationship on a positive foot by maintaining contact with them; ezines, newsletters, following them on Twitter, making a connection on LinkedIn and even sending a simple welcome letter are all effective ways of telling the customer that they mean a lot to you.

Having a website and a blog can be an effective tool to build customer trust (no we’re not just saying this because we are a web design company) it really is a way to build credibility and to create a likable persona for your company. Social media can also work towards making your company more ‘normal’ and less corporate, with social media you can have fun, drop the stuffy business image and talk to the customer on their level; breaking down any communication barriers and misconstrued opinion they may have held. Once they see you on a level they understand then the chance of them returning is even higher.

Incentives to return

Excellent customer service is the backbone of any customer loyalty but to really seal the deal give customers a reason to return, make yourself stand out from the crowd and give them an offer you can’t resist. One of the most effective means of doing this is through a customer loyalty card or scheme. Boots has the Advantage card and Tesco has the Clubcard, and both are very effective tools in getting people back into their store to spend money. Although Boots and Tescos are nationwide companies the principle is always the same; customers will be enticed back by money off or special offers. For example, I know Superdrug tends to sells exactly the same product cheaper than Boots but I will always go back to Boots so that I can get even more Advantage points, similarily the more you spend with Tesco and use your Clubcard the more money off vouchers you get every month. Topshop also offer card holders special benefits including free delivery on all online orders, whilst non card holders are forced to pay the £2 something delvery charge.

A customer loyalty scheme isn’t too difficult to set up, you can ask customers to opt in at the checkout stage offering them benefits that non scheme members get. Make like Topshop and give them free delivery, send them monthly offers and if you have the capability set up a points scheme similar to Boots and Tesco. Holding members only sales and events are another incentive for customers to return, or even when having a sale offer loyalty customers extra discount off sales items- something Debenhams often do during their bonanza sales events.

Incentives to return ties in with the next point, offering an above average shopping experience. With ecommerce websites this means making the purchase process as easy and stress free as possible, providing the customer with as much information as they need and making the transaction as secure as possible. Impress customers with attractive design and layout, go the extra mile and create a seperate log in section for existing customers that has all their data already saved, and follow up the transaction with a wee thank you email. It is the little touches that can go a long way to really turn an ok shopping experience into a WOW shopping experience.

Offer value for money

This pretty much falls under the incentives to return but given that it is such an important factor in not only  building customer loyatly but attracting new customer that it deserves its very own bold heading.

Value for money means different things to different people, the simple act of providing your service with a smile can be percieved as value whilst to others it may be getting a free gift with their product. Either way it is going out of your way to give the customer something a little bit extra.

Look at what everyone else in your sector is doing, assess your competition and see what they are offering their customers. Once you know this then you know where and how you can differentiate your product/service from the average, the key being to offer the market better value for money than everyone else. During tough times value that is what the consumer seeks out more than anything so make sure your brand is delivering it by the bucket loads.