Keep reading to find out the difference between the two and how you can improve them.
What is customer satisfaction?
The term customer satisfaction is essentially a measurement of a customer’s attitude or feelings towards a brand, product or service. As a rule, it’s measured by a customer satisfaction survey on a numerical scale.
What is customer loyalty?
Customer loyalty, on the other hand, is a set of behaviours and attitudes that a customer demonstrates that show their loyalty to a product, service or brand, such as repeat purchases or choosing your brand over a competitor.
How to improve customer satisfaction and customer loyalty?
Although customer satisfaction and customer loyalty aren’t the same thing, by improving one you’ll improve the other, so here are some ways to improve them both.
- Be clear on your values. This is so important because it can give you the edge over other brands. Even if another business sells the same or a similar product or service to yours, if people identify with your values they’ll automatically consider you more seriously because they’ll be able to relate to you and understand why you do what you do. Incorporating customer loyalty rewards are another great way to show that you value your customers.
- Promote your brand in a range of ways. Similarly to building your reputation, part of creating a customer loyalty base means promoting your brand in places where your potential customers already are. There are a range of marketing avenues, from social media to digital advertisements and print advertising, so make sure you market across a range of channels to increase the attention you receive. This also makes it more convenient for existing customers to interact with your brand, keeping your company relevant in your customer’s daily lives.
- Make customer service a part of your brand. If you want to improve both customer satisfaction and customer loyalty together, make sure that your customer service efforts stand out just as much as your brand does. 77% of customers say they would recommend a brand to a friend after a single positive experience, so remember that if you’re providing a positive experience as part of your brand, the number of happy customers in your business is going to increase.
- Streamline communication. Advances in technology have changed customer service in recent years. If you want to improve customer loyalty and satisfaction in your business, make sure that communication is as easy as possible for customers. One way to do this is to make sure your contact information is easily available and aim for quick replies whenever a customer reaches out. Even if you need to clarify questions to fully help the customer, being able to hear back from you quickly will make them feel heard and valued, two things that will make them more loyal to your business.
Overall, there are many ways that you can begin to improve your customer satisfaction and customer loyalty. With these ideas in mind, you will have the tools you need to take the first step towards developing and growing your business.