How do you turn your happy customers into MORE happy customers? Simple: build them a clubhouse and reward them for their loyalty!
The idea of creating a club and a clubhouse around a company is nothing new. Over the years, the customer club has taken many forms from the recipe contest and bake-offs hosted by your favorite food labels to a special email ‘members-only’ email lists. Today, technology is enabling even small companies to build elaborate clubhouses around their customers, bringing the level of brand engagement to unprecedented levels.
Whatever the form of your customer clubhouse, the principles behind the clubhouse remain the same: reward loyalty and deepen the level of brand engagement.
5 ways to build your loyal customers a clubhouse
#1: Seek their input FIRST – Thinking about launching a new product or expanding your services? Turn to your customers first. Reward their loyalty by seeking their advice and input on new directions. Use interactive Q&A forums, and online surveys to ‘crowdsource’ answers.
#2: Build them a community clubhouse – A happy customer club needs a clubhouse, a place to gather and share stories, ideas and favorites about your company. It doesn’t need to be complicated – a simple facebook fan page done right will do the trick!
#3: Reward loyalty – Often companies reward the wrong behavior – namely the new customers who switch over to get a deal. Instead of wasting valuable resources on customers who will switch back to the competition at the slightest enticement, reward your loyal customers with special exclusive ‘members-only’ offers and benefits.
#4: Engage where your customers interact – Step into the world where your customers are talking about you – social media. Happy customers talking about your company are the perfect opportunity to engage them and turn them into active promoters. Hint: if you use an affiliate program to promote your business, start your recruitment campaign here.
#5: Encourage interaction – Set up an interactive forum or company wiki to encourage your happy customers to interact with each other. Both do double duty –further engaging your customers and taking a bit of the workload off your customer support team.
