Customer focus: How can you create a bond with your customers?
One of the most important goals of successful customer loyalty is customer orientation in all activities. However, this is often easier said than done. If customer centricity is on your agenda, then you've come to the right place.
The eternal duel: Customer retention vs. new customer acquisition
Unfortunately, it is still often thought that acquiring new customers requires less effort than retaining existing customers. However, this is not correct at all: customer retention requires less effort than acquiring new customers. According to empirical studies, it costs five times as much to acquire a new customer as it does to retain an existing one. The effort required to win back a lost customer is even higher. The management consultancy Bain & Company has calculated that a five percent increase in customer loyalty makes a company up to 75 percent more profitable.
This extensive effort clearly demonstrates the importance and value of building a customer relationship and customer orientation.
So how can companies build a bond with their customers? What role does customer focus play in this?
We have collected and summarized five key elements on how you can focus on customer orientation.
Five key elements for acting in a customer-oriented manner
1. Loyalty
When it comes to customer loyalty, everyone immediately thinks of customer loyalty. In order for a customer to build "loyalty", they must first be able to trust them. Therefore, the company's track record is a key instrument for successful customer loyalty - especially in terms of performance towards customers.
Once a company has gained trust, it is much easier to maintain loyalty. If customers have the feeling that a company is only acting in its own interests and therefore does not place any value on customer orientation, it will be difficult to build this trust.
2. Performance and consideration
As already mentioned, it is important that customers can trust the company. This also applies to the services they receive. Customers pay money for a company's goods or services and expect a satisfactory return.
This market principle means that companies must constantly monitor and improve their quality and performance. In order to retain customers and build customer relationships, this must be perceived as a central task for companies - this is how you act in terms of customer orientation.
3. Service package
Maintaining a customer relationship is a continuous process, or rather a cycle that should always be customer-centric. This is why "after-sales support" plays just as important a role as advice during the purchase. Service must not be forgotten as an important component of customer satisfaction. Friendliness plays a decisive role in sales talks and in the event of complaints or other inquiries.
4. Appreciate customers
Customers who are satisfied with a company's performance gain trust, are much more likely to (re)purchase from them and are happy to recommend the company to others. If the customer feels that they are not valued enough, this can have unpleasant consequences for the company. For this reason, customer orientation should be practiced and the needs of customers should always be taken seriously. This creates brand loyalty and security. This is how many companies generate regular customers - who come back to the business again and again and feel comfortable.
5. Customer orientation throughout the company
The positive attitude towards customers should not only prevail in sales or customer service, it should encompass the entire company. After all, all areas of the company bear responsibility and make an important contribution to building a good customer relationship. Everyone must adapt their behavior to customer orientation.
Everything the customer needs!
Customer loyalty is a living process. Customers' needs change over time. But one thing remains the same: Customers do not want to buy from companies that are only interested in profits. They want to be the center of attention and feel that customer orientation is lived everywhere.
Companies must therefore invest a lot of time and resources in maintaining and nurturing customer relationships. Continuous improvements can significantly strengthen the relationship with customers and promote loyalty to the company.
