How can SMEs create a loyal and satisfied customer base? 

As a small or medium-sized enterprise (SME), you know how important it is to attract and retain customers in a competitive market. You also know how challenging it can be to stand out from the crowd and offer something unique and valuable to your customers. That’s why you need to adopt a customer-centric approach in your business. 

A customer-centric approach is a strategy and a culture that puts the customer at the centre of everything you do. It means understanding your customers’ needs, preferences, emotions, and expectations, and delivering products and services that meet or exceed them. It also means creating a positive and memorable customer experience that builds trust, loyalty, and advocacy. 

A customer-centric approach can help you create a loyal and satisfied customer base that not only buys from you repeatedly, but also refers you to others, gives you positive feedback, and supports your growth. In fact, according to a study by Deloitte, customer-centric companies are 60% more profitable than companies that are not focused on the customer. 

So how can you become more customer centric as an SME? Here are some ideas that you can implement in your business: 

Create a customer loyalty program that rewards customers

One of the best ways to create loyal customers is to show them that you appreciate their business and value their relationship. A customer loyalty program is a great tool to do that. A customer loyalty program is a system that rewards customers for their actions that benefit your business, such as buying your products or services, referring new customers, giving feedback, or engaging with your brand. 

 A customer loyalty program can help you increase customer retention, loyalty, and satisfaction by offering personalised and exclusive benefits that match your customers’ preferences and needs. For example, you can offer discounts, freebies, vouchers, points, cashback, or other perks that your customers can redeem or use. You can also offer special access to events, content, or services that enhance your customers’ experience. 

To create an effective customer loyalty program, you need to: 

• Define your goals and objectives. Have an idea what you want to achieve with your loyalty program and construct ways to measure its success. 
• Know your customers. Identify who they are, what they need and what motivates them to buy from you or refer your company to others. 
• Choose the right rewards and incentives. Think about what kind of rewards and incentives will appeal to your customers, how will you deliver them and how will you get the message across to them. 
• Choose the right platform and technology. Ideally, you want a program that integrates with your existing systems, but you also have to consider how that separate arm will be managed. 
• Promote and market your loyalty program. It’s no use if you have everything in place but no-one knows about it. Not only do you have to encourage them to join, but you also must think about how you will keep them engaged and loyal. 

Communicate your values and mission to your customers 

Customers today are not only looking for products or services that solve their problems or fulfil their desires. They are also looking for brands that share their values and beliefs, and that contribute to social or environmental causes that they care about. According to a study by Accenture Strategy, 62% of consumers want companies to take a stand on current and broadly relevant issues such as sustainability, transparency, or fair employment practices. 

Communicating your values and mission to your customers can help you create a deeper connection with them and differentiate yourself from your competitors. It can also help you attract new customers who share your values and beliefs, and who are willing to support your brand. 

To communicate your values and mission to your customers, have these key points and questions in mind: 

• Define your values and mission. What are the core values and principles that guide your business? What is the purpose or vision that drives your business? Establish how they align with your customers’ values and beliefs. 
• Show how you live up to your values and mission. Demonstrate them in your operations and go the extra mile by setting up procedures to measure and report on how well you are living up to them. 
• Invite your customers to join or support your values and mission. Involve them in your social or environmental initiatives. Acknowledge and appreciate their contributions. You’re not alone in this journey, after all. 
• Use storytelling to convey your values and mission to your customers. Show them how your products or services make a difference in society or the environment. Share the stories of your customers, employees, partners, or beneficiaries. Everyone loves a good story, right? 

Provide exceptional customer service that exceeds your customers’ expectations. 

Customer service is not just about resolving problems or answering questions. It is also about creating positive and memorable experiences that make your customers feel valued, respected, and appreciated. According to a study by PwC, 86% of customers are willing to pay more for a better customer experience. 

 Providing exceptional customer service can help you create loyal and satisfied customers who will not only buy from you again, but also recommend you to others. It can also help you reduce customer churn, increase customer lifetime value, and improve your reputation and brand image. 

Do you aspire to deliver superior customer service? Presumably, anyone running a business would want to do so, but have these points in mind in order to do so: 

• Train your staff to be friendly, helpful, and empathetic. Equip your staff with the skills and knowledge to deliver excellent customer service, empower them to take actions that benefit your customers and reward them for their performance. 
• Ensure that your customers can reach you easily and conveniently through their preferred channels. Handle customer inquiries and complaints in a timely and professional manner. Follow up and close the loop with your customers. 
• Use customer data and insights to understand your customers’ needs and expectations. Use predictive analytics or artificial intelligence to anticipate your customers’ issues or desires. Proactively reach out to your customers with relevant offers or solutions. 
• Exceed your customers’ expectations and deliver more than what they asked for. Surprise your customers with unexpected gestures or gifts that show your appreciation. Create wow moments that make your customers smile. 

Leverage customer data and insights to personalise communications

Customers today are inundated with marketing messages from various sources and channels. To cut through the noise and capture their attention, you need to personalise your marketing and communication. Personalisation means tailoring your messages and offers to each individual customer based on their behaviour, preferences, and feedback. 

Personalising your marketing and communication can help you increase customer engagement, loyalty, and satisfaction by offering relevant and timely messages that address their pain points and interests. It can also help you increase conversion rates, sales, and revenue by creating personalised offers and recommendations that match your customers’ needs and desires. 

To personalise your marketing and communication, you need to: 

• Segment your customers based on their behaviour, preferences, and feedback. One approach you can take is by collecting and analysing customer data from various sources and channels. From here, you can think about how you segment your customers into different groups based on their characteristics or actions and to update your segments regularly based on new data or feedback. 
• Send relevant and timely messages that address their pain points and interests. How do you use customer data and insights to craft messages that resonate with each segment or individual? With intelligent technology available at our fingertips, you can use automations or triggers to send messages at the right time and frequency. What’s more, you can test and optimise your messages for effectiveness with data analytics platforms. 
• Create personalised offers and recommendations that increase their satisfaction and loyalty. Use customer data and insights to tailor your offers or recommendations to each segment or individual. You know them best, after all! Alternatively, you can use dynamic content or algorithms to generate real-time offers. 

We understand that adopting a customer-centric approach is crucial for SMEs to succeed in today’s competitive market. By providing funding solutions, we can help you build a stronger customer service team that can deliver exceptional experiences to your customers. Our personalised approach means that we can tailor our funding solutions to meet your unique needs and goals, and help you achieve success.  

If you’re looking to create a loyal and satisfied customer base, leverage customer data and insights, and provide exceptional customer service, we are here to help. Contact us today to learn more about how we can support your business growth.