5 Powerful Ways to Keep Your Best Customers Customer loyalty begins with making every customer feel that he or she is indispensable

"Do what you do so well that they will want to see it again and bring their friends," Walt Disney. This is the ultimate and most effective way of retaining customers. However, given that entrepreneurs now have to deal with a fiercely competitive business world, a dedicated customer retention program is immensely helpful. Building a bond between your business and your customers helps in spreading word of mouth that's extremely valuable.

Customer loyalty begins with making every customer feel that he or she is indispensable. To do that you have to adopt ingenuous and captivating communication tools which make them feel privileged and most surely happy.

The idea that business has to be "businesslike' is passé now. In the present market reality the sensible thing is to make your best customers think that you are a good friend who considers them special. Fostering engagements with your clients is a critical part of developing a successful business today. This is the age of automation and innovation and being thoughtful about your customers has never been more vital.

Building a customer-centric culture is now considered to be a business opportunity, not to be ignored. Many organisations are performing disappointingly when it comes to the customer service, which can be taken as an opportunity to grab and charm the disgruntled customers into falling in love for your company.

Here are five ways to do that with success-

1. Treat your Customers Right

Happy customers are your ambassadors, ensure their happiness. Don't be an anonymous identity or a faceless brand. Talk very sincerely, especially with the regulars as the face of your business. Call them by their name, and mention yours at the very beginning of the conversation.

"Be personal in your approach, not like you would be in a formal business meeting. Today the customer service approaches on social media are a great learning experience. We see how the real and authentic create an impact while the slapdash approaches look forced and uptight, which contradicts the very idea of being "social," notified Anand Rajendran, CEO and Co-Founder of Zoplay, a software development company.

2. Don't Come on Too Strong

Consumers often experience impolite customer service and most of them share this with their friends and families. This is word of mouth working direly against your reputation! It is crucial to be courteous to your customers when dealing their issues regarding your company.

"Maintaining patience is imperative in order to give your customer the opportunity to vent out their problem. This also enables you to resolve the matter and build their faith in you. The more the comfort level between you and your customers, the more likely they are to share important views thus preventing repetition of similar problems in future," shared Arijit Dutta, Managing Director, Priya Entertainments Pvt Ltd (PEPL)

3. Remember them

Design a monthly calendar to chalk out activities which will strengthen your relationship with your best customers. Think of lunch, funding their favourite charity organisations or offering tickets for some movie or concert.

4. Always Listen

A two-way discourse with customers is an easy opportunity today. While engaging into it be very careful to listen sincerely.

"While paying attention to your customers, make a mental note of the changes your business can make from their responses, and then do it. Your customers are the main source of support for your business to thrive, and not taking actions to their sensible requests could result in backlash," advised Dutta.

Surveys, Focus Groups, Observation, Point of Sale, Customer Service, Social Media, Communities and Groups and Email and Web Forms are useful tools for collecting feedbacks from customers.

5. Continue to Care

Provide sustained and high quality service to customers is a thumb rule for any business. Answer promptly and earnestly to their queries, and always be ready to give away some special offers or discounts in order to up-sell him/her to buy more.

Never hold back from satisfying your target audience, more so when you are chatting with them live from any device or tool. "It's very important to understand that businesses to outperform competitions you have to display outstanding capabilities and competencies for delivering excellent customer experience. Remember, customer satisfaction is the chief differentiator for business success," maintained Debyani Banerjee, owner, Club Salon.

Keep on enthralling and rewarding your best customers by designing appealing multi-channel promotions pivoted around discounts, giveaways and contests. Share these offers through emails, social media pages, printouts, brochures, and by other marketing channels to get complete publicity and visibility.