We’ve spoken about all kinds of things on our Learning Hub, from search engine optimisation to how to deal with customer complaints, but one area we’ve never touched upon is brand loyalty. We thought it was about time we give you the run down on why brand loyalty is so important to your dealership, and the steps you can take to build it.
What is brand loyalty and why is it so important?
In essence, brand loyalty is when a customer chooses your product over your competition because they’ve built a certain relationship with your business or brand. It often means that they value your business so much that they come back time and time again.
Brand loyalty is such a powerful tool for you and your business because it means that your customers have such an affinity with your dealership, that even if you’re more expensive than your competitor, they’ll still choose you. This is because their positive experience with you outweighs monetary value.
Customer loyalty is undeniably very valuable for your bottom line. The Pareto Principle states that 80% of your company’s future revenue will come from 20% of your customer base, and in a real-life situation, it’s hard to deny that this may well be the case.
If you’ve sold a car to a customer, and given them exceptional customer service; they then might come back to you for their servicing, their MOTs, a new car for a family member, or a new car for themselves. This cycle can continue to repeat itself time and time again. And why would they go anywhere else if you’ve provided everything they need each and every time they visit your dealership?
How can you create brand loyalty?
So now you know why brand loyalty is so important, but how do you go about creating it?
First class customer service
Great customer service is the most important factor in creating brand loyalty. Customers are investing a lot of money in the product and service you are providing, and if they are receiving less than satisfactory customer service, they will not come back.
“51% of customers ended their relationship with a business because they were unhappy with the service they were receiving” – Bloomberg
You need to make sure that every facet of your dealership is following the same rules and regulations when it comes to customer service. You need to be confident that every single touchpoint your customer has with your dealership reflects what makes you special. There is nothing worse for a customer than receiving excellent service in one area, then being let down by another.
Make the most of social media
We’ve already spoken about how important social media can be for your dealership. But what we haven’t touched on is why it’s important for brand loyalty..
1 – Social media helps humanise your brand
Social media helps you to humanise your brand and helps your customers see beyond the purchase they’ve made, and see the people that make your dealership tick. Showing off the people at your dealership, and giving your business a human side is a really great way to gain loyalty. People buy from people, and the more personality you give your brand, the more people can buy into you.
2 – Share advice to build trust with your customers
Social media is a fantastic way of sharing tips and advice to your customers. If your customers believe you are going above and beyond to help them, then again, they’re more likely to put their trust in you. As experts in your field, there is plenty of scope for tips and tricks that you can offer to your customers. These include information on when MOTs would be due, how to drive in icy conditions, or how to test oil levels. What might be simple for you could really help one of your customers.
3 – Let everyone know what’s going on at your dealership
Social media is a fantastic way of letting your customers know whats going on with your business. Are you holding a fundraiser? Are you running an event? Have you sold new vehicles to happy customers? Let your customers get involved with your dealership. Again, it’s a fantastic way for your customers to feel part of your community, which in turn will turn to loyalty.
4 – An important note
We’ve given you enough reasons to show you why social media is so great in helping you create brand loyalty, but there are some things to note. Make sure that your social media profiles match your website, both in branding and in the contact information. You do not want to dilute your brand message by confusing your customers. You also need to make sure you have a consistent tone of voice throughout all your online channels, this creates a familiarity will solidify your message and your brand.
Email isn’t dead!
Contrary to popular belief, email isn’t dead. Furthermore, it’s a great tool for helping you keep in contact with your customers. Email is a great way to send personal messages to your dealers to keep them invested in your business.
There are many email programs that allow you to create email campaigns. This allows you to email your customers to remind them that their MOT or service is due, to let them know about any car launches you taking place, or promotions you have on at the moment, the list of reasons to contact your customers is endless!
This regular contact with your customers will help them to stay connected to your brand, and will hopefully create some loyalty. We use email regularly to let our dealers know what is happening at Spidersnet, and we get great open rates because our dealers know that our emails hold important information for them.
Feedback is really important
And no, this time we don’t mean reviews! This time we mean genuine customer feedback collected once they’ve purchased from you. Honest feedback is the only way you can better your services and make your customers’ experience better.
We’re very aware that things can go wrong, we’re all human, but picking up on issues and changing them is a really great way to show your customers you are listening to them. Showing your customers that you value their feedback is a great way to foster loyalty from them, this is because you care about them as customers, not just seeing them as a way to make money.
In conclusion…
Hopefully, in this guide we’ve shown you just how important it is to create lasting relationships with your customers. Highlighting that by creating brand loyalty you can ensure your customers come back time and time again creating a regular stream of revenue that you can always rely on. This is not a quick fix, but there are simple and easy ways to get there.