Turn Your Business into a 'Target Run'

“You don’t go to Kmart because you need something. You go to Kmart and let Kmart tell you what you need”

If you have seen this quote before, you probably had a little chuckle and wondered why you can always seem to spend money in Kmart even when you didn’t need anything. Or maybe your version of this is going to Bunnings on a weekend. In the States, it is more commonly known as a ‘Target run’.

Either way, these big companies have spent time and money mapping out their customer journey in order to create a Loyalty Loop. They have created millions of raving fans because they know that it is easier and more cost-efficient to create a loyal customer base than to find new customers.

The customer journey can be mapped out as:

1. Awareness

2. Consideration

3. Purchase

4. Retention

5. Advocacy

Creating a Loyalty Loop is all about the last two steps of this journey. Once a customer has already purchased from you, the first two steps become irrelevant, but you still want them to become a repeat customer. It is all about what happens after the sale that determines if your customers will come back to you on repeat.

The secret to gaining repeat customers is to be customer-centric. The customer must be at the heart of everything you and your business does. Consumers have so much more access to information and choice than ever before, so you want to narrow their choices. You want to get them to the point where they only think of your business when they need your type of product or service.

The key fundamentals for a customer centric approach are:

Simplicity

It can be frustrating when you are ready to purchase as a customer and it is not as simple as it should be. Your customer needs to be able to both purchase from and interact with your business easily. If they find it too hard to navigate your website, find your store or get their questions answered, they will simply turn to another solution. Make sure you are making it as easy as possible for your customers to find you, interact with you and purchase from you.

Reliability

You need to be reliable and able to meet the demands of your customers. When your customer wants to purchase from you, they need to know that they will be getting what they want and when they want it. Your customer needs to be able to trust that you can deliver on your promises and that the quality of your product or service is not diminished from the last purchase.

Availability

Your business should be easily accessible to your customers. If they have a question or feedback, they should be able to contact you quickly and easily. While it is more difficult for small businesses to be available 24/7, your customers should be able to contact you easily. It may be a phone number on your website, messaging set up on your social media pages or an email that gets checked regularly. Whatever it is, customers must be able to find it and get answers to their questions.

Adaptation

Growing a business is all about adjusting your products and services to meet the needs of a sometimes rapidly changing environment. The pandemic has taught us all how to be more adaptable in some pretty big ways. Use those lessons learnt and adapt to meet your customers needs.

Anticipation

To be a customer centric business, you must be able to anticipate the customers needs. Most customers can tell you what they want today, but it is more difficult to anticipate what they may need in future. You and your team are the ones working in the industry, constantly dealing with the products or service, so you should be able to determine what may be needed for your customers in future.

Make sure you are looking at your data and looking for any upward trends in your industry. Get on top of them quickly to make some helpful suggestions to your customers on what they may need.

Accountability

As a business owner, you need to make sure that there are accountability measures in place. Ensure any policies or processes are adhered to in order to make your business customer centric. Hold yourself and your team accountable for the customer experience.

With a customer centric approach, your business could be reaping the benefits of the loyalty loop and having a steady stream of repeat business.