Do you still recognize me? How does customer loyalty work?

Have you ever been approached by a shopkeeper on the street? "When will you come to the store again?" And that he immediately starts to mention products and prices? It sounds crazy, but it happens very often. Only then does it happen in advertisements and online, via a website or newsletter, or entirely up-to-date: via social media. It will work if you have a niche and you are the only store in the city that, for example, sells fishing wire. But if you have many competitors, and margins are under pressure, how do you ensure customer loyalty?
Maintaining contact between purchases is important. Trade is often a good thing, but then your customers have to keep thinking about you. After taking out an insurance policy or buying a refrigerator, you actually no longer need contact. The purchase has been made and for the time being you do not intend to buy another refrigerator within a year. This is also the case with mortgages ... right? Not necessary: Noordstad Mortgages sends a letter to its customers every year: do you need a short maintenance interview? A great service, especially when the mortgages are in the news again.
Something always changes. And that can affect how I use a product or service, such as with insurance. My current insurance office, Kenneth Spitters, regularly sends me a newspaper with relevant financial news for consumers. When I read something I want to know more about, an appointment is made quickly.
How do you clean your freezer exactly? Is it better to always maintain this or is it better to keep the freezer as empty as possible? I certainly do not intend to buy a new freezer next year, but the shopkeeper who feeds me with practical tips and information for optimal use, I like to shop with that. For example, if I need a new hood.
When you consciously bet on nurturing the customer relationship with valuable content, then that will happen automatically. And if you do this online, stay it findable for everyone who googles it. Ask yourself: do I prefer to buy from a company that only sells products to me, or do I prefer to build a bond with a company?
Content stands for content: texts, photos, images or video. But it can also stand for ...
Matt Cutts works as head of the Google webspam team. He regularly answers questions from ...
You may have heard it before: e-mails are old-fashioned and out and social media ...
Ask? Comments? Give your reaction: