Build Customer Loyalty by Promoting Your Customers

Do you want to attract new customers while building greater loyalty among your current customers? Include your customers in your marketing and promotions. By creating greater awareness of your customers (and their businesses) you may help to build their businesses and increase their demand for your products and services. Whether or not using customers in your marketing causes them to buy more from you, your willingness to showcase them will cause them to feel more attachment to you and will encourage them to remain customers for a long time to come. Here are a few ways you can make this work for you.

Ask your customers to share their success stories and get their permission to use them. How have they benefitted from their association with you? Have them share their stories on audio or video or in print and use them in your marketing. In their ads, Sterling Bank in Houston has their small business customers tell how they grew their businesses with the help of their Sterling bankers. It sends a great message about the bank, and increases awareness of the featured businesses.

Tell your customers' stories in your newsletter. If you publish a print or online newsletter, include profiles of your customers and tell how you worked with them to help them succeed. Or, use the stories in your print ads. A photo of a happy customer accompanied by the story of what you did for them is very persuasive.

Audio and video recordings of customer stories can be incorporated into your television and radio advertising. Hearing customers in their own words is a powerful way to communicate the benefits of doing business with you, and your customers will appreciate the visibility they get when they are featured in your ads. You can also use streaming audio and video files at your web site.

Feature links to your customers' web sites from yours. It doesn't cost anything to add a few links, and customers will appreciate the extra visibility. It may also help improve the search engine rankings, not only for your customers' web sites, but for yours as well.

Make connections between customers. Do you have customers who could benefit from knowing other customers? Perhaps you could make referrals to bring them together. Or, host a networking event where they can get to know each other.

Include customers in your publicity. The media like to have multiple sources for stories, perhaps to back up what you are saying or to provide another point of view. In one case, I was able to get a client included in a story and she was able to get one of her clients into the story, too! Your clients will not only appreciate that you got them publicity, they will be impressed with your media "pull."

Promoting your customers as well as yourself is a great win-win for your business. Look for opportunities to create a greater bond between yourself and your customers by including them in your marketing and promotions.

Copyright Cathy Stucker. As the Idea Lady, Cathy Stucker can help you attract customers and make yourself famous with inexpensive and free marketing ideas. Get free marketing tips, articles and more at http://www.IdeaLady.com/.

---

Your Business Logo and Color Scheme

My business logo and color scheme started one lovely spring... Read More

Creating Powerful Names for Products, Services, and Your Business

The name of your business is important--it's one of the... Read More

The Keys to a Great Logo

Logo, graphic, icon, logotype, typogram, logoform, image?call it what you... Read More

Positioning and Branding - Brand Identity Guru

Where is your brand positioned in the marketplace? How is... Read More

Internet Branding

Having been in the franchising business all my life and... Read More

Brand Equity - Brand Identity Guru

7 Qualities Of A Strong Brand:1. Commands premium pricing while... Read More

Branding Fiasco -- Better Be Who You Say You Are!

Our experience as customers offers great instruction into the concept... Read More

Blonds Have More Fun!

In the book, The Blond Knight of Germany, American authors... Read More

Branding ? Brand Identity Guru

Brands are important aspects of any business, but unlike money... Read More

Branding Mistakes - Brand Identity Guru

1. It "sells itself." I don't need to market.Okay, you... Read More

Brand Name Identity in the Oil Business

I submit to you that Brand Name Identity in the... Read More

Franchising is Virtually Fraud Free

The number of complaints to the Federal Trade Commission on... Read More

Go Ask Alice

One of fiction's finest marketing minds, The Cheshire Cat, once... Read More

The Face of Your Business, Part I

When we initially started our businesses, we had to decide... Read More

How to Create Your Own Mail Order Products

Pick up almost any book or report on Mailorder Selling... Read More

Brand Boring or Brand Buzz?

I heard an advertisement on the radio the other day... Read More

No Logo? Launching A Business Without a Logo Can Sabotage You

Initial lack of customers and cash flow often causes a... Read More

What the Heck is Branding and Why Should I Care?

There's been a lot of buzz lately about branding. But... Read More

Its Time For Some Steak

Recently, I was reviewing our website statistics. One of the... Read More

Are You Brand Worthy? Are You Brand Worthy?

Branding is a one hot topic, although it is wildly... Read More

Value-pricing Strategy: Were not The Cheapest but...

In this highly competitive online marketplace, it can be difficult... Read More

Britney Spears Branding

How would you like to sell as much in one... Read More

Hummer is an Excellent Brand

What size is your Hummer? Hummers Come in All Sizes;... Read More

Power Your Word for Profit

Discovering and owning a powerful word that reflects you and... Read More

Brand Positioning - Brand Image

That cross-trainer you're wearing -- one look at the distinctive... Read More