Nuts & Bolts - Loyalty : 5 Ways to Rekindle the Romance With Your Customers

It's the Glamour magazine quiz for marketers: Would you stay with you?

Or, to put it another way, if you were your company's customer, would your loyalty program keep the romance going?

"You should constantly assess your relationships and determine how to make them stronger, assuming you're more interested in a long-term relationship than a one-night stand," advises Keith Smith, CEO and co-founder of Seattle-based gamified loyalty platform provider BigDoor.

Smith provides wine and candlelight suggestions to marketers:

1. Are your customers loyal? Ask these questions: Why do they keep coming back to you? Are you fun? Engaging?

2. Build trust. Living by a code of integrity can help build your reputation as a trustworthy business. Once people see that you're actually there to help and not out for a quick buck, they're more likely to recommend you to others. That recommendation helps bring in new customers.

3. Give customers something to brag about. If you care for someone, you should give her something special. Whatever it is, you can bet she will tell her friends about it.

4. Show them a good time. One-sided activities like watching TV may be enjoyable for you, but they're not exactly "fun" for everyone. For something to truly be fun, you need to be actively contributing and receiving feedback.

5. Invest in the relationship. With anything you care about, you need to invest time and effort before you get something out of it. In other words, it's not a one-night stand.

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