Authored by Pete Bainbridge

In today's highly competitive business landscape, customer loyalty and growth are essential for any company's success. To achieve these goals, it is crucial for businesses to go beyond traditional metrics like the Net Promoter Score (NPS) and focus on broader aspects of customer experience. By understanding the factors that influence customer satisfaction and how to improve them, businesses can foster customer loyalty and drive growth.

While NPS is a widely used measure of customer loyalty, it only scratches the surface of understanding the customer's perception of a brand. Although it is beneficial for identifying promoters, passives, and detractors, it fails to provide a complete picture of the customer experience. It is limited in its ability to identify the specific pain points and areas where companies can make improvements to enhance the customer experience.

Dig Deep

To truly drive increased loyalty and growth, businesses need to look beyond NPS and dig deeper into the customer journey. This entails understanding the various touchpoints and interactions customers have with the brand – and, alignment to customer journeys, will show where friction can be detrimental. 

SRM’s proprietary research has shown time and again, that effort is the key driver for customer satisfaction. Ostensibly, the level of effort that customers must make to achieve their desired outcome(s), will determine their engagement with the brand, duration and likelihood to recommend the brand to others. Effort, therefore, is a key factor in determining customer satisfaction, as customers are more likely to remain loyal to a brand when effort to interact is easy.

Proposition development, to drive loyalty and growth, can be shaped through the understanding of customer engagement. A company's value proposition must resonate with its target audience, meet their needs and expectations and demonstrate the customer is at the heart of its business. Directly applying the outputs of customer feedback to proposition development, the likelihood of sustainable success becomes greater.

Target Emotions, Drive Loyalty

Moreover, by regularly checking customer feedback, businesses can create a well-defined brand that evokes positive emotions, resonates with customers to be deepened so that a sense of trust and deep connection and be created – helping to go beyond the ‘convenience factor’. Customers are more likely to remain loyal to a brand that aligns with their values and purpose. Therefore, businesses should invest in brand development and communication to solidify their position in the market and attract loyal customers.

Increased customer engagement is fundamental to strategic success. By proactively engaging with customers, businesses can build stronger relationships and create memorable experiences. This could include personalized communication, proactive customer support, and gathering feedback to continually improve the customer experience. By focusing on improving the customer journey and increasing engagement, businesses can create loyal advocates who are more likely to recommend the brand to others.

Trust

Trust is an essential element in customer growth and retention. Customers are more likely to remain loyal and continue purchasing from a brand they trust. Therefore, businesses should prioritise building trust with their customers through transparent communication, delivering on promises, and being responsive to their needs. Trust is not built overnight and requires consistent effort and honest interactions – but, with focus, can be measured and results targeted and improved over time.

Furthermore, customer inertia can hinder loyalty and growth. Customers may feel reluctant to switch to a new brand or provider due to the effort involved in making the change. However, this inertia should not be taken for granted, as it does not indicate loyalty. Businesses should continuously strive to improve their customer experience and exceed expectations to ensure customers actively choose to remain loyal.

The Bottom Line

In conclusion, businesses must go beyond the NPS and consider a holistic approach to drive increased loyalty and growth. Understanding and addressing the factors that influence customer satisfaction, such as effort, brand, trust, purpose, and engagement, play a crucial role in fostering customer growth and retention. By continuously measuring customer engagement, perception and outcomes, the customer experience can be improved creating the foundation for long-term loyalty and sustainable growth.