{"id":47827,"date":"2023-03-15T06:00:18","date_gmt":"2023-03-15T06:00:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hyken.com\/?p=47827"},"modified":"2023-09-13T19:15:11","modified_gmt":"2023-09-13T19:15:11","slug":"the-loyalty-gap","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hyken.com\/customer-service-strategies\/the-loyalty-gap\/","title":{"rendered":"The Loyalty Gap: The Difference Between Repeat Customers and Loyal Customers"},"content":{"rendered":"\"TheIn a recent <\/span>Shepard Letter<\/span><\/i>, I discussed the <\/span>Trust Gap<\/span><\/a>, which is the difference between an organization\u2019s belief that their customers trust them and the percentage of customers who actually do. I\u2019ve covered different <\/span>gap <\/span><\/i>concepts in the past, and it\u2019s time to add yet another to the list, and that is the <\/span>Loyalty Gap<\/span><\/i>.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\nBy the way, this is a perfect time to mention International Customer Loyalty Month<\/a>, which happens every year in April. It is a time to focus some extra care and attention on your loyal customers.\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\nSo, back to the Loyalty Gap. This is the gap between the percentage of customers you think are loyal and customers who actually are loyal. If you\u2019ve been following my work, you may remember that I preach there is a big difference between a repeat customer and a loyal customer. A customer that comes back again and again could be mistakenly labeled as a loyal customer. Before we can call someone a loyal customer, we must find out why they keep coming back and buying from us. And there are many reasons why customers might return that have nothing to do with being loyal. For example:\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\nThe Price Is Lowest \u2013 <\/span><\/i><\/b>Customers who buy based on low prices aren\u2019t loyal to you. They are loyal to the price. The moment a competitor has a lower price, the customer disappears. And you thought they were loyal!<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\nThe Location Is More Convenient \u2013 <\/span><\/i><\/b>Does the customer buy from you because you are closer than your competition? You don\u2019t know if you don\u2019t ask. As soon as a competitor moves into the area, if their location happens to be more convenient, the customer moves on. Again, you thought they were loyal!<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\nThe Customer Is Satisfied \u2013 <\/span><\/i><\/b>This one is super important. There\u2019s a big difference between a satisfied customer and a loyal customer. Satisfied customers are just \u2026 satisfied. The experience is good, but not great. It\u2019s enough to get them to come back until they find another brand or organization that satisfies them just a bit more.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\nA loyal customer not only comes back but also spends more than a typical customer and evangelizes your brand by sharing word-of-mouth referrals. This is because there is an emotional connection. Maybe it\u2019s the way the customer is treated. Maybe there is an employee the customer loves to work with. Or, maybe it\u2019s the confidence that\u2019s created when a customer interacts with the brand. There are many reasons, but they all evoke an emotional connection. <\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\nSo, what\u2019s the <\/span>Loyalty Gap <\/span><\/i>in your business? Do you understand your customers\u2019 buying patterns? Do you know why they come back? In a perfect world, there shouldn\u2019t be a gap. But that\u2019s not reality. There will always be customers who don\u2019t have the emotional connection needed to drive loyalty. There\u2019s nothing you can do but keep trying. For the rest of your repeat customers, understand <\/span>why <\/span><\/i>they return, then keep delivering the experience that makes them <\/span>want <\/span><\/i>to return.<\/span>\r\n\r\n