You have lots of loyal customers. But, what do you do to make the most of these relationships?
First, let’s describe what we really mean when we talk about loyal customers. As described in the framework of the Loyalty Matrix, truly loyal customers are those that are positive in both their attitude and behavior. In other words, they have every intention of continuing to do business with you and they have a positive attitude toward your company. They like working with you and are more likely to 
increase their spending and recommend your company to others.
Then what strategies and tactics should be deployed to leverage loyal customer relationships? Here are four key initiatives that every company can incorporate into their customer strategies:
1. Support new sales – in most businesses referrals are a key component in closing new deals. Because loyal customers have a positive attitude about their work with you, they are an excellent source of referrals and testimonials.
2. Earn more business – loyal customers typically are planning to increase their spending. This is a chance to up-sell and cross-sell to generate new sales.
3. Team up to innovate – loyal customers are often the best partners. They will be more open and interested in collaborating to consider and test new solutions.
4. Network with other customers – ideally, you want their loyalty to be contagious. Encouraging networking between loyal customers and trapped customers can help convert these trapped customers and earn more loyalty.
Too often, when a company looks at the breakdown of their customers in the Loyalty Matrix framework they focus on the negative – how to improve relationships high risk and trapped customers. Unfortunately, the positive aspect can be overlooked – how to leverage relationships with their most loyal customers. And yet, this may be the quickest way to generate new revenue for the company!
One more note – this blog is part of a series of blogs covering the Loyalty Matrix and each of the other quadrants – accessible, trapped, and high risk. You can also access a position paper on the Loyalty Matrix by clicking here.
Patrick Gibbons
Principal/SVP
Walker
