Nothing motivates buyers to buy more — or more often — than these four emotions, according to a recent study:

1. Protection: How strongly do you guarantee each buyer’s investment? How do they know they’re safe doing business with you?
2. Confidence: Are buyers always kept in the loop about new products or changes to existing ones? How do you reinforce the notion they’re receiving the best value on the market?
3. Appreciation: How do buyers know you value their loyalty? Do you offer buyer rewards or preferred customer status based on loyalty and purchase levels? Do you offer membership programs that offer buyers incentives, while locking them in as long-term customers? Are there volume discounts? Price breaks?
4. Service: Do salespeople maintain contact with buyers consistently? Is there a system to ensure customer problems are resolved quickly and efficiently? Do customers feel confident their orders will be fulfilled quickly and correctly?

And determining just how loyal or engaged your buyers are can be tricky. But here are three decent indications salespeople are building strong relationships:

1. More referrals: Engaged buyers are sending more business your way (you may even want to consider offering incentives to encourage referrals).
2. Less customer turnover: Engaged buyers know they’ve got it good.
3. More feedback: Engaged customers feel more comfortable sharing feedback about what they like (and don’t like), mostly because they view their relationship with your company as a partnership.

How does your organization encourage loyalty? Share your thoughts in the Comments Box below.

Adapted from a recent Allegiance Marketing study

Tags: buyer, incentives, loyalty, rewards, Value