Customers are the lifeblood of every business. Without them, your business would cease to exist. Loyal customers, however, can be the most important source of revenue you have. On average, loyal customers are worth up to 10 times as much as their first purchase. This is because loyal customers don’t just purchase from you more frequently, they tell their friends and family members about you. They bring their friends with them to your store, they share your content online… they are your loud speakers.

Yay for loyal customers!

Growing your business means keeping your loyal customers happy (and loyal) and gaining more loyal customers in the process. Here are four ways to do that.

Start a referral program

The best way to get more referrals is to incentivize referrals! Reward your customers for referring friends to you by way of discounts, freebies, or anything else deemed valuable in their eyes. There are lots of great referral programs you can offer as well as tools you can use to automate the process.

Here is a great list of examples by Referral Candy – a referral automation tool.

Offer secret sales or exclusive discounts

Reward your loyal customers for being loyal by giving them exclusive deals and discounts or hosting secrets sales that only they can take advantage of. Fabletics is an excellent example – they offer exclusive deals to their VIP Members on a regular basis.

Give them exclusive access

Are you launching a new product or service? Let your loyal customers be the first to check it out. If your product is software or technology, offer them a chance to be beta testers. If it’s a physical product, let them be the first to purchase. This does two things: it makes your customers feel special and it allows you to release something and gain feedback from a smaller audience before you launch it to the rest of the world.

Be Personal

Want to gain more loyal customers and keep the ones you have? Offer excellent customer service and a personal touch. Whether it’s a Happy Birthday email to your email subscribers or over the top customer service, these are the things that separate a company that cares about its customers vs. one that just sees them as a source of income.

Try any or all of these tactics and you are sure to wow your loyal customer and gain a few new ones in the process.