When launching your business, you want to create a brand customers are proud to support. You want your mission to shine and attract those who resonate with your values and goals.
But that’s a tall order.
So, where do you even begin?
Gain an advantage over both small and large competitors by striving to be the best. Showing your audience a trustworthy, consistent, and quality brand is what can set you apart. In the end, your customers are looking for a business that represents them–not the lowest prices or superficial marketing campaigns.
Start with the basics–prioritize excellence, customer service, and relatability. From there, you can witness the fruit of your labors and reap the loyalty yields.
What Is Brand Loyalty?
While customer loyalty is generally economic-based (i.e., prices for products or services), brand loyalty is the connection customers feel toward a business. This relationship is much deeper than a simple attraction to discounts or large catalogs.
Instead, audiences can see their own values represented in a brand, meaning they actively seek ways to align themselves with the company. For example, customers are not deterred by your competitors’ efforts to woo them with promotional emails or newsletters. They trust you and want to continue supporting you with their purchases.
Why Is Brand Loyalty Important?
Building brand loyalty can be pivotal in your journey to success. Sure, you can excel with great SEO, content creation, and marketing alone, but why limit yourself to surface-level customer relationships?
According to statistics, 52% of customers will go out of their way to purchase from brands they associate with quality. So, you can secure a majority of the market by simply allowing your best attributes to shine–whether a trustworthy reputation, unparalleled customer service, or dependability.
Here are some benefits of fostering brand loyalty:
- Long-term customers: Given the definition of brand loyalty, a stable customer base comes with the territory. This advantage means you can trust your audience to continue backing your growth and success.
- Higher growth rates: Most people love to tell friends and family about their favorite purchases, especially when they have an affinity for the brand. Ultimately, their outreach can bring more traffic to your business and drive sales.
- Reduced marketing costs: As mentioned above, word of mouth is the best marketing strategy. Rather than exhausting your budget on email campaigns, social media promotions, or the like, brand loyalty decreases the need for substantial outreach efforts.
- Better customer engagement: Your audience is more likely to engage with you on social media or your blog when they feel personally connected with your brand. This interaction can bring additional attention to your business if customers share, repost, or comment on posts.
- Increased resiliency: Brand loyalty helps your business stay grounded and relevant despite uncertain market conditions. Your customers have your back–through thick and thin.
6 Tips on Building Brand Loyalty in the Horticulture Industry
Okay, you understand the essence of brand loyalty. Now, let’s explore how you can create an image that customers want to continuously support and trust.
Remember, your mission is the foundation of your brand–build one you can sustain and cultivate over time. Avoid being wishy-washy in your voice and how you portray yourself to your audience. Most importantly, keep customers at the forefront. Without them, brand loyalty is impossible!
Here are six ways to build brand loyalty that lasts:
1. Never Skimp on Quality
No matter your specialty, quality always wins over quantity. No one wants to read a blog post about the best soil brands, irrigation techniques, or gardening tips with the same regurgitated information as other sites.
Instead of losing credibility to desires to save time or money, always invest effort into everything you do. No aspect of your business is any less important than another, whether direct marketing, blog writing, general operations, or community engagement.
Below are ways to ensure quality:
- Use research-supported data in blog posts
- Add a personal flair to your content
- Focus on long-form content for important topics
- Use your own images for social media posts or infographics
- Apply customer feedback to your overall marketing/content strategy
2. Seek User-Generated Content
Your customers want to be involved in your mission! Utilize their enthusiasm through user-generated content (UGC). UGC is anything brand-related photos, reviews, videos, blog posts, or testimonials that customers share online.
In most cases, people create this content without brand involvement and on their own accord. Still, you can also ask customers directly for their input! Showing them you’re interested in their thoughts about your direction and services establishes trust and genuineness.
In the end, your customers will feel even more loyal to your brand as they establish a personal presence within your business model. They don’t see themselves as customers–they see themselves as mutual contributors to your success story.
3. Create an Online Community
Aside from UGC, offer other opportunities for your customers to engage with you! Start a Facebook page, subscriber-only Instagram group, or subreddit. You could even create a separate testimonial page on your website where they can post their reviews about your service or product.
Invite your audience to engage with you and others via question polls, jokes, or informational videos. For instance, start a thread asking for the funniest gardening puns or their opinion on eco-friendly farming techniques! This simple step is a great way to prove appreciation for their input and relationship with the brand.
4. Be Consistent in Your Mission & Voice
Your voice is the backbone of your business. The qualities with which you align fuel your identity and reflect in every aspect of operations.
Why did you start your company? What did you set out to prove to your customers? What do you bring to the table that your competitors lack?
Focus on highlighting these values and assets through your tone, customer engagements, and marketing strategies. Keep sight of where you stand in the industry. Build your story and stay consistent.
5. Make Yourself Available to Customers
Another key to brand loyalty is customer service. People don’t want to jump through hoops when trying to contact you. Simplify the process and create a down-to-earth, relatable, and understanding presence.
Using chatbots on your website for 24/7 support is one of the best ways to streamline customer relations. Here, you can provide automated responses to common questions or concerns you encounter frequently in your field.
These chats can also redirect customers to the correct representative if you have a larger business with multiple departments. If they still need additional help, you can provide a direct phone number or email for them to contact.
Another tip is to add a “Contact Us” page on your site where people can fill out an email form. This way, you can connect with them directly. Consider placing a feedback section below where visitors can provide insight into their customer service experience.
6. Offer Rewards for Loyalty
Reward brand loyalty with perks! Your customers are working hard behind the scenes for you–advocating for and advertising your brand. They deserve a little reward, don’t you think?
An example would be offering coupons or freebies for birthdays, social media engagement, or multiple purchases. Like UGC and customer service, giving back to your audience builds relationships. Reciprocating their support is just another method of creating an accessible presence in your community.
Don’t Forget Your Mission!
The horticulture industry is massive and teeming with companies that proclaim to be the best of the best. We’ve all heard the claims. Customers can be easily torn between choosing the flashy, discount-laden, and top-selling product and the one that better aligns with their values.
However, leveraging your mission, voice, and relatability can sway even the biggest skeptic to your side. Show your competitors who’s boss by blowing them out of the garden and into the compost pile with hardcore brand loyalty. Your customers will commend your efforts to win them over with quality, trustworthiness, and merit–not frivolous, shallow gimmicks.
