There are some long-held beliefs about the loyalty leg of buyer journey that need correcting. Let’s get into it:
2 min read
MYTH 1 Loyalty begins after the purchase.
You found a way in. A potential buyer found your site through search, saw a banner ad of yours or saw your products recommended on a distributor site. It took a lot of time and effort to make a connection, but you pulled it off. Conventional wisdom usually defines this part of the buyer journey as the “consideration” stage, but it might also be helpful to understand that this is also where “loyalty” begins, or fails to begin. Put another way—every experience your customers have with your brand, and with the people who represent your brand, determines not only whether they decide to buy your product, but whether they’ll want to continue doing business post-purchase.
MYTH 2 Product quality earns loyalty.
You’ve worked hard to make a superior product, and the quality speaks for itself. Right? This would be nice, however in a competitive market quality products are table stakes and experiences are tied more heavily to loyalty:
70% of customers feel increased loyalty to businesses after receiving a great experience²
MYTH 3 Personalized experiences are only a thing in B2C.
B2B buyers have become accustomed to the seamless personalized experiences they’ve had as consumers. Expectations have risen, and so have the stakes:
75% of customers now expect businesses to predict why they’re calling before they do.³
Customers are 2x more likely to remember a negative experience than a positive one⁴
74% of business buyers say they’ll pay more for a great experience⁵
There’s a lot of attention paid to the first part of the buyer journey—and rightly so. Connecting with new customers is one of the most time consuming and expensive parts of the journey. But in an always-on, omni-channel environment, choosing experience as your key focus puts you in a better position for long-term success.
