by Ry Moore

Created on: February 03, 2009   Last Updated: February 07, 2009

The differential between customer retention and customer loyalty is in itself minuscule. In times of economic comfort and growth, businesses have little cause to be concerned whether the same customers who patronise their services every year are actually their loyal customers. Indeed the mere fact that they keep coming back is good enough to keep the business in the black (profitable).

However when economic times are constrictive or even hard as it is today, every businessman would surely like to known who those loyal clients are. They want to know because those would be the people upon whom they would like to pin their hopes on to keep them afloat.

Customer retention strategies, we can surmise, seek to provide the right stimuli that would encourage patrons to continue doing business with the company; whereas customer loyalty strategies would be aimed at converting regular clients to an unswerving patronage even when there are slightly better options available.

From the perspective being project a particular question is begging to be asked: why do some customers maintain a regular relationship with a given business? I would like to proffer a few suggestions as possible reasons for this retention.

Customers will come regularly if the price is right (affordable)

Customers will come regularly if the have no serious complaints about the service they receive

They will come regularly if the location of the business is convenient to their commute

They will come because they are too busy (or lazy) to look elsewhere

The alternative to your business is such that going there would make no real difference

Again one would go on to ask what would then cause them to "swear an allegiance" to a particular business? These would be my humble suggestions.

Customers become loyal to a business you behave as though their (the customer) money and time are valuable to that business.

Customers become loyal if the care and attention they receive make them feel as if they are the essence of the business itself.

Customers become loyal because loyal customers convinced them (the network strategy)

Customers become loyal if there was a positive generational connection with the business and/or its owners.

Customers become loyal if the business is the life blood of the community and behaves as a member of the community in which it is located or services.

Very often people feel a sense of obligation to a business that supports its people by giving back in a meaningful and sincere way.

The battle between customer retention and customer loyalty is inconsequential. Surely to achieve loyalty one must first have retention, hence loyalty is merely a step beyond retention. Businesses must analyse their client base and seek to establish what keeps a customer coming back to them... and where they discover positive drawing cards (such as price, quality, service) build on them; and where they find negatives (such as indifference, happenstance) seek to convert that potential long term client into a more secure relationship.

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