Many free tools are available to help your business grow its customer base and keep them engaged over time. The key is knowing what works best for your industry and customers, then using those tools consistently (and well). Here are some of our favorite tools for building a loyal customer base.

7 Ways to Create Loyal Customers

Learn about your customers' needs.

Understanding what your customers need is essential, different from what you think they need. To do that, you'll have to do some research. Ask them directly by using social media or customer surveys. You can also use focus groups and interviews with customers representing different demographics (e.g., age, gender).

Use Email Marketing

Email marketing is one of the best ways to stay in touch with your customers and can be used as an effective way to stay top of mind. It lets you personalize and target your message, offering them deals on products they're likely interested in. Email marketing also makes it easy for customers to opt-out if they don't want to receive emails from you anymore. If done correctly, email marketing can be automated and scheduled so that all you need to do is write copy once per week or month--then watch the sales roll in! This method requires minimal effort on your part (and saves time)!

Offer a Loyalty Program

A loyalty program is a program that rewards customers for their repeat business. Loyalty programs are extremely popular in the retail sector, but they can be used by any type of business, including B2B companies and nonprofits. Creating a loyalty program can seem daunting initially because there are many ways to go about it, depending on what business model works best for your organization. The most effective loyalty programs offer incentives (such as discounts) to encourage repeat purchases over time. Consider offering awards or prizes for reaching certain milestones within your company's system. For example, if someone has been with you for five years, give them an anniversary gift card!

Set Up Good Customer Service Policies.

A good customer service policy can go a long way toward building your brand and keeping customers happy. A straightforward, concise, and easy-to-find approach will help you deliver on your promises, making customers feel valued. Customer services policies should:

• Be consistent across all channels--including email, phone calls, and social media interactions.
• Be reviewed regularly to ensure they're still relevant or need updating.
• Be helpful and courteous in all customer interactions, even if they are difficult or angry.
• Prioritize responding quickly with the resolution of their issue or question.

Create an Online Community

Another way to add to the customer experience is by creating an online forum for customers to interact with each other. Make it easy for them to share their experiences, ask questions and give feedback on your products and services. This is another way to provide customer support through a unique format: responding promptly when someone posts a question or comment about something you sell or do.

Online communities are typically more casual. Speak your audience's language, not yours. Communicate in a way that is comfortable for them to hear and understand, even if it means using words or phrases that are not part of your everyday vocabulary (e.g., "I'm so sorry" instead of "I apologize").

Empower Your Customers and Invite Feedback.

Empowering your customers means providing opportunities for them to share what's working well (or not so well) about your business with others who may have similar interests or needs. Don't just ask for feedback at the end of an experience; expect all your customers to remember how they felt about their experience. Instead, empower your customers with tools that allow them to give real-time feedback throughout their interaction with your business--and then listen carefully when those tools are used!

Monitor Your Social Media Channels in Real Time.

Monitoring your social media channels in real-time is a great way to stay in touch with customers and respond quickly to their questions or complaints. You can use monitoring tools like Hootsuite to see what people say about you on social media. Like a focus group, ask your audience questions to find out how they feel about new products, services, and your business.

And That's All for Now.

Find the best tools for your company and its customers, then use them regularly and consistently. Be bold and experiment with different tools once you find one that works well for you and your audience. If you do this, your customers will see that they're valued by both you and other people like them--and they'll be much more likely to stick around!