One of the things that always bothers me about the term “brand loyalty” is that it never clearly defines whose loyalty we’re talking about.
Half the advice out there talks about building brand loyalty for your “audience”. The thing is… not all your audience buys from you. But you know who does? Your customers.
(Not to be cheeky but.. 100% of your customers have bought from you 
)
And as a SaaS or ecommerce brand… they’re the ones whose loyalty you should be actively pursuing.
It’s easier to convince someone to buy from you AGAIN than it is to persuade them to buy from you the first time. In other words, retention is easier (and cheaper) than acquisition.
(This is where I add the disclaimer that when it comes to customer acquisition and retention, one is not more important than the other… one is just easier, cheaper, and mostly ignored.)
So how can you turn your customers into loyal, raving, long-term fans?
By sending them a reminder email when a renewal is coming up.
Last week, I received the following email from TinyPNG.
Honestly, I’d forgotten all about paying for TinyPNG because they never sent me emails after I signed up. We’re talking ZERO communication. Not even an “In these unprecedented times” email 
It wasn’t until I got this email that I realized I’d paid for it last year when I was updating my website and needed to reduce the size of my brand photoshoot images before uploading them to my site.
Here’s the kicker, TinyPNG costs $25 a year.
Smalllll amount in the grand scheme of things but enough to piss me off when it would’ve shown up as an unexpected expense in my statement.
But because they sent me a reminder email a week before they charged my card, I was aware and prepared for the expense.
I knew it was coming and I could decide whether I wanted to stick around or not.
Not to mention… they now have incredible goodwill with me because they did something other services I pay for don’t (looking at you Typeform!)
Here’s what I love most about their email:
Not only did they tell me they’ll be charging my card, but they also told me:
- What day they’ll charge my card
- Where I can go to update my settings
- How I can get in touch with them
Just one email (in an entire year!) and they’ve got a loyal customer at their hands.
So whether you’re a SaaS business or an ecommerce brand, if you’ve got customers on a subscription plan, puhleeeez send them a payment reminder/renewal email.
Cuz no one likes a company that takes money from their customers without telling them first. #justsayin
– Samar
P.S: Got an email problem that’s fast turning into a headache? Book an Email Strategy Consult and get rid of the problem once and for all!
