It is quite unfortunate that most business owners are oblivious of the greatest assets of their businesses which are their customers, and as such are not aware of customer retention strategies they can lay hold on to.
The primary goal of every business should be how to create a loyal customer base. According to brandongaille, the sales of a business are largely dependent on the loyalty of their customers. In this article, we have highlighted the importance of customer retention and also the best and most detailed strategies on how to retain your customer.
Read Also: How to gain customer loyalty
What is Customer Retention?
Customer Retention simply means the capacity of a business to maintain its customers over a long period of time.
It is done in such a way that the customers of the business are able to purchase, and continue patronizing that particular business regardless of the business competition.
Therefore, Customer retention strategies refer to the deliberate actions business owners take to reduce the loss of clients and customers.
Specifically, the aim of this customer retention strategy is to reduce to the barest minimum the loss of clients, as well as retain as many as possible.
What are the top 3 keys to customer retention?
The three most important reasons customer retention strategies are very important in your business are;
- 1. It increases your customers’ lifetime value.
- 2. It helps boost your revenue.
- 3. It also helps to build trust and a lasting relationship with your customers.
Importance of Customer Retention Strategies for your Business.
The three most important reasons customer retention strategies are very important in your business are;
1. It increases your customers’ lifetime value.
For instance, no customer whose needs have been made a priority will look elsewhere.
crazy eggs agrees with me on this.
Besides, the retention of older customers is cheaper and more economical than acquiring new ones.
2. It helps boost your revenue.
Increasing sales is largely dependent on increasing the customer base and loyalty.
3. It also helps to build trust and a lasting relationship with your customers.
This relationship helps in that they can trust you with their money because your work speaks value.
The 15 Best Customer Retention Strategies that can Increase Profits.
Here, we have provided you with simple yet very detailed strategies on how to retain your customers.
These strategies have been tested and adopted by big brands and are trusted to ensure customer loyalty. They are:
#1. Onboarding Program Strategy.
This strategy simply works by teaching fresh customers how to use your products/services instead of having to learn to use your products on their own.
Sometimes, frustration set in when a customer is failing at every attempt to use your product. Other times, they might even be very busy with other things and won’t have the patience to master the use of your products.
So, this onboarding program helps to breach that gap by giving customers detailed information on the use of the products.
This doesn’t conserve time only but also gives them a better understanding of the products’ use.
#2. Customer Feedback Strategy.
Although they appear boring, feedback has proven powerful in engaging customers and getting vital information from them.
Getting a direct response from customers about your products or services has a way of sealing a bond between a customer and a business owner.
When these customers are given an opportunity to anonymously express themselves, they tend to go all-in while revealing their feelings about your products or services.
Furthermore, this is a call for sensitivity, in that when some customers who are about giving up on your brand pour out their emotions about your products or services, it is expected of you to grasp their point and work on the lapses and their dissatisfactions, thereby re-engaging them.
This particular strategy also helps because this feedback acts as stepping stones from being average to being a big brand.
#3. Customer Expectations Strategy.
This is another of the customer retention strategies that work like magic. It typically answers the question of how to retain customers.
Beyond their complaints and inquiries, give your customers an expectation.
Satisfying a new customer is quite hard so you should strive to know your customers personally, understand their expectations, and leverage these pieces of information to set expectations for your business.
This can be done by gaining their trust, working with empathy, and making only feasible promises.
#4. Feasible promises Strategy.
A promise, they say, is a debt. Making a promise you can’t deliver is very dangerous because a failed promise is equal to a failed brand in the eye of a customer.
But, if in a situation where you couldn’t meet their expectations, tender sincere apologies, and if possible compensate them, although compensations are never enough.
But to be on the safe side, don’t over-promise if you can’t deliver.
#5. Trust Strategy.
Knowing how to build trust in business is an important tool in establishing a customer relationship. That is, a business dies off when there’s no trusted system established.
Hence, start by giving customers an opportunity, as well as a reason to trust you.
Also, it is important to be intentional about promoting trust in your business because profitable businesses are built on the grounds of trust.
How do you create a customer retention strategy?
1. Onboarding Program Strategy.
2. Customer Feedback Strategy.
3. Customer Expectations Strategy.
4. Feasible promises Strategy.
5. Trust Strategy.
6. Software Automation Strategy.
How’s this done?
It’s simple. Deliver contents of value, make only promises you can fulfill, and strive to beat deadlines.
Subsequently, you will find out that your brand will become highly recommended and these customers sing your praise without seeking compensation.
#6. Software Automation Strategy.
The most common of these is Marketing Automation. This is the act of letting some of your marketing functions to be handled automatically by the software.
The goal here is to keep engaging your customers and this puts you ahead of your competitors.
So many companies use this strategy to retain customers by engaging them.
For instance, through this automation, you can take your customer relationship to the next level. There is ease in managing your customer’s contacts, sending text messages, setting event notifications, and scheduling promotional emails.
You can also send valuable newsletters to your customers for a scheduled period of time, even when they haven’t patronized you in a long time.
The major challenge of this automation strategy is a poor marketing process.
#7. The Surprise Strategy.
It is established that the majority of customers love surprises.
Imagine that feeling that comes with not getting a birthday text from your bank on your birthday.
Simply, you have to think outside the box on what to offer your customers without their knowledge.
Please note that it doesn’t have to cost you the world, a thoughtful surprise simply tells the customers that you value them and the relationship you share.
Conclusively, surprising your customers stirs motivation in them which in turn spurs hard work, they wouldn’t want to leave your brand and they recommend you effortlessly.
#8. Educational Webinar Strategy
Most people engage in webinars because of the hunger to learn something new. So, you must ensure to deliver only new, different, and valuable content. This customer Retention Strategy is for your customers to learn more about your products or services.
One thing you shouldn’t do here is to convert the webinar to a sales webinar, where you put marketing of your products first.
Educational webinars will instead sell you to your audience on its own after you have given them something new to chew on.
#9. Discussion Forum Strategy.
This is a form of social proof. Creating a community where customers get to meet themselves, interact, and discuss topics of importance is another vital customer retention strategy.
You can spice it up with news about your products and promos as the case may be.
This community is essential in enabling frequent communication with your customers.
One thing you must know in this strategy is to ensure proper moderation of the forum to avoid irrelevant discussions that might bring down your business.
#10. Personalize your communication.
This is likely the most important of Customer Retention Strategies.
In branding, communication with customers is very necessary. When it comes to this customer retention strategy, it’s either you go all out or you don’t at all.
Sometimes, the first impression a customer gets determines how far he will want to do business with you.
Charles Golvin, research director at Gartner for Marketers once said that customers prefer mobile messaging as a means of communication and interaction.
So, engaging your customers with SMS is a wise thing to do.
This SMS strategy is less bulky, straight to the point, and an affordable way of reaching out to customers.
The SMS platform can be set up via messagebird, Nexmo, etc.
Besides, the response rate has proven to be better than emails that are either left unread or sent straight to the spam box. SMS gets straight to the customers.
#11. Customer Complaint Strategy.
Like I said earlier, customers are your greatest assets but your greater assets are the complaining customers.
Their complaints help you to know the loopholes in your business and as such step up your game in those areas.
Truth is, a complaining customer is better than one who smiles in pretense but never comes back again.
Give them attention and work on your lapses.
#12. Educational Emails Strategy.
This is another customer retention strategy that works great.
It can help to retain your customers especially when the contents are branded.
This strategy is recommended for maintaining business relationships even when they aren’t actively patronizing you at that time.
Just as in the case of new employees, you can train your customers easily. For instance, when they are being informed about promos or giveaways, it helps them feel like they are already a part of the business and it’s not so easy to get to this point with any customer and still lose them.
It creates excitement in them while patronizing you.
#13. The Customer’s Equity Strategy.
Knowing the value each customer brings to your business is necessary.
Meanwhile, some customers actually add more values than others. Sometimes, the values placed on these customers help to forecast your sales.
To calculate a customer’s lifetime value, simply add up the revenue earned from a customer (i.e. annual revenue multiplied by the average customer lifespan) minus the initial cost of acquiring them.
#14. Enhance KPIs Around Customer service.
KPI is an acronym for Key Performance Indicator. It is a measurable value that depicts how efficiently a business is achieving its main goals.
They serve as a roadmap and as such help, you predict the future of your business.
Therefore, making vital pieces of information and support easily accessible to customers is very important.
#15. The “Under Promise and Over Deliver” Strategy.
It’s dangerous making a promise you can’t fulfill. To avoid hurting your customers, try to curtail the rate at which you make promises and aim at impressing them with your product and services.
Finally, Promises can make or mar your business and as such, a delicate tool in business, so promise less and do more.
These are the strategies to follow in other to retain your customers.
Follow these easy customer retention strategies for your business and watch how fast your customer base will expand.
Do you have any comments or suggestions? Use the comment box.
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