Customers are what keeps a business going and growing. Don’t you agree? If you want to grow your customers the most important and easiest way is to retain your existing customers. If you ask any business owner at present, they would say that acquiring a new customer is getting harder. Retaining existing customers is easier compared to acquiring new customers.
Retaining your existing customers is cheap and flexible. You would spend 15x times less. If you want your customers to purchase again from you. Then it becomes your prime responsibility to keep your customers happy. For that to become possible, you must constantly update your customer retention strategies.
When was the last time you put efforts to understand your customers and engaged with post-sale to make them your regular customers? You’re not late to market your current customers, all you need is a perfect strategy.
What is customer retention?
Customer retention is a collection of activities performed by a company or organisation to retain their existing customers and increase the profitability of the business through them. But a business cannot go without a plan it will not plan. So it becomes important for a business to have customer retention strategies in place. These retention strategies will help you in retaining the customers you worked so hard to acquire. It will allow you to provide your users with excellent customer experience. Still not convinced? It will also help you in getting value for your products. With ever-changing preferences of customers, it has become an impossible feat to acquire new customers. So the next best thing to grow your business is retaining your existing customers.
Why is it important to retain your customer?
Most companies run to acquire new customers, while they already have gold in their hands i.e., their existing customers. The companies devote their time and money on their potential customers. While retaining existing customers have many benefits. Retention is cheaper compared to acquiring. Every year on an average a company in the U.S spend around $ 180 billion on advertising, however, they spend around $ 2 billion on retention and loyalty programs. It is 5 times less cheap to retain your customer, which shows it is more economical. When you put efforts to retain your existing customers then it will put you on the spotlight not only for your customers but to the potential new customers too. It will provide you with an opportunity to interact with your customers and improve their experience.
Benefits of Customer retention
Not only that when most of the companies are focusing on acquiring if you focus more on retention, then you would automatically stand out from the crowd. When a customer is satisfied with your services, they would get more potential customers with their word of mouth. They may refer your brand to their family and friends improving your brand awareness and sales. With social media platform now it has become quite easy for people to spread the word among their close circle. When you interact with your existing customers more, they will provide you with valuable feedback that will help you in exploring and making your brand better. If you provide your customers with a solution to their problems then it is more likely that customers will become your loyal customers. Loyal customers are more open to your marketing and they may appreciate your effort too.
If you’re wondering how to come up with retention strategies that will help your business. Here are a few tips that will help you.
Pay Attention
If you’re not sure where to start then start with basics i.e, pay attention to your customers. Your existing customer’s preferences may not stay the same all the time. So it becomes your prime responsibility to pay attention to them and understand their preferences. Business spend lots and lots of money to acquire a customer, but once they purchase they leave the customer unattended. Which may make your customers feel more neglected and this may act as an advantage to your competitors.
Abandoning or neglecting your customers may not do any good for your business, instead, it may trash your brand name and if your customers decided to forgo your brand and move to your customer then you have seriously lost one loyal customer of yours. If you want to grow your business then the easiest way to do that is to not lose any of your existing customers. And for that to happen you must understand your customers and their preferences better. You’re spending a lot of money and effort in acquiring a customer so why not put that effort in retaining them.
Remember them
You paying attention to them will not be sufficient to retain them. Most businesses spend a lot on the first sale from a customer but then they forget them. What they don’t understand is that they’re losing a customer who can become your loyal customers. if you remember them and if you succeed in staying in their mind constantly then your retention strategy may work. Wondering how to stay in their head for a long time.
It is simple, stay in touch with post-sale. Remember them on their special days, send wishes and inform them about your new products, sales and provide them early access to your sales etc. Show them that they’re the most important for your organisation and give them special treatment. Always remind them that they made the right decision to get associated with your brand. This is your chance to engage and build a relationship with your customers. You can contact them with emails, phone calls or send cards directly.
Customer service
It is a never-ending pursuit to keep your customers satisfied with your brand. It takes a lot of effort to keep them happy with your products and services. If you want them to be a part of your business for a long time then make sure to provide them with excellent customer service. Some of the best ways to provide them with excellent service are by delivering the goods on time, providing an immediate response to their queries, producing goods that have zero defects and are error-free. And lastly providing them with great after service and solving their queries relating to warranties, etc. The other great thing that you could do is hire people that can help you in improving customers experience at any point of sales. Providing your customers with extraordinary services will bring them back.
Feedback
If you’re keen on improving your business then you must be prepared to receive feedback from your customers. It is highly impossible to develop your business without understanding how your audience receives your products. So first things first, gather feedback from your customers. Most companies gather feedback from their customers. What is the point of gathering the information when you’re not using it to improve your business? If you think you’re are done once you gather the information, then you’re wrong. This is where the actual work starts. You need a process to gather information, analyse and distribute it. Once you gather info from customer reviews and surveys then it’s time to put the information into action. There are many ways to get customer feedback, one of the most common ways is conducting surveys.
Loyalty Programs
It is important to concentrate on people who are turning towards your competitors. But just to do that you cannot ignore your long term existing customers or loyal customers who have been part of your business for a long time. Your loyal customers may feel that you’re not putting in your full efforts to retain them and this may force them to move to other brands. In such cases, customer loyalty programs will come for your rescue. You can reward your loyal customers with these programs. Giving rewards is the best idea as it satisfies both you and the customer. It provides you with more business and your customers with rewards for constantly shopping or interacting with you. It will leave them satisfied, improves customer experience and lastly makes them want to interact more with your brand.
Conclusion
The best way to retain your existing customers is by understanding them. When you understand their changing preferences it will help you in improving your business. In industry, there are hundreds of businesses that are fighting for the same customers. So if you want to gain leverage on your competitors then retaining your existing customers is the right way. In a day a customer receives hundreds of messages from different brands.
If you neglect your customer it would not take a lot of time for your competitors to acquire him. Losing an existing customer can affect the profitability that person will bring. When a loyal customer is satisfied he can bring in more customers with his word of mouth. So to avoid a customer choosing other brands over you, your brand must put in efforts such as engaging constantly and personalising the services for the customers. Customer should understand that they’re important for you and you’re putting in efforts to retain them. So, what are you waiting for? Come up with your customer retention strategy and retain your loyal customers.
