Customer retention isn’t a new concept, although it’s safe to say it probably went out of style. The art of fostering good relationships is as old as human instinct itself. However, customer retention goes beyond merely doing the right thing and giving a listening ear to your clients.
This art involves strategic planning to keep your customers happy, as opposed to simply pushing for new sales. The idea is that people who have already purchased from you are far more likely to make another purchase in the future, and the evidence is right there in front of you.
There are Enough Nuts In the Office. Send Nut-Free BrowniesInstead of ramping up your outbound sales force, here’s an idea that can save you money – implement a customer retention plan instead. It’s also more effective and provides better return on investment than focusing all of your efforts on acquiring new customers.
According to Forest Research studies, it costs at least five times more to acquire new customers than to keep the ones you already have. Similar studies suggested that) efforts to reduce “churn” (a.k.a. customers forgetting they ever bought something from you ), just five percent led to anywhere from 25 to 125 percent in profit increase.
Simply put, you build a business relationship with customers, and just as with a personal relationship, it becomes stronger over time. Loyalty is created and your brand recognition and trust skyrockets in the customer’s mind. You’re a part of his or her memory, their culture, and their day to day life.
Strategies for Keeping Customers Happy
The question is, how do you go from customer-friendly (which most businesses are naturally—how many managers really yell and swear at their customers?) to actually being proactive in making your customers feel loyalty to you?
Some of the best strategies include:
- Setting Your Expectations Early: This is a great way to start letting customers know what they’re in for when they sign with you. Make promises slightly less than you’re capable of and then exceed their expectations.
- Be an Expert, Not Just a Place for Them to Spend Money: If you have a technical business then rest assured most of your customers are counting on you to steer them right. Give a little extra by teaching them something—don’t just run a register.
- Start a Constant Dialog: It’s not really much of a relationship if all you ever say to your customers is a bunch of sales fluff. Start a more personal dialog by way of monthly newsletters and blogs. You can also build social media-based relationships by staying active AND interactive on Twitter, Facebook, Google+, Pinterest, LinkedIn and InstaGram.
- Customer Feedback: This is such a simple and yet an often neglected matter of politeness. If your customers buy from you, ask them for notes on improvement.
It’s the little things that count in building personal relationships and by now we’ve learned that the same principle holds true in fostering business relationships and customer retention strategies.
Be nice—it pays!
