Retaining Customers – What’s the Secret?

A customer’s trust isn’t earned easily. Establishing mutual trust with customers is a slow process that takes months and years. The last thing any business wants is to lose a customer they worked long and hard to gain. 

Customer retention has evolved to be one of the foremost KPIs in the business world. 

A recent study conducted by the Harvard Business Review indicated why this is the case. It can be up to 25 times more expensive to integrate a new customer into the company than it is to hold onto a customer. 

The data presented in the research also shows more interesting information. For instance, a 5% increase in retention rates can sky-rocket profits by up to 95%.

From a practical standpoint, the data makes perfect sense. When a company retains a customer, the business cuts down on all expenditure, from marketing and sales to customer training. Additionally, all customers that are loyal enough to stick around are ten times happier with regards to the company’s performance. 

The bottomline is that successful customer retention makes the entire business thrive. Moreover, it ensures your business is cost-efficient and captivating to prospective clients. 

Take a look at some of the tips we have in store for you!

Make the retention process as smooth as possible

First impressions can make or break your retention campaign, especially when it comes to industries such as airlines. You could unveil the most amazing and exciting service or product. However, most of your customers will tend to relate to the initial experience they had with your company. 

Naturally, if that initial experience is a pleasant one, they’re more than likely to use the brand’s products and services more often. 

A good retention process is always one that is customized and curated. Clients always like to be recognized in their own unique ways. Attention to detail is key to giving a personalized, hands-on approach to the process. 

Many offer less priority to customers already on board. It makes sense but you can never be too safe in the extremely competitive business world. 

Consistently keeping customers up-to-date with marketing – through email, social media, and productive content like podcasts – is key to success.

Stay fresh and offer new, enticing products and services

It is important to never get stagnant or comfortable with your offerings. Overtime, customers get bored and start looking elsewhere. 

Take casinos for example. The games at this online casino are constantly refreshed with new offerings, games, bonuses and much more. This gives players new, innovative experiences every time they log in and keeps them coming back for more.

An ecommerce or retail business constantly refreshes the inventory for this very same reason. 

Reward promoters and loyal customers

Who doesn’t like to feel special and appreciated? Your customers most certainly do. 

One error is all it takes for your customer to wave goodbye to you and your company. We cannot stress this enough, never take your loyal customers for granted; reward them for their loyalty.

Rewards come in a range of different methods. Providing bonuses, discounts, or introducing a loyalty scheme can prove to be beneficial. 

Ecommerce businesses are known to surprise customers with a gift on important milestones in their life, such as a birthday. Such gestures are likely to be remembered by customers for years to come. 

These types of rewards also encourage your loyal customers to refer your company to their colleagues and family.

Build trust through relationships

Trust is an integral aspect of establishing any business plan. If there isn’t mutual trust between all parties involved in business, it is a matter of days until its demise. 

Companies like pharmaceutical companies constantly make attempts to improve their relationship with the customer by gaining their trust. 

Use customer behavioral data to your advantage to wow your customers. This way you can slowly but steadily gain their trust in a myriad of possible ways. 

Last but not least, KPIs are an efficient method to get to know your customer’s tastes and likings. 

Improve KPIs around customer service

Key performance indicators give a crystal-clear idea regarding how successfully the company achieves its business objective to reach their targets. One could say that KPIs are a road map to success.

It puts your company’s final aim into a more intelligible perspective that guides you every step of the way. KPIs are never a bad idea and its user comes highly recommended.

Leverage customer feedback surveys

Surveys have proven to be an extremely successful method of customer engagement. It simply doesn’t get better than honest feedback from your own customers and retail businesses use it very often. 

Contrary to common belief, many people do find surveys interesting and likable. Studies have shown that email surveys have an approximate response rate that is close to 25%. 

There is no better way to improve your products and services than by feedback. Honest – at times harsh – feedback from your customers can help you exactly figure out your strengths and weaknesses. This also helps further strengthen the bond between you and you and your customer. 

Customer retention is absolutely crucial to the success of any company today. Whether it is a start-up company or an already successful multinational company, customer retention is key. Where once it was a strategy for only retail businesses, almost every industry today utilizes some form of retention strategy.