6 Most Effective Customer Retention Strategies That Help
Companies focus more on customer retention than they do on acquisition. There is a good reason for that as well – retention is generally more profitable. Going over a few statistics will help you understand why businesses prioritize retention.
It is 7x cheaper to retain your customers than to acquire a new one. Investing 5% more in your customer retention increases your profits by 25%. These generalist figures vary by industry, but customer-centric businesses profit the most from retention.
Social media marketing and ecommerce experts suggest that most industries retain only 20% of their customers. This is the biggest challenge that companies face. Even the biggest names, such as Amazon and Adobe, face cart abandonment issues. This may be due to various reasons, including unprecedented shipping rates and trust issues in payment options. The goal remains the same for all, though – increasing customer retention rates and building brand loyalty.
6 Effective Customer Retention Strategies that Work
Strategizing is an important factor in any marketing portfolio, whether social media or search engine marketing. Customer retention strategies are, therefore, intertwined with social media and search engine marketing. To begin with, we have listed some evergreen practices that help companies retain their clients.
Customer Service
Your quality of customer service and support directly impacts the customers’ perception. How you handle customers’ queries and complaints is really important. To increase customer retention, you must invest more in the quality of your customer support. Many companies employ a virtual assistant to help them do this.
For service businesses, customer support software is even more important. Did you know that customers are willing to pay more for a better experience, even if the product or service isn’t expensive?
Customer service channels should be carefully selected. They should have a symbiotic relationship with your product or service. For example, a company that manufactures and markets apparel for teenagers should go heavy on social media such as Instagram. For B2B outfits, LinkedIn and a dedicated web application are more viable.
Other customer support channels, such as email, phone lines, and chatbots, are also effective. It depends on your product or service and the channel you use to communicate with your customers. If you are actively using phone calls, a VOIP number check can confirm that your numbers are properly registered within the VOIP system, ensuring smooth communication and reliable connectivity.
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Your customer service can be enhanced by doing the following:
Pay Attention to What the Customer Says
Ensure that your customer feels attended to and cared for. Even if they had a bad experience with your product or service, they might still be willing to do more business with you if the customer service is good.
Give them Multiple Options.
Your company should be accessible via multiple channels so customers are never left unattended or made to wait. Multiple channels also give the impression that your company takes customer service seriously and has a good infrastructure.
Categories and Connect
Your customers must be connected with the right representative to solve their problems. Your customers should contact the most skilled representatives who know exactly what they are dealing with.
Invest in Customer Surveys
Knowing the market is crucial not only to your customer retention but also to developing marketing strategies. Social media channels are great for conducting these surveys. Ask relevant questions that involve the visitor and interest them. You can also use your website to run these surveys. However, ensure your surveys are not lengthy and feel ‘natural’. Also, surveys shouldn’t be overused. The customer should not feel like they are being interrogated.
From your point of view, customer surveys are intended to gather relevant market data. Demographics, market interests, behavior, etc., are only some of the parameters you can work on through customer surveys.
Discounts and Offers
Discounts are one of the best ways to retain and reward your customers for their loyalty. This even works for customer acquisition. Many ecommerce platforms offer heavy discounts on your first purchase. Cart abandonment issues are also partially addressed by offering discounts.
Surprise gifts are another way to treat your customers and keep them happy. Including a small gift in a delivery order will surprise customers and make them feel cared for. You can roll out special offers and gifts, including cashbacks and nifty gifties, to customers who have stayed with you for a long time.
Rewarding loyal customers keeps customer retention rates high. You can also make a hierarchy, just like platforms like Twitch and Patreon do. Each level has different advantages. You can roll out special offers based on the subscription level. Many companies also treat their customers on their birthdays or national holidays.
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Nurture a Community
Building a community of like-minded individuals around your product or service is also advantageous. Companies like Red Bull and Royal Enfield are prime examples of this. Royal Enfield sells bikes and apparel and organizes rides to scenic places. Look into how they have profited by hosting Himalayan biking events in India to understand how a community can help you retain and build your customer base.
Pairing with NGOs and purpose-driven ideas is also trending these days. With global warming and other worldwide issues such as hunger and poverty on the rise, many businesses have taken steps to involve their customers in solving these problems. For every product you sell, for example, a portion can go to the famine in Yemen.
When coupled with an aware and ‘woke’ community, purpose-driven brand building can do wonders for your business. Social media is a great way to educate your customers about these issues, help the community interact, and serve as a platform.
Customer Education
Educating your customers about your product and communicating to them how your business can help them is crucial. A team of good content writers, virtual assistants, social media marketing executives, designers, and creative individuals is key to developing an ‘educated’ customer base.
Referral Rewards
Lastly, rewarding customers for referring your product or service to another individual is highly advantageous. It helps you acquire more customers while keeping your old customers happy. ‘Gamifying’ your brand and keeping customers in an interactive mode helps them feel important. It is a win-win for all the players involved.
Also Read: How to Fix Payment Revision Needed on Amazon
Conclusion
The probability of doing business with an existing client is around 60%. Compare this to the 5% – 20% of a new person. Customer retention is outright more beneficial for your business. All the big companies recognize this and develop concrete strategies to increase customer retention.
So what are you waiting for? Call your company’s best minds and get started on developing successful customer retention strategies. Make sure you make the most of all the digital channels you have at hand. Employ social media platforms to boost your reach and keep your customers engaged. Over time, you will witness the positive results of customer engagement and building brand loyalty.