Retention is the New Growth: Delighting Your Customers

What is customer retention and why is it so important today? Being able to retain customers over an extended period has always provided great earning potential but is especially relevant in an all-digital landscape. With more access to  information and ever-changing options, customers expect highly personalized service and can easily leave to a competitor if they don’t receive it. But, once you have obtained returning customers, they can become loyal ambassadors and continue to not only buy more of your products, but to also recommend your brand as well, leading to tremendous growth.

How can you delight and, in turn, retain your customers? We have complied the below tips to help you get started.

1. Provide personalized service. Delight your customers by giving them exceptional, personalized service. Do this by recognizing your customers by name. Show your appreciation with gifts, coupons, special offers or sneak previews of your product. For example, you can use CRM data to personalize your emails and highlight special occasions such as your customer’s birthday or the anniversary of their first purchase.

2. Relationship building. Customer retention begins at your first interaction with a potential customer and continues throughout your relationship. In addition to the products and services you provide, your relationship with your customer is the most important element in customer retention. Once you have passed the attraction stage of the relationship and make the initial sale, ensure that you continue to cater to your customers and become invaluable by providing more than just services or products.

3. Create open communication. When a customer opts into receiving communications from your company or follows your company on social media, it’s a good indicator they want to hear from you and have a positive sentiment towards your brand. This is the time to continue building the relationship further. Ensure you are a regular presence in their feed or inbox, but pay close attention to the types of content and messaging you are creating. Once your customers begin to engage with your content, you’re on the right track.

4. Offer additional resources. A free educational program shows that your company values your customers and wants to make a long-term investment in their learning. By creating training resources or a knowledge library with eBooks and other educational materials, your customers will be able to utilize your products to their full potential. You will also be able to anticipate their problems before they arise by providing them with solutions in addition to your support team.

5. Ask for feedback. It is imperative to ask your customers for feedback on a regular basis. Being able to identify and address any issues as soon as possible will make your customers more inclined to stay. You can do this by sending out customer surveys or follow up emails regarding a recent experience or purchase. Consistently asking for feedback will help you recognize reoccurring issues and solve them before your customers have a chance to check out your competition.

At the end of the day, acquiring a new customer is far more expensive than retaining an existing customer. In addition to just the business they bring in, satisfying and delighting your current customers should be your top priority. When you become invaluable, your customers will continue to choose you over your competitors, remain loyal and be a champion for your brand.

Happy Marketing!