In This Article
– How to Retain Customers: Introduction
– 5 Tips to How to Retain Customers
– Retain Customers with Loyalty Programmes
– Separate Your Sales Processes
– Personalise Your Marketing to Retain Customers
– Ask for Reviews and Feedback
– Retain Customers by Creating a Community
– How to Retain Customers: Conclusion
How to Retain Customers: Introduction
Congratulations on acquiring your newest customer! Did you know that only 18% of businesses focus on customer retention? Yet the probability of selling to an existing customer is 60-70%, while the probability of selling to a new prospect is only 5%-20%. (Source: Invesp) That means what you do from now on with your new customer is extremely important; whether your business thrives or survives is really a question of how well you can retain customers.
We’ve collected 5 tips to help you formulate the best strategy for retaining customers so you can keep your customers—and your business—happy.
5 Tips on How to Retain Customers
Retain Customers with Loyalty Programmes
Nothing encourages people to stay like exclusivity. This is what loyalty programmes for your customers do, by rewarding customers for repeat decisions to stay. A usual example is for cafe loyalty cards, for example getting one drink free after buying 10.
Supermarkets tend to benefit from loyalty programmes in particular, but in reality loyalty programmes can benefit all sorts of businesses, as they appeal to a core customer desire: for their investment to be valued.
There are multiple ways that you can structure your loyalty programmes—which you can discover here.
Separate Your Sales Processes
Your current customers are not the same as your potential customers, or prospects. That means they can’t—and shouldn’t—be marketed in the same way. Though there will inevitably be some overlap—for example, in some sales emails—they don’t need to get to know your brand in the same way your prospects do; they’ve already done that.
By using a CRM with sales pipelines, you can progress your contacts through your sales process, and monitor how they interact with your business. If you can, use a separate pipeline to differentiate between your prospects and existing customers, so you don’t send either something that’s irrelevant to them and put them off your business for their next purchase. In addition to, or in the absence of this, use tags on your contacts to identify who’s a prospect and who’s an existing customer.
Personalise Your Marketing to Retain Customers
One of the best ways to show your appreciation for your customers is to acknowledge that they’re not just customers; they’re people. If you don’t personalise their marketing, you risk losing sales; 33% of customers say they consider leaving if businesses don’t personalise enough. (Source: Nextiva)
As customer retention is such an important part of your sales strategy, being able to acknowledge your existing customers actually goes a long way towards retaining them. That includes sending emails on their birthday, or location-specific prizes, events, as well as personalised ‘you might like’ selections.
Ask for Reviews and Feedback
Customers like to feel valued, and one of the most effective ways you can demonstrate you care about their opinions is to ask for them! After all, the best people to tell you about the customer experience are those who are experiencing it. Asking for reviews not only gives your company a boost in reputation (if your customer service has been good), but customers can enjoy contributing, especially if there’s a reward at the end of it.
You can read our full article about getting reviews here.
Retain Customers By Creating a Community
That collaborative appeal is the gift that keeps on giving for your business, because it benefits both you and your customers. People naturally want community; they like to discuss experiences together. They also may have questions that don’t need or can’t be answered easily by a business the way a fellow customer can.
Channels such as LinkedIn Groups or forums are an absolute boon for creating a community around your product/service, as:
- They allow businesses to say thank you for their customers’ investment
- They let like-minded customers gather, advise and support each other, turning them into knowledgeable brand advocates
- They can attract new prospects, which gives you less work in the long term
Make sure your forum’s needs are being met and have enough people in; then, you can watch it become an asset that retains customers and keeps on giving.
5 Tips for Small Business on How to Retain Customers
Retaining customers is vital to keeping your business running, so you have to treat your existing customers as soon as they buy from you. Luckily, there are a myriad of ways to do this, so you can turn existing customers into brand advocates who keep coming back for more business. This keeps your business healthy, making sure you don’t miss out on future sales again.
How does popcorn let you tag your contacts with information? Find out more about the software’s CRM here.
Enjoyed this post? Comment below or read through our blog for more lead management and CRM tips, especially for small businesses.
