12 Mar
Customer retention is easily achievable than its thought. All you need is some right processes and practices in place, such as:
- Building the database of your customers
- Engage this data of customers at regular intervals
- Target them with the right offers and promotions that they are looking for
- Reward them for their loyalty towards your brand
- Most importantly, provide them with good quality products/services and customer service
Why should you think about customer retention?
In this article, we explore some of the best techniques that every business should adopt for retaining the customers who are leaving.
1. Build the customer database
A customer database is a place where you store all information about your customers. Finding out about the offers that attract them, how frequently they purchase from you and at what intervals, their spending patterns etc. You can also keep track of the new customers brought in by the existing ones. The wider your customer database is, the better you know the customers, and it gives way to effective communication. As a business owner, you will know what products and services every customer is interested in from the database. The information can be used for targeted promotions. You can easily bring them to your stores more often with all these insights. Customer database provides you with valuable information that can be used to plan future sales and improve the overall performance of the business.
2. Engage your customers at regular intervals
Keeping the customers engaged with the business is the key to retain customers. SMS & Email notifications provide the perfect platform to communicate with your customers. To keep them engaged, businesses can send messages informing them about special offers, seasonal sales, new products or personalized rewards. It helps the company to build a close relationship with the customers. Customers feel valued when they receive personalized offers, and they tend to repeat business.
Building a community for the customers is also an intelligent way to engage customers, not only with the business but with each other. Social media platforms provide the opportunity for customers to connect, share reviews, insights, and much more.
You can also share information other than products or services. Sharing your brand’s vision or share a story of the contribution the business made to society. Such things help to build a connection with your customer. They learn things about the business beyond products and services.
Read more about how SMS marketing is very effective in customer retention.
3. Targeted promotions and Special offers
Most of the sales come from the loyal customers of the business. This section of customers is what businesses want to retain. The targeted promotions are designed to focus on improving the shopping experience of the customers. Special offers and rewards are a way to keep the customers interested in the business. Studying the customer’s purchase history can help the business to promote products and offers that customers will find relevant.
Businesses can opt for personalized rewards to customers for references to new customers. The rewards will help to retain the customers and also fetch new ones. Targeted promotions have a higher chance of conversion into sales too.
4. Reward customer loyalty
Rewarding the customer is your way of showing gratitude to them for choosing you over the competitors in business. These loyalty programs are excellent for retaining customers. Some ways to rewards your customer are as follows:
- Start a membership program
- Offer discounts to the customers who make big purchases.
- For customers who make frequent purchases, you can give away some free merchandises to reward them for their loyalty towards the business.
- Involve the existing customers in new product and service launches. It makes the customers feel more connected to the business.
- Reward the customers for referrals to new customers. The rewards can be in the form of discounts or free gifts.
- Give special discounts to customers on their birthdays. This makes the relationship between the business and customer personal, and the customer feels valued.
5. Provide excellent customer service
The way you serve your customer requests and complaints says a lot about the business. Make sure every person in the business treats customer service as a priority. Customer service is needed to retain the customers. The customers become loyal to the business that caters to their needs efficiently. The type of customer service you provide says a lot about the company’s image, missions, and business values. Studies show that 70% of customers remain loyal to businesses for the excellent customer service they provide. Customers who are served well are likely to get new customers to the business.
Conclusion
Customer retention is a much essential aspect of a business as compared to acquiring new ones. It is much less costly and deepens the loyalty the customers have towards the brand. Therefore, invest in good strategies for customer retention and keep them from leaving.
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