Happy Customers

 

 

Businesses in the growth stage often become very focused on advertising and finding new customers. However, the foundation of every great business is built, not just on new acquisitions, but on retaining existing customers too. Existing customers are 14 times more likely to buy from you. Plus it costs around 7 times more to find just one new customer than it does to focus on retaining an existing one. These are some pretty convincing statistics that show why customer retention needs to be a part of every business strategy. But how do you do it?

1. Upgrade your customer service

A huge majority of customers (up to 97%) say customer service is one of the most crucial factors in choosing brands – and staying with them. Plus, good customer service creates brand ambassadors who will go out into the world and shout about how good your products or services are. Positive customer service means being responsive to contact attempts, providing solutions to typical customer problems and evolving your service by listening to what your customers say about it.

2. Reward and recognise your most loyal customers

VIP offers and rewards that are targeted at those customers who have been with you the longest make everyone feel good. Give your customers a good reason to stay loyal by offering discounts, financial incentives and offers – or adding value to their experience. If you’re not keen to go down the discounting route then consider a points scheme or loyalty scheme. You could also create a club for longer-term customers through which you offer access to events or inside information that isn’t available to others.

3. Micro moments

Focusing on ‘micro moments’ can help brands to identify how to connect better with existing customers and give them what they need to stay loyal. Micro moments happen at the interaction between a customer and a mobile device. They are defined by Google as the point when a consumer reflexively turns to a (generally mobile) device to fulfill an immediate need. Focusing on micro moments such as ‘I want to buy,’ ‘I want to find’ or ‘I need help’ can contribute to improving customer experience and creating a better understanding of the customer journey.

4. Personalisation

If there’s one thing that makes customers feel loyal to a brand it’s the sense that they matter as individuals. Personalisation achieves this very neatly, sending out tailored messages that have far more impact than general emails that are clearly not individual.

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