Studies show that only around one third of customers are likely to place a second order with your company during the 12 months following their first order. These are people who are already fully aware that your company exists and have demonstrated a willingness to buy the products and services you sell.
Developing and implementing a strategy to retain such customers is a great way to boost sales as all the hard marketing work has already been done. Read on for a few tips on how to master the art of customer retention.
Really Know Your Customers
Whatever field of business you are in, it’s important that your customers always feel you have sufficient time to deal with them. One factor that consistently drives down customer service ratings is when consumers feel they are being rushed. Feeling ignored produces a similar reaction.
If you want to ensure your customers keep coming back time and time again, you need to make it clear that you not only know and understand their needs but also that you are willing to do whatever it takes to fully meet them.
Add a little psychology to your business practices and delight customers by exceeding their expectations. The easiest way to do this is to under-promise. If delivery normally takes up to three days, tell customers that it takes four or five and they’ll be delighted when the product arrives in just two days.
Pick Up The Phone
Many business owners fear implementing strategies that cannot easily be scaled up in the future, but this is often a mistake. Making telephone calls to customers is not easily scalable as your business grows but can have a huge impact on them. It allows you to obtain instant feedback that can then be used to improve your business but also goes a long way to showing customers that you truly care for their needs.
It is, however, essential to ensure that calls are only made at the right time in a customer’s buying cycle and that they do not receive repeated or inappropriate calls. One of the best ways to ensure this happens is to make use of phone number tracker software. Such programs ensure customers get attention only when and if they most need it and helps your enterprise run smoothly in the process.
Offer True Value For Money
Developing a content strategy for your website that encourages customers to return on a regular basis can boost their chances of becoming loyal to your brand by helping to build a connection with them. The information you provide should be highly informative, entertaining and add value to their lives to set you enterprise aside from the competition.
Depending on the nature of your business, you may want to consider developing a subscription based model that offers premium or additional services. The cost of a subscription need not be high and so long as your customers believe they are getting value for money, either in the form of discounts on sales or through other perks, they will be happy to oblige.
Such a service can also ensure that all those receiving marketing information are actually active customers, cutting down in the number of dead links in your customer database.