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It’s certainly exciting when you win over a new customer. However, the mistake that many businesses make is that they overdo things while concentrating their marketing efforts on acquiring new customers. What they fail to realize is that it’s equally important to hold on to existing customers, i.e., retain customers. Kissmetrics reveals that you need to spend nearly 7 times less in retaining a customer than the amount you need to spend when getting a new one.
It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that customer retention is the most effective branding exercise as happy customers translate into excellent brand promotion and publicity. A happy customer is your best brand ambassador. Customer retention is also a handy marketing tool that helps you expand your business. A happy customer refers you to others bringing in new customers. You must have now realized how important it is to retain customers. Read on as we tell you how you can do so.
Use Social Media to the Hilt
Social media is extremely useful when it comes to maintaining contact with your customers after you’ve made the initial sale. Social media offers you the chance to engage with your customers and therefore, build trust. You must keep an eye on how your customers feel about your business, what their interests are, and what motivates them. This helps you gauge the pulse of your customers. Once that happens, you realize what delights them and devise strategies to retain them.
You should also make the effort to change a negative opinion any customer may have about your business. You can do so by extending excellent customer service. Consumers often take to social media to vent their frustration if they are unhappy with your service. Be on the lookout for negative reviews and complaints so you give out the impression that you care for your customers. Such empathy for customer opinion helps you retain them.
Interact with Your Customers
One way to retain customers is to interact with them regularly. Take the time to update your customers about promotional campaigns, updates in products, new launches, reward programs, and any other content that’s relevant to them and interesting as well. To engage with your customers, hold contests with rewards for winners and ask them to share stories about experiences they have had while using what you offer.
You may stay a step ahead of your customers by foreseeing what future challenges your customers may face and then suggest solutions so that they can continue using your product or service facing no hassles. There may be occasions when you don’t hear from a few customers for some time. You should take the initiative of reaching out to them. A good example is how the editing software for writers, ‘Grammarly’ drops mails to their customers if they haven’t been working with the tool for a while. Such concern for customer well-being can do wonders in retaining customers.
Give your Customers a Patient Hearing
Your customers may have problems using your product or service at times. Even as things go digital, your customers must be able to talk to a real person who is empathetic towards them either on a call or in person. Giving your customers the chance to communicate with a real person when things go wrong is like giving them a shoulder to cry. They find comfort in the feeling that you care.
Avoid referring already anguished customers to a FAQ page. Sharing an email contact form with them will worsen things. Your unhappy customers need to share their frustration with someone. You must realize it. When problems arise, your employees should have the power and ability to resolve them. Remember, when the problem is redressed quickly, the customer feels relieved and the chances of him continuing with your business brighten.
Conclusion
The most effective way to improve your brand image is to retain the customers you have. To be able to retain your customers, you have to engage with them and be empathetic when they face problems. Remember, happy customers, are always your best brand ambassadors. They do an amazing job in spreading the news that your product or service is good bringing you more business. The next time you plan your budget, set aside enough for customer retention. We tell you, you won’t regret it.
