Five ways to improve customer retention

Customer retention is one of the most important factors in building and sustaining a successful business.

According to studies, the majority of future revenue for businesses will come from existing customers. So we take a look at a few strategies that small businesses can implement for customer retention.

1. Be proactive when engaging with customers

Every customer is a human being, and they expect to be treated as such. So when your company engages with customers, by behaving in a respectful and helpful way, you will create a sense of goodwill towards your brand. This can result in customer loyalty.

If a customer leaves a message, try your best to call back promptly. If you have a reputation of quality customer service, your customers will never forget it.

2. Consider relationships before sales

Don’t let the relationship you have created between your company and a customer end after a sale. Instead, thank them for their business, offer them extra tools to get the most out of their sale or let them know how they can stay in touch with your business through your social media channels or company blog.

You can also reward their loyalty with special promotions and offers. If you do this you may notice that customers respond with repeat business. Also, if a customer becomes dissatisfied, do your best to make amends.

3. Provide interesting and valuable content

Content is still king. It enables businesses to supply customers with engaging and entertaining information to strengthen the relationship.

Your content can subtly promote your company. For example, your content could let customers know how to get the best out of their products they purchased from you. Just try to avoid bland content and remember that different customers want different things – typically content in different formats. These formats include articles, videos, whitepapers, images and more.

4. Keep customers engaged

Every customer retention strategy revolves around customer engagement. And with the emergence of new social media channels, it gets easier and easier to reach them.

Whether people leave positive feedback, complaints or simply report a problem for your support team, always try to respond in a prompt and professional manner. This can let everybody else on your social media feeds know that you treat every customer well. By doing this, it encourages people to share their positive experiences with others in their network.

Read and comment on the original YFS Magazine article.