All the effort into bringing in new customers to your product or service is
expensive. Companies often have to give up something to recruit new spenders to their offering – like mileage points and significant discounts. The idea is that once the new customer signs up, eventually the company will make money through repeat purchasing and subsequent spending. That is the theory…
Did you know it costs five times more to get new customers than to keep existing ones? It makes sense right? You already have me as a customer àyou don’t need to spend money on ad campaigns to convince me to
do business with you. No billboards, no Facebook / Google ads and no Groupons. THIS ONLY WORKS THOUGH IF YOU KNOW HOW TO KEEP
YOUR CUSTOMERS. Too often is the case that marketers voraciously bring in new customers with promotions only to have those newbies drift off shortly after the initial service experience.
Why? Because a fundamental aspect of the company’s service system is missing…the attention to customer retention. Customers have expectations of your product/service offering – the marketers have made that promise to new people trying your offerings. Upon engaging in the customer/company relationship, the customer is now perceiving the organization’s ability to deliver on those promises. Are their expectations exceeded? Have promises been honoured? Is the service interaction CONSISTENTLY professional and meeting/exceeding their expectations?
A focus on customer retention is paramount to the success of any business, particularly small business where marketing and advertising budgets are limited. Consistently and reliably exceeding your customer expectations brings tangible results for the organization. Customers can become champions, recommending your business to their friends, family and others, helping you gain new customers. And now thanks to social media, the power of customer referrals has grown exponentially.
To boost customer retention:
Honour your promises– made claims you are amazing? Be it, live it and honour it. Customers are comparing your promises to your actual delivery of the service.
Listen to your customer’s feedback and concerns – customers are a tool to help you improve your business. They are living the experience as you deliver it. Each interaction is an opportunity to learn how to better retain your target customers.
Focus on the relationship with your customers – thanking existing customers and letting them know they are important can drive customer loyalty and build champions for your brand. Loyalty programs, thank you postcards, perks on birthdays and anniversary sign-up dates are examples of ways to build the customer relationship àretention.
Service Essentials customer service workshops focus on the relationship with customers, how service professionalism drives customer satisfaction which drives customer retention and in turn, profitability.