When you’re bootstrapping your business, you need to save money wherever and whenever you can.
One of the easiest ways to do that is to focus on customer retention.
All too often, businesses focus on getting new customers instead of nurturing the ones they have. If you make that same mistake, you’ll wind up pouring your limited resources into customer acquisition. Those resources can be spent elsewhere.
You need to learn strategies for effective consumer relations because it’s good for business. If you can increase your customer retention rate by just 5%, you may be able to increase your profits by 25%.
Would you like to find out more about the top customer retention strategies you can use in your business?
Read on to discover what they are.
1. Show Appreciation
People love to be loved. You can show your customers love by letting them know how much you appreciate them. A simple thank you can go a long way.
The more you show appreciation for your customers, the more they feel valued. A few ideas to show customer appreciation are giveaways like T-shirts and water bottles. Thank you cards are another way to show appreciation.
A phone call to your customers to say we really appreciate your business doesn’t take much time, but it creates a meaningful connection.
You don’t need to spend a lot of money on showing appreciation. Though if you do, you may want to reserve that for your best customers.
2. Deliver an Impeccable Experience
One guaranteed way to increase your profitability is to deliver incredible customer service. People are willing to pay more if they know that they’re going to get better service.
It’s also one of the best strategies for effective consumer relations. When people know and trust that they’ll get a better experience, they’ll go with what they know and return.
The customer experience isn’t just what happens after they make a purchase. Customer relations is also dependent on the entire customer experience. Your website must deliver a quality experience. Your sales team needs to deliver quality, too.
3. Ask for Feedback
You value your customers, and you want to make sure that they know that. One way to do that is by asking them for feedback. You want an honest opinion as to how you’re doing.
Customers also feel that you value them when you ask them for feedback. However, you better be prepared to act on the feedback you’re given.
Asking for feedback and then ignoring it will only harm your reputation. It’s a sure way to damage the trust you worked so hard to gain.
4. Communicate with Your Customers
Another way to retain your customers is to communicate with them regularly. There are dozens of ways to do that, but the most effective is through email.
You want to add value to their day, so make the emails fun and informative. Think of the most common questions you get from your customers and answer them in a series of emails.
5. Take Responsibility When You Make Mistakes
In business, you can’t be perfect 100% of the time. Mistakes will happen from time to time, as much as you try to prevent them.
If your business does make a mistake, own it.
Have you ever read customer reviews where a customer complained, and the company responded by blaming the customer?
That’s not a good look for those companies and it makes customers go elsewhere. If you ever find yourself on the receiving end of a complaint, let the customer know that you’re willing to make it right.
If it’s a situation where the customer was in the wrong, like they were mean to an employee, take the conversation offline and explain that’s not how you do business.
6. Set Up Your Product or Services to Create Loyal Customers Over Time
Many businesses aren’t really set up for success. They have a small line of products or services that people may pay for once and don’t return.
Think of the car industry. People buy cars once every several years. You can’t have a successful business if people buy from you only once every so often. You’re only going to have to spend money on market to get new customers.
How can car dealerships make money? They sell accessories, parts, and service packages along with the car. When you have a service contract, you retain customers for years.
It’s the same with other businesses like pest control or even selling HVAC units. They have additional services that they can sell and make a healthy profit while they retain customers.
You need to look at the profit centers of your business and ask yourself how you can leverage additional services to keep your customers often.
For example, if your business is in fitness, you can sell a do it yourself guide that gives people workouts. They can spend money on that, and odds are that the program will collect a lot of dust. You can offer your customers an upgrade where you hold them accountable to that program.
There are other ways you can limit the churn rate and keep your customers longer. Check out our guide for a more detailed look at customer retention.
Strategies for Effective Consumer Relations
You know that profitability is the end all and be all in your business. One of the best ways to increase your profits is to focus on the customers you have. That's why you need to know strategies for effective consumer relations.
It’s much more cost-effective to have services you can upsell and deliver excellent service to your customers. That will keep you from constantly finding new customers each and every month. It’s also less stressful because your income is more predictable.
CX Conclusion
Do you want more tips to build a successful business? Take a look at the sales section of this site for more great articles on customer relationship management.
Do you want more tips to build a successful business? Take a look at the sales section of this site for more great articles on customer relationship management.
