Attracting new customers may seem like the obvious goal for growing your business, but keeping your current customer base loyal and happy is equally important. Happy customers often mean repeat business, and you can bet they’ll tell others about their favorite places to shop and spend money.
If you’re wondering how you can do more to guarantee customer loyalty, you’ll find that there’s numerous ways to build relationships that last. Consider these three tips for improving customer satisfaction and retention.
1. Stay in Contact
Don’t take a loyal customer for granted. Customers come and go, often leaving without giving you a clue for their sudden departure. You’ll want to protect your most valuable asset by staying in touch with them. Consider putting a regular customer call day in place where you phone your customer base to say “hello” and let them know you appreciate their patronage.
In addition, remembering birthdays or sending a simple thank-you card will go a long way in letting your customers know that you value the relationship you have with them. People appreciate your efforts in making them feel important. And when you’ve reached that level of contentment with your customers, losing them won’t be likely.
2. Consider Updating Your Technology
You’ll gain beneficial marketing data by collecting customer feedback. Finding out what you’re doing right or wrong will help your business improve products and services. It’ll also prove to be a valuable tool for attracting new customers by gathering data that reveals your customers’ wants and needs. And one of the best tools for improving customer retention is by adding a customer retention management (CRM) platform.
A CRM is a software tool that companies use to manage interactions with their customers and gather and store customer information that can be used for marketing and sales. Implementing a CRM platform may be one of the most efficient tools you’ll need for meeting your customer satisfaction and retention goals. Look for a CRM partner that can handle the setup and technical maintenance that you need.
Here’s two ways customer feedback can help your business:
- Customer service: Customers who provide feedback about their experience helps a business improve their services and/or products.
- Quality assurance: Customer feedback offers insights on faulty products or poor service. The information gained can be a valuable tool in helping a business assess what’s working and what needs fixing.
One effective method of collecting customer feedback is by posting a feedback form or contact form on your website or app. Adding the forms on your website makes it convenient for your customers to provide feedback whenever they want.
To make sure this method is hassle free for your customers, make the form easy to find and complete. Then add a call-to-action button that customers can click on from all pages on your website or app.
3. Reward Your Customers
Celebrate your customers by recognizing how they’ve contributed to your success. Plan a customer appreciation day with light snacks and give away extra swag. You might even offer door prizes. Or recognize a customer who helped your business thrive by featuring them on your social media outlets, website and in-store displays. Another popular idea is offering a referral bonus or reward for bringing in new customers.
Did you know that the success rate for selling to an existing customer is about five times more than selling to a new customer? It’s true, and you’ll be wise to continue to market your products and services to your existing base. Indeed, it’s your existing base that will see you through the ups and downs of business ownership. Consider the aforementioned tips and advice for customer retention and look forward to continued success.