Customer Retention Tips
Businesses work hard to attract customers through a mix of marketing, social media and brand strategies. You've invested a lot of time and effort not forgetting money in order to gain customers' trust. It only makes sense that you want to hold on to them.
Customer retention is more valuable than customer acquisition. Some people say it costs five times as much to earn a new customer than it does to retain an existing one. Others say that retaining customers is seven times more valuable. And finally, acquiring a new customer is anywhere from 5 to 25 times more expensive than retaining an existing one.
To improve customer retention, you have to look at your entire customer experience. The customer experience involves everything customers think and feel when they encounter your brand.
Now let's outline some tangible ideas you can apply to improve customer retention.
#1. Set realistic expectations
Setting realistic expectations is so important if you're trying to improve your customer retention rate. It can have a huge impact on your business' ability to keep customers. Think about things like shipping times, for example. Most online stores can't compete with Amazon when it comes to shipping times. But what you can do instead is work hard to keep your customers informed. You can have transparent shipping information on your website. You can send emails to customers telling them that their order was received; that their order was processed; and that their item has shipped and is in transit. Of course, setting expectations goes way beyond shipping. Make sure your product descriptions are accurate. Make sure your product descriptions are accurate. Make sure there aren't surprise fees that appear at checkout. Setting clear expectations is a basic, but huge step forward and will go a long way when you're trying to improve your customer retention rates.
#2. Use customer accounts
Customer accounts an be a double-edged sword. On one hand, accounts can make repurchasing easier by giving customers instant access to previous orders as well as pre-filled shipping information. On the other hand, customer accounts are often seen as too big of a commitment for new customers. Because of this, many people choose to checkout as a guest if given the option. So how can you effectively implement and encourage customer accounts while not hindering conversions of first time customers?
The trick is to provide the option to create an account after the first order has been placed.
#3. Simplify customer service workflows
Helping your agents can help your customers too. Simplify customer service workflows so tickets get to the right departments and representatives. This makes the support process easier for agents and faster for customers. Create multiple support request forms and conditional ticket fields. This will provide customers with a personalized form that only asks for information related to their problem. Then streamline the process with support software. This will instantly direct different types of tickets to specialized agents. Once you streamline and speed up ticket resolution, you'll make agents happier and retain more customers. #4. Create a loyalty program
A customer loyalty program should be an integral part of your customer retention system. These programs reward your customers by giving them incentives to come back and shop with you. Once your customers opt into your loyalty program, make them feel special by hooking them up with offers. Give them a sneak peek at new products and offer exclusive deals. This royal treatment will help your customers to feel valued and is the crux of this customer retention strategy. You can even give someone loyalty program-esque benefits before they opted in. For example, you can offer each buyer a discount code inside of their order confirmation email. Don't make them sign up for anything, just get them the discount straightaway. If you offer your customers value without any cloaked agendas after they've made purchase, it'll go a long way to improve customer loyalty and retention.
#5. Offer a discount or credit to return
Generally, I would tell you to be wary of discounting. When you discount your products you enter a perpetual race to the bottom that conditions customers to expect dropping prices, which ultimately results in a loss of revenue for your store. When margins are tight, discounting is even more of a risk. However, when discounts are sent to a first time buyer I actually love it. Sending a discount code for their next purchase with a first time order is a great way to nudge them to come back. For this reason, discounting can also be an effective way to bring back customers that haven't purchased in a while. You can strengthen that nudge by giving them more than the standard 10% off. When you think of that 20% off as an investment in boosting your repeat customer rate, it sounds a lot reasonable. You may also want to experiment with offering credits to use at your store i.e $10 towards any purchase versus a percentage discount i.e 10% off any purchase.
#6. Be active on social
If your customers forget about you, you can't retain them. And there are few better ways stay top of mind than engaging with customers on social media. If social is going to be part of your customer retention strategy, and it should be, then bake it into the customer journey. Put social buttons in your footer, on your checkout page, on your contact page, Everywhere. When customers compliment your store on social, thank them for the kind words and then share their love with the rest of your followers. This is a great customer retention strategy. You can also improve your retention rates by announcing new products deals and other updates on social. That's a great way to generate buzz around your social channels.
Final Words....
Your current customer base is the best asset your store has. Customers already know your brand, they know your products and they appreciate your service. Focusing your time and energy on improving the experience for this group as oppose to always trying to find new customers can be a powerful way to supercharge revenues for your store.
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Written by: Antony Moturi
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