The difference between companies that survive and grow and those that don’t is customer retention.  The more customers that you keep, the more likely it is for you to succeed in your business. 

Most new businesses focus their marketing on acquiring new customers. Selling to existing customers decreases marketing costs and results in much higher revenues. For this blog, we will talk about some key elements of a successful client retention theory, including an understanding of customer needs, client segmentation, customer loyalty programs, and more.

Increasing Revenue

For people who sell, their number one priority is to find new ways to increase revenue. The prevalent belief is in order to sell more, they need more clients. So often salespeople are so focused on gaining new customers that they fail to effectively address the need to satisfy and retain those they already have.

Its common knowledge that it is cheaper to keep existing customers than acquire new ones. According to Marketing Metrics, the success rate of selling to an existing customer is 60-70%, while the success rate of selling to a new customer is only 5-20%! So think about it. What if we focus on engaging current clients instead of constantly finding new ones. 

New businesses around the world think that if they have a great product or service, then customers will find them and retention will follow naturally.

Retention is not automatic. Businesses with sales departments that are only responsible for judi slot online sales don’t even care if the products they sell get delivered.  I know I have experienced that philosophy from the customer and salesperson’s perspective.  When you stop delivering, your customers start feeling that you no longer care about them. So, what’s the outcome? 

Your goal as an entrepreneur is to earn a customer’s loyalty, by caring and delivering value consistently. 

What causes customers to leave?

Customers stop buying from a business for unique and personal reasons, but they tend to fall under a few similar categories.

CallMiner’s 2020 report on Customer Churn identified 3 key areas that drive customers away.

1. Unfair treatment and limited customer support. 
2. Being offered a better experience at a lower price point. 
3. Human Service. Customers want to feel heard by a real person with viable solutions to their complaints.
   
   Even though it will cost your company 5–25 times more to attract customers rather than keeping an existing customer a mere 5% increase in customer retention can increase a company’s profitability by 75%!

Customers are aware of the incentives being offered to new prospects and they actually feel neglected and resentful when they have paid more for the products that are now being offered at a discount. Regardless of the price they paid when they signed up, when their overall customer experience is nurtured by human touch and VIP treatment, clients will remain loyal. That is known as building a relationship. There are many tools to automate and maintain contact with your clients, however, they do not manage customer retention. Only you and your employees can nurture a productive relationship. What really works? Clients want to be recognized and feel special. Having a good customer database that keeps records of interactions and transactions is useful for building long-lasting customer partnerships.

Here are the Top 5 Things To Consider For Business Success

• Actively Listening to Customers:

  – Actively listen to what your customers are saying about their experience.- It’s common for businesses to believe they are providing superior customer service (80%) and yet only a small percentage (8%)of their customers agree. So what’s the best way to understand how customers feel about your company? Ask them! send them a quick survey to identify areas of your business that are working well or needs improvement. Was your customer service good enough? Did your product meet their expectations? Was it a good value for money? Just ask, listen and improve.

• Always Check Your Customers:

  – Notice when your customers are wandering away. They might be considering engagement with your competitors. Your goal would be to stay in contact with them by various means of engagement, email, snail mail,  Facebook live, live events and other social media contacts.

• Targeted Offers:

  – Continue to court them with targeted offers. The more you know about your customers, the better you can tailor your approach to each individual. What is essential is to identify what your clients/customers want and find ways to give it to them. You can offer them special discounts or additional value. I just saw an ad from ATT offering deals on cell phones to new customers and the same deals to current customers. They need to know that you care.

• Reward Profitable Clients/Customers:

  – The more information you have about your clients, the more that you can personalize your communication with them and develop a true relationship with them.

• Keep your promises:

  – Delivering what you promise is the ultimate sign of professionalism in business. Following the principle encompassing  “Underpromise and Overdeliver” will create loyal and passionate followers.

Even though gaining new customers is a sign of business growth, losing customers is simply too expensive, as the average global value of a lost customer is $243!

Your existing customers give you a great chance to increase your profits, as they are more likely to buy from you than new prospects will. Learn more about businesses with Bedrock Business Builders!