Solving The Mystery Of Customer Retention
Want to know how to…
Build customer retention and brand loyalty?
Earn a customer base by marketing yourself?
Then you’ve found the right article.
The secret to customer retention is creating a unique product that people love, right? Wrong! A great product is a nice touch, but consumers want a full experience when buying products. Since customer retention is five times cheaper than customer acquisition and increases the bottom line by approximately 75 percent, it’s safe to say that being an expert on customer relationships is the key to a successful brand.
Sell yourself, not a product.
So you have a great product—if not, go create a better one—and now what? Now you focus on how you are going to get customers and keep them. This part is not all about selling people on your product, it’s about selling yourself. Buyers want the full experience from a business. From the first interaction they have, until they walk out of the door, they want to trust you, feel loved by you, and appreciated by you. Want the secret to accomplishing this? Keep reading.
Earn the customer's trust through social media. Make your posts personal, but professional. Sharing a part of your personality will help your buyers feel connected and loyal to you and your product.
Put your customer’s voice front and center. People like to hear themselves talk, so creating a forum for them to do this will build a community experience for your brand. This equates to a loyal fan base that will continue to share news about you through their own social media sites.
Reward your loyal followers. Keep an eye out for the best reviews, and for the worst reviews. Both groups of reviewers represent a powerful tool that can work with you or against you. Send a thank-you note and a coupon to your most loyal advocates, and then offer a clever incentive that will win over those potential advocates who aren’t quite on board yet. Winning over both groups of both loyal customers and those people who have had less than a stellar experience, will be the deciding factor between a viral brand and one that simply exists.
Don’t just deliver, but exceed expectations.
It’s not enough to hand over a product and walk away. You want to be unforgettable! Go above and beyond to make that interaction one that your customers must tell their friends about. Do you like to receive a box? Or a box with a smile and extra samples inside that you didn’t know were there? Make your brand personal to each customer. To pull this off, you will need to make sure every person on your team understands this concept and is loyal to you and your brand—so don't forget their Christmas bonuses!
Listen to your customers.
Talk to your customers about the product. What do they like? What could you do better? There is always room for improvement, so sift through the reviews and find out exactly what you should do to make the right adjustments. Log how long a customer tends to be loyal to your brand before leaving. Based on this information, you could offer a great incentive to keep them around right before that time has expired.
Keeping this advice in mind when creating your brand will solve the lingering question of how to gain customers. These steps aren't always easy, so if you need help, find an expert on the subject to coach you through them.
What’s your take? Weigh in with a comment below, and connect with Joshua Harrell (Google+) | @JoshuaHarrell (Twitter).
