Businesses stay afloat based on the number of customers they can serve. But focusing on acquiring new customers can cost you a lot.
Instead, you should focus on retaining your existing customers.
For one, acquiring new customers is more expensive than client retention. So much so that it is seven times more cost-effective to market to your existing customers than attract new ones.
It all boils down to building a solid relationship with your customers. Otherwise, you will give them away to your competitors.
That said, you need to take the time to understand what customer retention is.
Understanding Customer Retention
At Sytian Productions Web Developer Philippines, we define customer retention as the process of keeping your customers with you.
Customer retention rate is the number of customers you can keep at any given time. If you can acquire 100 new customers and keep 50 of them within the next month, you have a 50% customer retention rate.
As mentioned earlier, it is less expensive to keep your customers than to acquire new ones. Convincing an existing customer to buy your products is also easier. Plus, existing customers are more likely to spend on your products or services than new leads.
Hence, you should incorporate customer retention in your marketing mix.
Strategies to Improve Retention Rate
Now that you know what customer retention and why it is essential, it is to discover how you can keep them.
In this post, we have listed 9 cost-effective ways your website can retain customers.
1. Provide exceptional customer support
The happiest and loyal customers are the ones who have experienced exceptional customer service from your brand. Still, there are times where you find it quite hard to strike the right balance between your goals and your customer service.
Ideally, you should start and end all your communications with a simple "thank you."
Saying this at the beginning of your interaction shows that you're thankful for customers to have chosen your brand or business. Displaying it at the very end will leave a positive impression of your business.
To provide more effective customer service, you can also try leverage on various social media platforms. Doing so allows you to connect with customers at a more personal level.
If you're not using it, you should know how you can fully utilize social media to improve customer experience.
2. Leverage social proof
Social proof is powerful and can have a significant impact on your customers.
Almost 90% of customers report that they were influenced by the online reviews of a particular product. They also tend to trust product reviews more than sales copies or a product description.
More often than not, they trust the word of their peers, friends, or loved ones more than the company.
So, utilize social proof as a means to win over a new audience. It also plays a huge role in customer retention. Once you talk about them and share their experience with your brand, your current customers will feel appreciated.
3. Use loyalty programs and rewards
Providing loyalty programs is an exciting way to make customers stay with your brand. No wonder giving rewards is a common way to boost customer retention.
Rewarding your customers allow you to provide value through cash backs and discounts. Moreover, you're encouraging your customers to spend more time with you and what you have to offer.
So, if you don't have a loyalty or rewards program yet, consider creating one. In fact, 75% of consumers would like brands and companies to have these kinds of programs.
Don't have a loyalty program? You can easily get started here.
4. Keep it simple
If you own an e-commerce website, consider providing your customers checkout options.
One, you can encourage them to make an account so they can order with ease next time. Another is to let your customers checkout as guests.
Regardless, the key here is to keep the process simple. That's because 30% of customers prefer to shop from a store they already know.
And the best way to be memorable to your customers is to let them accomplish their goals with ease.
5. Have a robust email marketing strategy
Email is another (cost) effective way to build relationships with your customers. Come up with email content that provides value to your customers.
You can send out emails to raise awareness of an upcoming product launch or ask people for feedback for improvements.
Also, by automating your email campaigns, you can easily engage customers and regulate your timing. This will often be triggered by specific actions and behaviors from your customers.
Ideally, these emails should be personalized, relevant to customers, and sent at appropriate times.
Doing so compels customers to open and engage with these emails. As a result, you can generate more revenue for your business in the long run.
Read more here on types of emails to send to your customers.
6. Use personalization
Using personalization is another solid marketing tactic.
It can be as simple as address them by their first name whenever you have the chance. Another is to use remarketing pixels so you can make recommendations based on their purchase behavior.
Personalization will also help you with list segmentation.
Moreover, a campaign or an email subject line that utilizes personalization has 26% higher open rates and higher sales. It also leads to eight times higher click rates.
7. Offer valuable advice and insights
Aside from remarketing pixels, you can use different marketing channels to promote your brand.
What you can do is identify your target market, produce valuable and relatable content, and attract quality website traffic. From there, you can retain and convert them.
Meaning, from a random website visitor, you can nurture and turn them into paying customer.
8. Use the right tools
Effective communication is also one of the ways you can increase customer loyalty.
You can start sending your customers texts, surveys, or social media invitations. You can also instruct them how to best reach out to you, be it through call or chat.
Similarly, you can place social media icons on your website and emails.
Doing so will increase the number of followers you have on social media. You can also put a chatbot on your website to improve customer support.
9. Know when to apologize
It's hard to apologise - and not many brands would do it. Which is exactly why you should be doing it.
If a customer experienced something terrible with your brand, like frustrating website navigation, chances are they'll talk about it online. This can hurt your brand and online reputation.
Thus, you must be quick to notice your fault and make amends. This can be an excellent opportunity to turn a negative situation into something better.
People may even commend you for being prompt at solving an issue.
Final Thoughts
Customer retention is integral in making your business successful.
It does not matter whether you have an online brand or run a physical store; your customers keep your business going. Thus, you should follow the above mentioned tips to boost your customer retention rate.
When you include customer retention in your marketing mix, you are letting your business grow in the most cost-effective way.
