Customer Retention. How?

Customer retention, because keeping a customer is cheaper than finding a new one. In my newer post, you read about what could be causing customers to drop out.

Here are a few ways to keep customers and have them coming back to you over and over again.

Be your authentic self.

Nothing stinks worse than fake. Sell that product or offer that service whole heartedly. Hone up skills and polish your expertise instead of faking knowledge and authenticity. Everyone loves a heart centered business. Let your enthusiasm and passion shine.

Follow up.

Don’t abandon a customer as soon as a service is delivered. Thank the customer, invite them again and give them reason to come back. Call them personally and follow up if you don’t see them again in a week or a month depending on the service that you offer. Offer them incentives to come back.

Maintain a communications calendar.

If it is feasible and appropriate, call customers on their birthdays, Send Out Cards for the holidays, new year and other season’s greetings. Make a habit of sending newsletters and tracking analytics. Post regularly on social media and invite loyal customers to stay with you on all the social platforms you are on.

Keep a strict calendar of deliverables.

And deliver what you promised, do it on time. If you said you will call the customer at 11 o’clock on Tuesday, called customer at 11 o’clock on Tuesday. If you said you will deliver that website at the end of the month, make sure it is delivered on the 28th. I remember dropping balls means Losing a customer.

Stand by your product or services.

Nobody wants to pay for a faulty product for sure the service. Demonstrate service integrity by handling little things just the way you handled the bigger things. Customer retention is easier when you set your standards high and practice what you preach.

Respond positively to complaints.

When customers complain on public platforms on the Internet, always address them, respond with politeness and deal with situations appropriately. Here’s an article I wrote for restaurant owners that applies to all small businesses alike. Take  customer complaints seriously even when it is delivered one on one. Do everything possible to make an angry customer happy again.

Once again follow up

Personally call customers that you haven’t seen for a long period of time, ask them how they have been and mention find out reasons for their long absence. Always be courteous. Some of them Will even tell you what made them stop coming to your business, listen with an open mind and offer them incentives to come back promising them better service. Most of them will give you a second chance when you approach them that way.

Train staff for better customer service.

Ensure every employee understands that they have a job because you have customers not the other way around. Watch employees interact with customers and offer connections every now and then.

What are your thoughts on customer retention? Have you gone to great lengths to keep a customer?