Dec 28
Customer Retention marketing is a tactically-driven strategy to keep relationships with customers going and increase customer interest. This strategy relies on the study of customer behavior. Here are the basic tenets of a marketer that seeks to increase customer retention:
1. Past and Current customer behavior
This is the best predictor of how customers will behave in the future. They are the characteristics marketers should most often look at. Analyzing customer tendencies and trends allows the marketer to anticipate, if not predict, the customers reaction to different situations. The marketer must take note that behavior is action oriented, not a description. For example, being a 35-year-old woman is not a behavior; it’s a demographic characteristic.
For example if you know from history that customer A is likely to make a purchase if presented with a discount promotion, then you might want to change your marketing tactics to include promotional selling when approaching this customer. A great deal of observation is needed if you desire to predict your customers’ behavior. This involves a great deal of notetaking as well as watching what reaction the customer has to different situations.
2. Active customers are happy customers
Happy customers are retained customers. If your keep your customers involved, they develop a sense of contentment from the fact that they are in control. Marketers will take advantage of this by offering promotions that allow these customers to exercise this feeling of control. The most common means of achieving this kind of relationship with your customers is to offer promotions such as discount cards, discounts, sweepstakes, coupons, and customer points that can be converted to prizes.
Remember, if the marketing is not active, then the customer is not active as well. And as we said earlier, active customers are happy customers. Inactive customers on the other hand are lost customers. So activity on the part of the marketer is very important. Customer retention relies heavily on satisfying your customers.
3. Customer Retention depends on:
- Action
- Reaction
- Feedback
- Iterate
This is a cycle that the marketer should perpetuate. If the marketer fails to continue this cycle, more or less, they will start losing the customer. This process makes for a constant improvement in customer relationship and in marketing power. It also optimizes the marketers’ strategy toward the customer. Remember that not all customers are alike, so adapting your strategy to fit the unique types of customers is vital in improving customer retention.
- Listen -
It’s funny, but it’s not the marketer who does all the talking. If you expect to have your customers to listen to you, you must also learn to listen to them. Remember that marketers are trying to present products or services that the customer desires. The marketer will never learn the right approach towards addressing these desires unless he listens to his customer.
- React -
Watch for the customer’s reaction to different situations and note them down. If the customer shows favorable reaction to a particular type of pitch talk, try that approach again next time. If the customer shows a negative reaction to, let’s say, too much talking by the marketer, the marketer should take note of this.
- Feedback -
Knowing what goes on in the mind of your customer is very important. Usually they will be glad to have their thoughts regarding your service known. The marketer may receive this feedback through suggestion forms, interviews, and other methods.
4. Allocating Marketing Resources
Customer retention is not free! You should consider customer retention as a major activity. And all major activities require resources. If customer retention is not given proper attention, it will fail. Customer retention needs resources to be effective.
You should not be afraid of its costs because customer retention pays its own dividends. Remember that is easier to keep a customer than to win new ones. And that it is easier to lose one than to gain one. Lost customers will probably never come back. And to top that, they spread negative publicity about you. On the other hand, customers that are happy attract more customers to your service or product. Customer retention, therefore, should be an integral part of any business plan.
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Dec 08
Eliezer Gonzalez
No matter what type of business one may be in, customer retention is extremely important. It is something which can make or break a business venture as customers are what make the business operate. If there are no customers, then there is no business. For those who may be hoping to keep the customers which they currently have in addition to adding to their clientele base, there are some secrets to the art of customer retention which may help business owners to do just that. The following will discuss the importance of customer retention and list the various ways to keep customers coming back to your business time and time again.
Why Customer Retention Is So Important
There are a few different reasons why customer retention is so important. First, due to the fact that businesses operate on the basis of customers and the purchases made by such individuals, it is crucial to keep the customer base that you have. Keeping the same customers returning back for more of your products on a continual basis will help to ensure that you receive the income necessary to run your business. A steady customer base and retaining the usual customers will help to secure a steady income.
Another reason why customer retention is so important is that it shows that a business has a good reputation since it can keep a steady customer base. Businesses which show customer retention year after year can be said to be reputable in nature as the same customers return to their store for more purchases and/or services. A reputable business is one which will often last in duration as well as show a good financial standing.
Customer retention is also a concept which can lead to new clients. As with the reputation factor, a business which retains the same customers can also result in new customers due to word of mouth by the individuals who use the business for their products and/or services. New customers mean not only that the business name will be on the lips of many but also that the business owner will see a greater income due to new clientele.
How to Promote Customer Retention
For those business owners who realize the true importance and wish to help themselves keep the customers that they have as well as add to their client base, there are many different ways to promote customer retention. Some businesses will find certain ways more successful than others and the best way to truly know their success is to try them all. The following are some of the more successful ways of pursuing customer retention when it comes to one’s business.
One way to promote customer retention is to offer products and services which clients want. The best way to go about this concept is to look at the products which your business sells or services that your business offers and determine what the general consumer public is truly looking for in that category of item or service. In order to gain this insight you and your company representatives should engage in various forms of research so that you may discover what individuals are buying. Perusing the Internet, taking surveys, reading business venture magazines on popular products and taking note of your stock and what is being sold can all aid in figuring out which products and services customers want. By knowing what your customers want from your business, you will ultimately be able to keep the customers that you have by providing them with their desired items.
Another very important way of promoting customer retention is to provide top-notch customer service to your clients. Customers want to shop at stores and deal with businesses which cater to their needs. These individuals want to purchase items at stores where the employees are friendly and helpful. For the owners of online businesses, customers who utilize these businesses to purchase items and obtain services want to have easy access to customer service representatives whenever they need it and for whatever reason they request such assistance for with regard to the business relationship. Whether dealing with customers via the telephone, Internet or in person, providing helpful, friendly service is a key component to retaining customers.
And beyond the customer service, there are the crucial issues of how regularly you stay in touch with you customers, and whether you do this in relevant, meaningful, personalised way. Of course, you need to make sure that your customer data is up to date!
Online accessibility these days is another important customer retention tool. As more and more individuals become Internet savvy, having access to businesses via the World Wide Web is an ideal notion to many customers. If your business is one which can be technologically advanced in the form of Internet access and website capabilities, it is a wise idea to do so as more customers will tend to stay with a company that is up with today’s technology. Although the mom and pop shops of the past have a unique character to them, the truth of the matter is that technology is advancing and so should businesses if they hope to keep their customers.
An additional factor which can determine whether a business keeps the customers that they have is the price of the goods or services offered. For most individuals, the price is the make or break component which will dictate whether they stay with their regular company that they deal with or move on to a new one which offers better deals. Since many individuals live on a budget, price is an extremely important factor. A business which offers competitive pricing is much more likely to retain customers than one which does not.
The location of the business is another factor to consider with regard to retaining customers. If the business is located in a far away place where customers may have a difficult time getting to and from the location, this may lead to customers leaving the business for one which is more accessible. As mentioned above, Internet capabilities may also play a part in retaining customers as the physical location of the store may not be an issue if the company offers online access, ordering and service. Also, a business which has more than one location may be more likely to see customer retention than one which has a single locale.
Steps to Take for Customer Retention
There are a few steps which business owners can take in order to make their customers happy and keep them on as clients. First, determine what your customers want from your business. Once you have decided what your specific customers may be searching for it is then time to implement changes to make their desires a reality. If your business is not currently online, talk with an IT specialist to discuss the possibility of creating a website and offering valuable information and services on the website to your customers as well as new customers which may come along. In addition, constantly check the prices offered by your competitors to be sure that your pricing is more than fair without making you experience a loss from the good prices.
Then you should consider how you stay in touch with your customers. You should do it in a way that differentiates you from every single one of your competitors. Start putting your regular customer contact system in place right away.
Training will also help to promote customer service. No matter how many employees you have working for you, it is crucial to ensure that they provide excellent customer service to your current customers and future customers as well. If budget permits, hire a customer service specialist to come in for a day’s training to show your employees exactly what it means to offer top-notch customer service and how to do so. It is well worth the extra money in order to keep your customers as customer service is extremely important.
Lastly, check your inventory to ensure that what you offer your clients is the best products or services possible. Customers like to know that what they are buying is the best and will be the perfect goods or services for them. Consider adding new products which customers will love and taking away those which do not sell. Just be sure that you do not take away favored items as this may cause a loss in customer base from those individuals who purchase those items or obtain such services. http://www.retentionofcustomers.com
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Sep 29
Steve Walker discusses the value of customer retention with Brad Linville and Jeff Marr. They discuss ways to optimize opportunities with customers and touch on the topics of sole sourcing, misallo…
