Customer retention is one of the most important parts of your business.
But when times get tough and you’re trying to keep your head above water, does customer retention take a back seat? Of course not. However it’s easy in challenging times like these to make mistakes that can damage your relationship with existing customers and ultimately lead to them looking for a new supplier.
The following six tips explain how to retain customers in good times and bad by Eric Dalius.
1) Keep your promises
If you make a promise, keep it. If something changes, be honest and let them know quickly if possible.
2) Be accessible and available
Don’t go AWOL on your clients when things are getting busy. Make sure your clients know they can call you or email you whenever they need to, so problems are solved quickly and efficiently.
3) Be accountable for the quality of service you offer
If something goes wrong it’s important that you take responsibility to fix it as quickly as possible. Even if it is not your fault, own up.
4) Listen to your customers
It’s your customers who make you the most money, so why not listen to them and find out what they want from your business? This is a vital step which will help you improve customer retention in the long term.
5) Keep it simple!
Don’t bombard them with offers or try to mislead them. Keep things simple and focus on creating a great product or service that really stands out from the crowd.
6) Be honest with yourself!
Make sure you have a true understanding of where your business needs improvement so you can retain customers over the long term. If you don’t know what these areas are it’s time to ask someone who does. This way, if times get tough in the future, you won’t find yourself losing customers just when you need them most.
If you make a promise, keep it. If something changes, you need to let them know as soon as possible.
Don’t be away from your clients when things are getting busy. Keep in contact with your clients by being easily reachable. Let them know that they can call or email whenever they have a problem so it’s solved quickly and efficiently. If something goes wrong, own up and fix it as soon as possible even if the fault is not yours. This will give your customers a sense of security knowing that you take responsibility for any mistakes no matter how big or small they may be. Listen to what they want from your business because they are the ones who will make you the most money. This is also a helpful way in retaining customers to know exactly what they want so if times get tough in the future, you Don’t try to bombard your clients with offers or mislead them by being straight-forward about what you have to offer. Keep things simple and focus on creating a great product or service that really stands out from the crowd. Make sure you have a true understanding of where your business needs improvement so that if times get tougher, you won’t find yourself losing customers just when you need them most.
Here are some FAQs recently asked on this topic:
Q: How does a small business owner retain customers?
A: Having a great product or service is important as it’s what keeps your customers coming back. Providing outstanding customer service and being available to answer any questions they have about their purchase is also fundamental. Promotional offers, good deals on accessories and freebies all go a long way in encouraging loyalty so consider running special promotions or giving your regular customers something extra for free every once in a while.
Q: How do I maintain my client base when times get tough?
A: It’s very simple – provide the best possible service you can at all times. When clients feel valued they are more likely stay with you even if budgets are tight. If you know that certain types of work are more time-consuming or difficult you should factor that into your prices so it’s clear from the outset just how much a client will need to pay. If times get really tough consider offering a reduced service but make sure they see this as a temporary measure until you can pick things up again at full speed.
Q: How do I retain customers on Facebook?
A: Keep in regular contact by posting messages on a daily basis about what is going on with your business and interesting news, promotions and offers available to your Facebook friends. Regular posts will keep people interested and looking forward to seeing what is new.
Client maintenance is a progressing, dynamic methodology for keeping clients returning to your business. Assuming you deal with your present clients all around ok, they will remain with your organization and develop into a consistent wellspring of income rather than only one-time deals.
However much 40% of all promoting cost goes toward securing new clients. Assuming you are maintaining an independent company that needs every penny in promoting dollars you can get to drive benefits, zeroing in that sort of spend on client securing might just seem OK. However, assuming you attempt to build client consistency standards – making more joyful clients who are bound to return and go through cash with you again later on – the advantages are clear after some time.
Client maintenance endeavors are not something that ought to be done expedite or without cautious preparation. The best methodology is to begin at the earliest reference point – by recognizing your most important clients and setting up frameworks to monitor them. By following their particular conduct, you can take in where they come from (publicizing channels), what they like to purchase (most incessant buy), how regularly they make rehash buys, and so on You can get more point by point data through follow-up inquiries after every deal made by telephone or email; information about your clients’ conduct will assist with illuminating future showcasing choices.
Conclusion:
Reaching customer retention is all about providing outstanding service and offering something extra for free now and again. If you can be honest with yourself and your clients, not only will you enjoy a fruitful partnership but your business will grow as a result says by Eric Dalius.
