You might think that getting new customers is one of the biggest challenges a business faces. It’s true that finding customers can sometimes be difficult, actually keeping the customers you already have can be even more challenging.
Finding new customers can be extremely satisfying and can provide immediate gratification but having your customers coming back again and again will result in a much higher Return On Investment (ROI) and will cost you 15-25 times less than searching for new ones.
Here are some tips on how to keep the customers you already have:
Onboarding
Onboarding is a tried and true customer success procedure that teaches new customers how to use your product or service. Rather than learning by themselves, customers are taught by a company representative who personalizes the training according to their needs. This way, customers not only save time but also understand how the product can help them achieve goals.
When users are first working with your product, they may get frustrated if they don’t understand how to use it. Customers have deadlines and they can’t afford to spend time learning how to master your product. Onboarding ensures customers know how to utilize your products or services so they can complete their goals on time.
Customer Feedback
It’s hard to improve if you don’t know how your customers feel about you. You need a process for obtaining customer feedback and sharing that information with the rest of your organization. This is where a method for customer feedback can help you to understand what is working and what isn’t.
There are a few ways to collect customer feedback. The most common way is with a survey or you can ask customers to participate in focus groups. Using one or more of these methods can help you learn what your customers want and like about you and your products.
Customer Loyalty Program
While it’s important to focus on customers who are at risk of leaving, you can’t forget about your loyal customers. After all, what will these customers think if they see you putting all this effort in for users who don’t love your brand? That can alienate your most loyal supporters.
A loyalty program can reward customers for their continued loyalty. The more they shop and interact with your business, the more they’re rewarded. This keeps customers happy because they’re getting more from the experience than just your product or service. And, since the top 10% of your customers spend three times more than the rest of your customer base, you’ll want to make sure these users are more than satisfied.
Company Newsletter or Blog
A company newsletter or blog is a simple and cost-effective way of retaining customers. You can use email automation to send updates or offers to all of your customers and keep them informed of special sales or product announcements. You can also send the email using an RSS feed so you don’t have to manually update the content or remember to click “send.” Even though it’s simple, newsletters and/or blogs remind customers of your brand every time they open their inbox.
These are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the methods you can adopt to keep your existing customer coming back over and over. The bottom line is they need to feel that you appreciate them and that they are of ongoing importance to your success.
