Your customers are the lifeblood of your business. Keeping them happy and satisfied is one of the most important things you can do, as it will lead to repeat sales. They say that it costs five times less to keep an existing customer than to acquire a new one, so customer retention really is the key to a stronger business and a better bottom line. Let’s take a look at five effective ways you can keep your customers coming back for more.
1. Great Customer Support
One of the best ways to keep more of your customers is to provide excellent and proactive customer support. This is especially important in the early days of a new business, when it has fewer customers and may not have perfected its customer service processes yet. When you make an effort to provide great support from day one, you’ll be surprised at how many people will come back for more because they feel valued as individuals.
You can even automate many aspects of your customer support, such as online chat features, using artificial intelligence. This will free up your team members to focus on more complex and pressing issues where a human touch is required.
2. Pay Attention to Online Reviews
Keeping customers happy should also include taking the time and effort needed to reply in a polite way when your company receives negative reviews online. Studies show that customers are more likely to patronise a business that responds to reviews, so it’s important to not ignore negative reviews out of fear.
Instead, when you receive negative reviews, offer a sincere apology and provide contact details so that the reviewer can get in touch with you privately to resolve the issue.
3. Educate Your Customers
One of the best ways to keep your customers coming back for more is to educate them so that they can get the most out of your products and/or services.
For example, when you send out a monthly newsletter or email update with tips and tricks for how to get the most out of your products and services, customers will feel like they are getting more value from their investment.
You could also upload video tutorials to your website or even organise free training sessions. Apple, for example, offers free one-to-one education sessions for customers to help them get the most out of their devices and learn new tips and tricks.
4. Create an Online Community
Never underestimate the power of community. Creating a space online where your customers can come together, be it a Facebook group or Slack channel, will help them to feel like they are part of something bigger than themselves and cultivate brand loyalty.
It’s also a great way for customers with similar interests to connect with one another, whether it be through direct message boards or simply by sharing photos and updates on their profiles. Your business acts as a facilitator and thus this is an excellent way to ensure you remain at the forefront of your customers’ minds.
5. Deliver An Amazing Onboarding Experience
A great way to make customers feel like they made the right decision when choosing your business, is through a smooth and hassle-free onboarding process.
Onboarding starts from day one of purchase and can go on for weeks after that if it’s an ongoing subscription service.
You can create a great onboarding experience by being proactive in the way you communicate with your customers. You could also create a video library to guide them through the process and automate an email sequence to guide them towards your best content at the right time.
Summary
Customer retention is the key to any successful business. By following the tips in this article you can ensure that your customers keep coming back for more by retaining their attention and making them feel like valued and supported members of a meaningful community.
