It’s no secret that smart businesses need to focus on customer retention in order to be successful. After all, it costs five times as much to attract a new customer than it does to keep an existing one. But what many business owners don’t realize is that their customers can actually be their biggest promoters – if you give them the tools to do so.
“Regardless of what industry you’re in or the kinds of products and services that your company provides, it’s crucial to remember one thing: Customers are King.”
Without them there wouldn’t be any sales; as such they should play an integral role when developing marketing campaigns for their success.
Making a sale no matter how small is not the end of your customer relationship but rather its beginning. As you continue to build relationships with customers, they will turn from one-time buyers into true fans who promote everything that is good about your business – this includes sharing their positive feedback and defending against criticism!
Now you’ve made a first time sale, how do you make this first time customer or returning customer fall in love with your product/service and become a big time fan and promoter of your business.
1. Manage Customer expectations
You can avoid countless headaches by managing your customer’s expectations from the beginning. If you think back to your most disappointing customer experience, chances are it boiled down to unmet expectations. You didn’t deliver what was promised and that is why they left feeling ripped off or taken advantage of – possibly even leaving comments on social media about how terrible an organization it was.
Maintaining high quality service and products will help you retain customers, who in turn create positive word-of mouth advertising. How then can you curtail these expectations?
First we identify what the Customers expect. You can make your customers feel like they are the only person in existence by asking open-ended questions during conversations. Ask open-ended questions that require more than one word responses like “What other way can this service be rendered to increase satisfaction?” By doing so you can really get into their thoughts and ideas about ways in which the product could be improved upon.
What’s better than one customer? A lot of them! And if you can’t get to speak directly with your current clients, conduct an open-ended survey that will let people share their thoughts on the product or service they received. Offer incentives like discounts and loyalty cards in order for more responses – this way we might learn all there is about our potential buyers’ preferences without having any contact information available which means everything when trying to build relationships over time through online surveys (or email marketing). Let’s create this survey together HERE.
2. Perfect the Act of Good Customer Service
The key to success in business is providing great customer service. Customers have a better perception of your brand if they perceive that you are approachable and attentive, which will lead them into purchasing from or using the product/service more often than not as well! Hubspot found out 68% consumers say they would be willing to pay an extra dollar for products provided by companies who provide Good customer service.
With 82% of consumers reporting that they’ve left a company entirely due solely to bad customer experience, it is clear the importance in managing your reputation. When people have an unpleasant interaction with one brand and tell their friends about this, The word spreads. Now imagine this word of mouth strategy used the other way round for a positive review of your customer service, You are about to convert and retain a new batch of consumers.
3. Be Authentic, use the Know – Like – Trust principle
You might be surprised to learn that customers are more sensitive than you think. They can tell when they’re being “played,” and if your tone of voice doesn’t match what’s on paper, then it could cost whatever business has been built up over time!
The “know/like/trust principle” is the key to building a successful business, no matter what your niche or marketing model might be. First, you have your prospect’s attention by communicating honestly about what it is that sets you apart from other companies in the same industry or niche market as yours–and why they should choose to work with YOU over someone else! In everything or every way you communicate, Be Authentic and Transparent. Let your customers take your word for it and be sure you’ll keep to your word. With this, you can expect your customers to spread the good news of how honest you are in your dealings.
4. Encourage Customer engagement, be an active listener and follow through
The way you communicate with your customers can make or break their loyalty. Social media and surveys are great for gathering information, but they’re not as effective when there’s no one on the other end of that interaction to listen carefully – which is why customer engagement has never been more important!
Gathering these feedback or leads can be done using one or combining any of the following methods:
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- Focus Groups
- Observation
- Point of Sale
- Customer Service
- Social Media
- Surveys
Listen to what they’re saying. You can’t just give them an outlet and then disregard everything that came out of their mouth. The whole point in seeking input from prospects/customers is so we figure out how to better deliver on desires which will increase satisfaction rates while also retaining customers more effectively.
The most important technique is to “Under promise and Over deliver”. The best way to retain your customers is by making them feel valued. When you provide the customer with a great experience, they will be more likely to share their positive experience with others and become your first promoters. It’s important for business owners to remember that if one of these principles isn’t working in practice it may not mean it’s completely wrong, rather there is most likely something else about the interaction or product that needs addressing before this principle can work well. You don’t have to do this alone, Tap HERE, let’s do this together.