Many businesses focus their efforts on customer acquisition, not retention. But it takes a lot more time, effort, and money to find and attract a new customer than it does to retain one! If you want to make your business more efficient while improving your bottom line, customer retention is essential.
And how do you improve your customer retention? A good product and fair pricing are essential, of course. But beyond that, customer relationships are key! When you have strong customer relationships, your customers will be more likely to stick with you—not switch over to your competitor during that next big sale.
Here are five tips to improve your customer relationships:
Tip 1: Personalize Your Emails
You want to make your customers feel like you’re talking directly to them. The best way to do this is by dividing your audience by demographics, purchase history, or interest shown, and making custom content for each segment. The warm leads on your email list have already shown interest in your business and indicated that they’re willing to hear from you, so put in the effort to write emails that work!
Tip 2: Be Reachable on Social Media
Having your business pages on social media isn’t enough; you need to be reachable there, too. Customers may post or message with questions, complaints, or comments, and the quality and speed of your responses impacts the customer experience. You should also proactively search for posts where you may be mentioned but not tagged, so that you’re able to thank people for positive reviews and take care of any concerns or issues.
Tip 3: Put Your Analytics to Use
Regularly review the analytics from your emails, website, social media, and paid ads. Make note of what seems to get the most attention and what brings a lot of engagement. Pay particular attention to any data you have on returning customers! Use this data along with your defined buyer personas to create content that’s exactly what each customer needs to move along in the sales funnel.
Tip 4: Be Consistent on Every Channel
It’s essential to stick to your brand style guide across all platforms and channels. A customer who follows a social media ad to your website should instantly recognize the same look and branding. Make sure your interactions are consistent across channels, too—for example, customers should get the same information and a similar feeling from talking with your sales team and your customer service team.
Tip 5: Reward Your Customers
There are so many ways to reward loyal customers! You can offer a free birthday item, incentivize referrals, start a rewards program, give early access to sales or new products, offer a VIP special… the options are endless. A customer who feels appreciated will be more likely to make more purchases, refer other people, and give you great customer reviews.
Get Started Today
With these five tips, you’ll be off to a good start with building better customer relationships and improving your customer retention. If you need any help developing your buyer personas, creating custom content, or putting together an entire digital marketing strategy, 2XM is here! Contact us for a FREE 60 minute consultation today.