This Blog is all about client and customer retention!
Finding new customers is hard enough, let alone in most cases expensive!
Which is why you need to spend time focusing on keeping the clients or customers you already have?
Why? – It’s cheaper to retain a client than it is to find new ones. It is recorded that an average business will spend up to as much as £400 to find an ideal customer.
Time – Travel – advertising costs – research etc.
Before you do anything UNDERSTAND who is your target market? Who is your ideal client and what are their pain points? Your job is to solve the pain with your product or services.
Build an avatar, (I will go into building an avatar another time) and make sure you have this written down and also make sure your teams understand who their target market is!
Now, we have the ideal target market, and we have generated some business! Now What??
Let’s keep them! - Obviously!
Let’s start with the first thing to do once a sale has been made!
Do you have an onboarding process? Once you have the client, have an onboarding process, even if it’s just a thank you email, a personal call, or sending out a welcome pack. This should be standard for every new client or customer you sign up.
Relationships are essential and should be obvious, but it’s not to most. Make sure you always have a great relationship with every contact.
Giving great service and over-delivering also help, and again should be obvious!
Go the extra mile!
SO, here are some basics!
Firstly!
Be on Brand – Your brand is more than your logo. Your brand is what people instantly think of you and your business. Make sure you keep your brand at the forefront of their mind! You can improve your brand image. – BUT - never do anything that jeopardises the brand you have built!
Newsletters – Keep your customers up to date which what is going on – BUT – make sure it's permission-based!
Social Media – Hook up on LinkedIn, Facebook, and other channels where your clients are spending time. – BUT – Make sure your content and conversations are not all about "buy my stuff!"
Give them a call – When you have completed the first sale, let them know you want to stay in touch and if it would be ok to call after a certain time period. It could be 6 weeks, 3 months, or even a year. Make sure you make the call when you say you will.- BUT – ask how the product or service is working out for them. This could be a chance to ask for some feedback or even better a referral.
Referral Rewards – While we are talking about referrals, why not build a referral reward structure in your marketing? It doesn’t have to be something extravagant, just something of value to the client or customer. The better you know your client the easier it will be to give them something of value to them. Even just a simple heartfelt Thank you or a card sent in the post is better than nothing.
Customer Loyalty Reward – While rewarding your referrals, why not offer a loyalty scheme? It doesn’t have to be huge or expensive! If you are looking at future sales, use this as a great way to upsell. – BUT – Make sure it means something to your clients or customers!
Hold an Open Office or Drop-In session – If you have an office, why not gather all your happy clients together every now and then? Cheese and wine nights are very popular – BUT - make sure you have enough of your teams or helpers around you who know who is who and understand your products, goods, or services well.
Conduct a review survey – Asking for reviews shows your client that you are interested in them and their experience. Ask just 1 question, if nothing else – “On a scale of 1 to 10 would you recommend us to others?” 10 is awesome obviously – BUT – if you get less than 10 ask what can you do to get to a 10! Don’t take it personally, use this as a chance to improve and develop your service. Sometimes offering a reward for the survey also helps. Just make sure that your customer or client is kept informed of any actions you have taken as a result of the survey. It will make them feel important!
Customer service improvement – 85% of most buying decisions are based on great customer service. Developing your business on all levels is essential! How you can improve your offer, product or service should be an ongoing activity – BUT – Keep everything as simple as you can. Customer service could extend to your existing clients being VIP clients – give them access to you before dealing with NEW inquiries. This could even be as simple as calling them back as a priority if they call you.
Make your Buying process easy! – It sounds too obvious, but most people won’t buy again and use your competitors if it's easier, especially as an impulse buy!
Give referrals – If your clients or customers own a business, why not give them referrals? Recommending their business strengthens the relationship between you – BUT – Make sure the referral is genuine and rewarding for both parties.
While we are talking about YOUR client’s goods and services, why not buy from them? Again this really strengthens the relationship. While you are doing this, why not give a testimonial or review – BUT – make it as public as you can!
AND FINALLY – Always have the second sale ready! – BUT – It’s all about timing!
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