It’s no surprise that several companies are investing more in new customers rather than those who are already on their list. Most of these investments go into advertising campaigns that cost massive amounts each year. While there’s nothing wrong with new business, it’s still important that the business prioritises customer retention by improving its service and relationship with the customers on their database list and in their community overall. Investing in new customers can add more value to your company, but it’s not always with their first few interactions that the company profits from. It’s the existing customers and patrons that the company managed to retain that keep the company afloat and profitable more than anything.   

Still unsure of the benefits a company can get from a customer retention program? Listed below are just some of the many benefits of switching your focus to retaining customers rather than increasing them…

It promotes good employee health

We all know that having a good relationship with customers is mutually good for everyone.  When you retain customers, you take care of not just your customers’ needs and satisfaction, but the stability of your employees’ jobs as well. Giving your customers a steady stream of good products and services will eventually lead to them treating your employees even better and rewarding your company with good reviews which can put referral in place.  Retaining customers can take a lot of work when it comes to building a desirable profitable relationship where everybody wins. Of course, we must also realise that customers are also very price-sensitive because of the fact that each one of us has a budget and a maximum amount we’re willing to spend on specific things. Customers will always question the price of an item whether they’re cheap or expensive. They will also question things that the company has done for them or the product or service that the company has improved (even perceptually adding value) to justify their pricing / or price increases.  

“Capture Hearts & Minds” – Introduce new things to your customers

To help make a brand evolve and change for the better, and to keep the brand top of mind things should always be fluid.  Successful brands are always thinking about how they can add value to the customer experience, and how they can capture ‘hearts & minds.’  When you get this part right not only will you have an emotionally connected customer for life but they will also act as brand advocates to happily refer your brand to their friends and families.  We call this ‘marketing nirvana’ when you have a tribe of people talking up your business all around the community.

How do we do this?  

There are typically three parts to this equation:

1. 1. Working out how to add more value, and develop a set ideas, and changes we might like to implement.  The tip here is to both look at the competitive set both locally and internationally and research who is doing what well in your industry and see if there are some ideas that come to mind.  You should also look at what other non competitive industries are doing and then ‘borrow’ the idea and bring it back into your space to disrupt the status quo in your industry to take a bigger share of “hearts & minds.

 

• Communicating the value, campaign or program to your customers

 

Changes that can impact the customer relationship with your product or service must be presented to your audience with a lead time that helps customers prepare for any changes.  Too many or too few changes are factors that can affect customer retention as well. As long as you keep in mind the implications of the necessary changes to your customers’ experience, you can make fewer mistakes and keep your customers close to you throughout those changes.

 

• Creating a ‘Raving Fan Community’.  Developing a strategy to extend your offering, value and program to potential new customers – ‘inviting’ them into your tribe

 

1. 1. 1. What channels, campaigns, programs or technologies can you use to get the word out there.  The tip here is to simply look closely at who your customer really is, what are the real insights and problems we are solving for them on a daily basis –  and then go about finding what channels they typically use.  How do we talk to them and find more ‘like for like’ of these types of customers?  
      2. Campaign creation / implementation – Now we know who these people are, we know what media channels or mediums they use.  Now we need to create a set of assets and campaigns to go out and talk directly to them solving their problems in a fun, quirky or emotional way. 
      3. Referral & Retention Program – Or create some kind of official referral or retention program, where the rewards are so great people just keep talking about it, spreading the word and new customers keep coming in the front door. 

Customer loyalty pushes for higher turnovers

With loyal customers, it’s easy to get them to engage with anything new that you can offer them. Some studies have shown that loyal patrons are 23% more likely to deliver higher revenue and turnovers than the average customer. In fact, loyal customers are willing to spend 60% more on every transaction and that 60% of them would recommend to friends and family the brand they’re loyal to (*Yotpo Customer Loyalty 2018).  And this is great news because we all know that if there’s anything more powerful than effective marketing strategies that address pain points and your customers’ needs, it’s word of mouth referrals.

There will always be customers available for your new releases

Loyal customers are six times more likely to try out anything new that the brand they trust has released (*BondBrand Loyalty Report 2019).  This is especially true for companies that release several products and services at any given time. Customers who are invested emotionally and financially to these types of ‘sticky’ brands are more likely to buy something from them as soon as these new products are released. Some would even pre-order if the brand makes it a possibility. 

Customer retention can be very beneficial once you’ve figured out a way to work out a complete interlocking system where everyone wins. Typically the more simple the program the better the take up and the results of the program will be overall.  So whether it’s through discount programs, referral programs, promotions, or any initiative that meets your marketing objectives, as long as it addresses your customer’s needs consistently, customers will stay and explore your brand. It’s all about creating happy smiley customers each and every time and the rest just follows. 

Improve your chances of making your customers happy whilst gaining a larger number of new prospects and referrals.  If you want to stay in tune and up to date with awesome insights on how to best create a ‘raving fan’ tribe for your business register today for our email newsletter.   

If you want to find out how you can turn on (nearly overnight) a trusted referral and retention program to get your existing and new customers talking then go ahead and complete the form on our site and we can organise a zoom chat sometime.