A Good Customer Retention Strategy for Your Business

Customer retention is a business strategy that aims to build relationships with customers, so that they become loyal customers, and how to maximize revenue for each customer.

This is important because you want to ensure that the customers you serve become loyal customers, that your customers receive good service, and that they continue to get what they want from your product.

How to create a customer retention strategy

Whatever market segment your business is in, it must be reflected in customer retention. Here are eight customer retention strategies that can increase your business retention.

1. Discounts and surprise gifts

Customers are happy when they are appreciated. One form of appreciating customers is by giving gifts and discounts. You can offer discounts on products they frequently buy. Give a short message telling them that this prize was obtained because they have become loyal customers.

Another way is to create a VIP list and send them special VIP discounts. This is good for customers because when they get a discount, they will feel appreciated, and being called VIP will make them feel exclusive.

It doesn't always have to be a discount, you can also send gifts to customers when they have birthdays. Don't forget to send them a greeting card and include your shop voucher as a gift.

Providing gifts and discounts can also increase brand awareness. Customers who receive gifts often post them on social media. This can increase your brand exposure and can help attract new customers.

2. Good customer service

Customer service views are not always the same as what customers think. In fact, there is often a big difference between what customer service thinks and what customers actually think.

Here are several ways to improve customer service:

• Provide a cohesive and consistent experience. All customers should always feel that they are being paid attention to and that attention should be felt equally, whether they are talking on the phone, email or direct messaging;
• Provide multiple contacts to accommodate different types of communication; And
• Assign the most skilled agents, and direct customers to agents that match the customer's needs.

3. Customer survey

You can't satisfy all customers, but with online surveys, you can find out what things need to be improved. A good survey should have multiple choice options and a blank section for customers to provide opinions. Plan this online survey well, and when it will be sent. Determine a reasonable time every six months, or once a year.

4. Be active through the community

Customers are becoming more socially conscious, and that means you should follow suit. Customers will pay attention to whether your organization is charitable, whether employees participate in community improvement schemes, and who your company partners are.

You don't need to have a complicated Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) plan or charity. However, there are many simpler ways to show that you care about society.

For example, you could write a blog or record a short podcast about the topic. The key is to be creative. Customers don't want to feel like they're dealing with an unfriendly company. They want the stores they shop at to be good, genuine, like real people.

5. Always convey information

Make customers feel part of the team. Tell customers about company developments, such as achievements, partnerships, and new product information. You can provide this information via email newsletter.

6. Customer's first shopping experience (onboarding)

Onboarding aims to tell customers about products and brands. You don't want to overwhelm them with product information. However, if you are too silent, customers will feel ignored.

Therefore, when a customer buys a product, you can send an email with a short tutorial on how to use the product and information about customer service. With this, when they experience problems, they know who to contact and where.

7. Do Gamification

Gamification is a way of rewarding loyal customers and it is an excellent strategy. You can offer discounts to customers who recommend your products to their friends, give points that can be redeemed on every purchase, or visual appreciation in the form of pins.

8. Be Personal

To improve service, use data about your customers. However, before contacting customers, you need to know how they want to be contacted, what they have previously purchased, and how they have interacted with your company in the past.

Customers will feel frustrated if they have to repeat the same information over and over again. Therefore, offer them a personalized experience. That way, customers will feel like part of a good business.