Customer Retention Tactics: How to Keep Customers (Happy)
Businesses today all face the challenge of holding onto customers in a fiercely competitive online world. With so many options just a click away, shoppers can easily switch to a rival offering a better deal or experience. If you run a small online business, it’s natural to focus on getting new customers — but the real value often lies in keeping the ones you already have. Customer retention is all about keeping your customers coming back for more. As we’ll discover, it can cost five to 25 times more to win a new customer than to keep one. The stats show that loyal customers tend to spend more, too. Learning how to build satisfaction and loyalty could be just what your business needs to get ahead. What is customer retention? It’s never easy — finding new customers. But whatever kind of business you run, it’s nearly always cheaper and easier to hold onto the customers you’ve already got than it is to go chasing after new ones. Simply put, customer retention is about building lasting relationships with people who keep coming back. It means keeping your existing customers happy and engaged so they stick with you over time. Why? Because happy customers are more likely to stay loyal, spend more, and recommend your business to others. The most underrated marketing tactic out there isn’t getting new customers — it’s keeping the ones you’ve already won. It works both ways: loyalty drives retention, and the stronger your retention, the more loyal your customers become. Every lost customer is like losing two: the one who left, and the one they might have recommended. Customer retention is something you can measure. By tracking things like customer lifetime value, repeat purchase rates, and churn, you can better understand your customers and spot where your business could improve. Two key metrics to keep in mind: ✅ Customer Retention Rate (CRR): the percentage of customers who stay with you. ✅ Customer Churn Rate (CCR): the percentage who leave. A high CRR means your customers are happy. A high CCR? Time to dig deeper. But we’ll come back to those later. Why customer retention matters Depending what your business does (and who you ask) it can cost anywhere from 5 to 25 times more to bring in a new customer than it does to keep an existing one. Loyal customers save you money, spend more over time, and help grow your brand through word-of-mouth. According to OutBound Engine they’re: 5x times more likely to make a repeat purchase, 4x times more likely to recommend the brand to family and friends, and 7x times more likely to try new products or services. That’s especially important online, where you don’t have the benefit of face-to-face interaction. Building trust takes time, and keeping customers becomes even more important. The lower your churn rate, the healthier your business. Just a small increase in customer loyalty can have a big impact on your bottom line. Returning customers spend 67% more over time than first-time customers, while acquiring a new customer can be five to 25 times more expensive than retaining an existing one, according to Forbes. 92% of consumers believe that recommendations they’ve received from friends and family have more impact than advertising. Added to that, those customers who are loyal to your brand are also 1.9x more likely to defend it against criticism! Having said this, the stats will depend on the industry you’re in. Statista reports that media and professional services businesses are much more successful when it comes to customer retention CRR (84%) than, for example, travel and hospitality industries (55%). In short, here’s what strong customer retention gives you: ✅Increased profits: Repeat customers tend to spend more, more often. ✅Decreased acquisition costs: Less money wasted on chasing new leads. ✅Improved brand reputation: Loyal customers are your best advocates. ✅Improved customer lifetime value: Happy customers stick around and add lasting value. Luckily, there are plenty of tactics small online businesses can use to keep customers coming back for more. Stick around: 12 customer retention tactics to make customers stay 1. Add personal touches that surprise and delight The best way to keep customers is to go above and beyond. A thank-you note, a cheeky extra in the package, or a tailored message based on past purchases — it all adds up. It’s about creating little moments that make customers feel noticed, valued and happy to come back. 2. Build loyalty with rewards and perks Loyalty programs are a classic for good reason. Offer discounts, early access, or exclusive treats for repeat shoppers. A simple points system can do the job — people love feeling like insiders. A common method is a points system, where customers earn points for every purchase or interaction. They can trade these points for rewards such as discounts, early access to sales, free shipping, or tiered rewards that encourage spending more. 72% of global shoppers feel loyal to at least one brand, and 84% are more likely to stay with one that offers rewards. In the UK, 65% say they’re more likely to buy again if loyalty points are on offer. So it pays to say thanks. 3. Streamline the buying process Making buying as easy as possible is key to boosting sales and keeping customers coming back. When browsing and checkout flow smoothly, customers are less likely to abandon their cart. A simple, secure payment process leaves customers feeling satisfied and valued, which builds trust. Positive experiences turn into loyalty, and loyal customers often spread the word — increasing sales. 4. Be mobile ready Over half of internet searches now happen on phones. The slice is even bigger when it comes to shopping purchases. Google prefers mobile, too, giving better search rank to pages that have been optimised for smartphones. So while the mobile experience is important to all website owners, it’s an absolute must if you have an online business. See also: Why You Need a Mobile-Friendly Website (and How to Get One) 5. Engage
Competition, convenience & cost: how live chat can transform a small business
Live chat is a cost effective and easy way of allowing customers to make contact with support or sales agents via a real time conversation. For an ever increasing number of people, live chat has and will continue to be an invaluable resource.
Customer service on Social Media
Using social media to help your clients Is there anybody out there? Today, in such a competitive landscape, being customer-driven is what can really differentiate a company from others of its kind. A company’s reputation can rise thanks to excellent customer service, but it can also be destroyed if no one’s there to listen and help. The voices of the customers are more powerful and influential than ever and their comments can spread virally in a matter of minutes. Social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn make it so easy for customers to get in touch with companies. It’s easier than ever. The difference is that, thanks to these mass communication tools, now it’s the customers who decide where, how and when they want to interact with the companies. And when they decide to do so, you’d better be there to listen. There are companies that constantly engage with their customers to gain insights on how they can improve their products and services. And then, there are companies that only use social media exclusively to push products. There are companies that provide quality support fast. And there are companies that only reply to good feedback and don’t know how to react when negative comments are coming their way. The purpose of this article is to help you understand how you can use social media not to replace your current customer support department, but to complement it and increase your customer satisfaction. Go where your customers are Find out where your customers are and what they are saying about you. A simple way to do so is to Google your company’s name and then go through the results. You might find them talking about you on blogs, forums, on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and so on. Join the conversation and try to help those clients who are having difficulties using your products. Don’t pretend you are not working for a company just to make a good comment about it because they might figure it out and it will only make matters worse. Your goal is to find out why the client is unhappy and provide him with a solution. In the end, you might be able to turn that bad experience into a good one and even save the customer relationship. You might also get some positive reviews after that, which will help your company’s reputation. What online tools to use to provide support to clients Here are just a few online tools that you can use to get in touch with your customers and provide support: Forums Blogs RSS feeds Email newsletters YouTube Twitter Wiki Facebook How to measure the success of your efforts You are investing time and money into this, so make sure you also evaluate the results of your efforts. Are the number of calls to the customer support department decreasing? Are you getting a lot more positive feedback? Are the number of complaints decreasing? Are clients’ enquiries being handled faster? You can also send an online survey to your customers through Twitter or Facebook and ask them if they’re happy with the support they receive or what else you can do to improve it. They’ll appreciate being listened to. Make use of these amazing tools to listen to your clients and help them every time they’re asking for your support. Being there for your customers will prove you are a reliable, trustworthy and dedicated company that respects its clients. You can start today with a simple question: “How can we help you today?”