How to Improve and maintain Customer Retention Levels

One of the top priorities in business is finding new ways to increase revenue. One of the ways to do this is obviously to sell more. However, as a result, salespeople often get so focused on gaining new customers, they fail to effectively address how to retain those they already have.

According to Marketing Metrics, the success rate of selling to an existing customer is 60-70%, while the success rate of selling to a new customer is only 5-20%!

The most common assumption is, companies believe that is they have a great product then customer retention will follow naturally. And while this may certainly be the case in some instances, however this is only a short-term strategy. The moment a customer feels you stop caring, they will eventually leave.

Here are some examples of effective customer retention strategies you could implement within your organization to ensure high customer retention rate.

CRM

A CRM provides you with multiple tools to improve and track your customer retention. From building relationships, to gaining product and service feedback.

Keeping record of all interaction between you and the client will enable you to develop a unique long-lasting relationship. It will record everything you have discussed, any issues the client may have experienced in the past, feedback and meeting/scheduled calls that have been arranged.

CRM software lets you view a customer’s purchase history, so that you can determine what kind of offer will be the most appealing to each individual and increase relevancy, which will keep your brand on your customers’ minds. Send them a special offer deal or a discount on a new products and make them feel that you value them and haven’t forgotten about them

Information gathered in your CRM can tell you which of your accounts are your most profitable and buy regularly. Knowing who brings you most revenue allows you to allocate your time and resources efficiently, as well as increase your chances of reselling.

Client relationship

Regular follow up calls with your client will help build the relationship between you and also be able to track the progress and experience of your accounts. You will also be able to identify and solve any issues as soon as the client experiences them, which in turn could have an impact on the experience they receive. If you identify a problem weeks or months into them joining as a customer, this may already be too late to rectify the issue and retain the client.

Your CRM will also enable you to keep notes of each call as well as set reminders for future follow up calls.

Customer experience

Consistency builds trust with customers. They know what to expect and will feel they can rely on you to deliver results. I way to achieve this could be to create an onboarding process for all new customers. This could be in the form of an introduction call in which you properly outlining what they have purchased, what your process is, what to expect, how often you will be in contact, and if necessary a brief training session on how they use your product. This will also identify the responsibilities of you as the account manager as well as the client.

Customer Feedback

The best way to improve, is by getting feedback. This could be by asking them to complete a survey or questions asked during one of your catchup calls. From this, you will be able to identify what works well, how their experience was and if any, what areas could be made better.

These reviews can be used when trying to attract new clients, testimonials of existing clients will help sell yourself to other companies and they can hear from people that have used your services.

Having an effective retention program enables you to have the ability to identify, track and resell to the customers who are most likely to then become your long-term revenue source.