9 Customer Retention Strategies

The easiest way to grow your customers is not to lose them

The average business loses around 20 percent of its customers annually simply by failing to attend to customer relationships. In some industries this leakage is as high as 80 percent. The cost, in either case, is staggering, but few businesses truly understand the implications.

Imagine two businesses, one that retains 90 percent of its customers, the other retaining 80 percent. If both add new customers at the rate of 20 percent per year, the first will have a 10 percent net growth in customers per year, while the other will have none. Over seven years, the first firm will virtually double, while the second will have no real growth. Everything else being equal, that 10-percent advantage in customer retention will result in a doubling of customers every seven years without doing anything else.

The consequences of customer retention also compound over time, and in sometimes unexpected ways. Even a tiny change in customer retention can cascade through a business system and multiply over time. The resulting effect on long-term profit and growth shouldn’t be underestimated.

Here are 9 Key Retention Strategies:

1. Reducing Attrition

Virtually every business loses some customers, but few ever measure or recognise how many of their customers become inactive. Most businesses, ironically, invest an enormous amount of time, effort and expense building that initial customer relationship. Then they let that relationship go unattended, in some cases even losing interest as soon as the sale been made, or even worse, they abandon the customer as soon as an easily remedied problem occurs, only to have to spend another small fortune to replace that customer. The easiest way to grow your business is not to lose your customers. Once you stop the leakage, it’s often possible to double or triple your growth rate because you’re no longer forced to make up lost ground just to stand still.

2. Sell and then sell again

So many people do an excellent job of making the initial sale, then drop the ball and get complacent, ignoring the customer, while they chase more business. Your selling has actually only just begun when someone makes that initial purchase decision because virtually everyone is susceptible to buyer’s remorse. To lock in that sale, and all of the referrals and repeat business that will flow from it, you need to strike while the iron is hot to allay your customers’ fears and demonstrate by your actions that you really care. You should thank them and remind them again why they’ve made the right decision to deal with you … and put a system in place to sell to them again, and again, constantly proving that they made the right decision.

3. Bring back the “lost sheep”

There’s little point in dedicating massive resources to generating new customers when 25-60% of your dormant customers will be receptive to your attempts to regenerate their business if you approach them the right way, with the right offer. Reactivating customers who already know you and your product is one of the easiest, quickest ways to increase your revenues. Re-contacting and reminding them of your existence, finding out why they’re no longer buying, overcoming their objections and demonstrating that you still value and respect them will usually result in a tremendous bounty of sales and drastically increased revenues in a matter of days … and will lead to some of your best and most loyal customers.

4. Frequent Communications Calendar

Avoid losing your customers by building relationships and keeping in touch using a rolling calendar of communications. This is a programmed sequence of letters, events, phone calls, “thank you’s”, special offers, follow-ups, magic moments, and cards or notes with a personal touch etc. that occur constantly and automatically at defined points in the pre-sales, sales and post-sales process. People not only respond to this positively, they really appreciate it because they feel valued and important. It acknowledges them, keeps them informed, offsets post-purchase doubts, reinforces the reason they’re doing business with you and makes them feel part of your business so that they want to come back again and again.

5. Extraordinary Customer Service

The never-ending pursuit of excellence to keep customers so satisfied that they tell others how well they were treated when doing business with you. Moving the product or service you deliver into the realm of the extraordinary by delivering higher than expected levels of service to each and every customer. Key facets include: dedication to customer satisfaction by every employee; providing immediate response; no buck passing; going above and beyond the call of duty; consistent on-time delivery; delivering what you promise before AND after the sale; a zero-defects and error-free-delivery process and recruiting outstanding people to deliver your customer service. Extraordinary service builds fortunes in repeat customers, whereas poor service will drive your customers to your competition.

6. Courtesy system

A powerful system that improves the interpersonal skills of your team and changes the spirit of your organisation. It involves speaking to colleagues politely and pleasantly, without sarcasm or parody, and treating them at least as well as you would want them to treat your customers. This will help your team to feel worthwhile and important, which makes for pleasant social contacts at work. It also motivates them to provide extraordinary service, encourages them to be consistently pleasant in all of their dealings and to relate to customers in a warm, human and natural manner. This results in better, warmer, stronger, more trusting relationships and longer term bonds with your customers.

7. Product or service integrity

Long-term success and customer retention belongs to those who do not take ethical shortcuts. There must always be total consistency between what you say and do and what your customers experience. The design, build quality, reliability and serviceability of your product or service must be of the standard your customers want, need and expect. Service integrity is also demonstrated by the way you handle the small things, as well as the large. Customers will be attracted to you if you are open and honest with them, care for them, take a genuine interest in them, don’t let them down and practice what you preach … and they will avoid you if you don’t.

8. Measure lifetime value

There’s a vast difference between the one-off profit you might make on an average sale, which ignores the bigger picture, and the total aggregate profit your average customer represents over the lifetime of their business relationship with you. Once you recognise how much combined profit a customer represents to your business when they purchase from you again and again, over the months, years or decades, you’ll realise the critical importance of taking good care of your customers. And because you’ll understand just how much time, effort and expense you can afford to invest in retaining that customer, you’ll be in control of your marketing expenditure.

9. A complaint is a gift

96 percent of dissatisfied customers don’t complain. They just walk away, and you’ll never know why. That’s because they often don’t know how to complain, or can’t be bothered, or are too frightened, or don’t believe it’ll make any difference. Whilst they may not tell you what’s wrong, they will certainly tell plenty of others. A system for unearthing complaints can therefore be the lifeblood of your business, because customers who complain are giving you a gift, they’re still talking to you, they’re giving you another opportunity to return them to a state of satisfaction and delight them and the manner in which you respond gives you another chance to show what you’re made of and create even greater customer loyalty.

If you need help implementing your Business Retention Strategies – contact Julie now at https://www.facebook.com/YourBusinessHelper  

Staying Motivated in Your Business

It’s difficult to stay focused on your business goals when challenges arise and your determination is tested if you don’t know why you’re doing something.

You need to know what you’re fighting for, so you are focused and driven to keep pushing ahead. Knowing and understanding your motivation can help you avoid getting sucked into the minutiae of the day to day running of your business.

Use the list below to explore possible motivations and determine what has the biggest impact on you and your desire to succeed.

  • Money: Is wealth, paying off debts, or living luxuriously a motivator for you?
  • Society: Are you driven by the desire to solve a common problem or improve the lives of others?
  • Family: Are you building a legacy you can pass down to your children? Are you starting a business to support or honor your family in some way?
  • Expectations: Do you worry about fulfilling the needs of others or what others will think about you if you fail? What are your expectations for yourself?
  • Consequences: Are you afraid of what may happen if you don’t start a business and become successful?
  • Pride: Pride in yourself and your work can be a powerful motivator for many. Is it for you?
  • Passion: Does love for what you do give you the fight to be able to work through the challenges?
  • Credibility: Do you look at this business as a way to solidify your credibility or establish yourself as an expert?
  • Challenge: Do you thrive on the challenge? Do you purposefully take on initiatives that will stretch you and provide learning opportunities?

Once you know what motivates you to take this bold step of starting a business, you’re ready to make difficult decisions and push through challenges

If you need help getting back on track and motivated to achieve your business goals – contact Julie now at https://www.facebook.com/YourBusinessHelper

 

Time Management Personalities

Time Management

Time Management

The key to time management is knowing ourselves, as we can’t actually “manage” time; all we can manage is our own behavior.For many of us this is more than enough of a challenge. While we claim that effective time management is a top priority and that we just have to get more organized, our actions don’t match our stated desires. I’ve invented these time management personality “types” to describe patterns of behavior that sabotage many people’s attempts at time management.

Which of the following time management “types” are you? While intended as fun, this time management exercise may provide you with some clues for more effective time management.

The Fireman – For you, every event is a crisis. You’re so busy putting out fires that you have no time to deal with anything else – especially the boring, mundane things such as time management. Tasks pile up around you while you rush from fire to fire all day.

Typically seen – Running to car.

The Over-Committer – Your problem is you can’t say ‘No’. All anyone has to do is ask, and you’ll chair another committee, take on another project, or organize yet another community event. You’re so busy you don’t even have time to write down all the things you do!

Typically seen – Hiding in rest room.

The Aquarian – There is such as thing as being too “laid-back” – especially when it starts interfering with your ability to finish tasks or bother to return phone calls. Getting to things when you get to them isn’t time management; it’s simple task avoidance.

Typically seen – Hanging out with feet on desk.

The Chatty Kathy – Born to socialize, you have astounding oral communication skills and can’t resist exercising them at every opportunity. Every interaction becomes a long drawn out conversation – especially if there’s an unpleasant task dawning that you’d like to put off.

Typically seen – Talking on cell phone.

The Perfectionist – You have a compulsion to cross all the “t’s” and dot all the “i’s”, preferably with elaborate whorls and curlicues. Exactitude is your watchword, and you feel that no rushed job can be a good job. Finishing tasks to your satisfaction is such a problem you need more time zones, not just more time.

Typically seen – Hunched over latest project.

Hopefully none of these time management personality profiles is a photograph of you! But perhaps these descriptions will provoke some thought about the different ways we manage or mismanage time, and some clues about how we might change our behaviors to make our time management efforts more successful.

If you need help with your time management of all your business tasks – contact us now:  https://www.facebook.com/YourBusinessHelper  

 

Polite ways to say No to customer suggestions…

If you’re fortunate enough to have customers who are rooting for you and your business, you’re probably going to need to train yourself to politely thank them for their ideas and not implement them. If you try to implement every bit of input from your customers, you will quickly lose focus, and you could easily lose a lot more than that. The discipline you need in order to politely reject suggestions from well-meaning people varies widely depending upon your circumstances.

It’s likely that 99 percent of customer suggestions are made with nothing but your success in mind. I think most customers really do want to see you succeed, and most of them would be very proud to say they played a role in it. That’s why if you’re a candle maker and you haven’t been advised to branch into scented candles, you will be soon. And if you’re running a retail bakery, I have no doubt that your customers have made numerous suggestions for diversifying your menu. While some think you should celebrate the decadence of pastries by not even pretending to be concerned about calories and fat, others are probably suggesting you offer more diet-conscious options. Listening to customers is important, but no company has unlimited resources to implement all of the suggestions they receive.

What’s a business owner to do? Thank the customers for their input and then stick firmly to the vision set forth in your business plan.

If you’re worried about offending or even driving people away, explain (firmly) that the growth of your business during its first few years is based on a precise plan. Then, add that you’re keeping any and all suggestions in a file for consideration in the future.

It’s important to differentiate between ideas and feedback; although they’re related, they’re different. If you ever find yourself unsure of which file something a customer has told you belongs in, here’s a quick and simple test. Imagine that you’re a dentist and you’ve just launched your own practice with anxiety reduction as your primary differentiator. Is your customer suggesting that you play a different kind of music? If so, that’s feedback on a part of your business meant to appeal to a specific segment of customers. As feedback, you’d be wise to carefully consider it. But if what your customer is telling you concerns changing the parameters used to determine when a tooth is preserved rather than extracted, that’s something that impacts the core of your business, and it’s an area where your customers are expecting you – not one of them – to be the expert. It’s an idea, and it has the potential to steer you off course and cause you to lose focus.

Do you agree that it is important to say “no” in your business?