In business, it can often seem like all of your customer-related efforts focus on capturing customers in the first instance. Being able to bring a new customer to your business is absolutely vital for the future survival of your company and it’s also the most difficult aspect of business. You have to figure out how you can identify customers, capture their imagination and intrigue them enough to take a chance and place their first order.
When you have managed the above, it’s tempting to think that your job is done. You’ve captured the customer, so everything should be easy with that particular individual from hereon, shouldn’t it?
Not quite. Capturing a customer for a one-time purchase is an achievement, but it’s not enough to sustain your business in the long run. You need a mix of new and existing customers to help further your business goals. That means you need to diversify your focus and investigate the world of customer retention. Here are a few tools that can help you do this:
Email lists
Email lists are difficult to get right. A customer might be signed up, but that’s only the first hurdle. Now you have to persuade them to open your emails, to read them thoroughly and to stay subscribed rather than hitting the “spam” button.
These two golden rules will assist you with this task:
- Don’t spam your customers. One email per week is more than sufficient.
- Offer genuine insights, discount codes and exciting news in your emails. Don’t just repeat the same basic facts that can be found on your website.
A good CRM system
CRM stands for “customer relationship management”, which is an effective tool for customer retention. If you spend a little time discussing your retention concerns with CRM consulting professionals, you can create a custom system that works for your needs. These systems not only assist you with retention but also integrate the entire customer association process. This may include order management, refunds and customer service, allowing you to offer customers a seamless experience that will encourage them to think highly of your business.
A specific app
You may worry that investing in your own app is out of the reach right now for your small business, but you’d be surprised how easy it is to get up and running. Apps encourage customer engagement, give you a permanent advertisement on your customer’s smartphone menu and offer myriad additional benefits that you’re going to want to enjoy. So while an app may be an expense you hadn’t planned for, it might just be a customer retention tool you can’t afford to not have.
Conclusion
Capturing new customers is tough, but keeping those customers coming back for more is arguably even tougher. Hopefully, the tips above have provided insight into how you might ensure that customers return in the future.
