Caring for your customers is an important piece of the business success. In the last post, we talked about generating leads and the marketing activities needed to gain new customers consistently. You work hard to connect with new buyers and build a sense of community through your social media, website, and other activities, but consumers are just starting to get to know you.
It costs time and money to gain each customer’s attention and business. Continue to nurture and retain their loyalty with new communication processes, so they remember to buy from you each time they need your solution or product.
You’ve heard the adage – people do business with those they know, like, and trust. The speed of eCommerce and online marketing has shortened the curve to knowing and trusting you. If your posts, ads, emails, or other messaging resonates with buyers, and they like you, it’s essential to keep communicating to those customers in the media and methods they prefer. Your customer-centric message has effectively become your lead magnet.
Customer Experience
Today’s customers may be thinking about your brand, but they focus more on the experience you deliver. Consider everything from the customer’s point of view, including comments they make, the website page they land on, and the timing of the next step. Every touchpoint with a customer is a chance to build trust and increase revenue. All businesses must take extra care and work harder to keep customers. It’s not just a battle of price competition.
In these fast-paced digital times, customer expectations have increased transaction speed, ease of buying, and more options. Confirmations and instant messages are the norms, and shipping expectations seem lightning-fast. Twenty-four hours is too long for customer support email responses. Small and medium-sized businesses may find it challenging to keep up with tools and apps to maintain customer relationships with personal attention, care, and thoughtful messages on multiple channels. But you can’t afford to ignore it:
In 2021, it can be 5 to 25 times more expensive to gain new customers than to retain a current one.
The key to being memorable can be simple things that make a big difference:
- A free gift with a purchase
- A timed discount offer that complements the purchase
- A Thank You message
- Surprise birthday messages or special offers
- Giveaways or contests
- Fresh content that is interesting and trendy
- Feedback opportunities to make them feel important
- Special customer-only deals
- Free products to review
Another great way to engage your customers is giving them the opportunity to share information on products and services with others, acting as your brand ambassador on their social media.
Customer Service
Customer service is a lot more than having customer support capability. It’s thinking about the customer view in social media, direct messaging, email, chatbots, or apps. It’s about offering your best customers a preferred and convenient method of communication. It also comes from retargeting ads to confirm actions and strengthen branding based on what customers have to say about their experience of your business products and services.
People will spend more if they are getting good customer service. They will stay longer as your buyer if you keep delivering. Staying top of mind for the next purchase decision is a lot more than well-timed ads; it’s regularly sharing relevant and valuable information.
Customer Retention
Your reputation is built by repeat business from satisfied customers and referrals of new business they bring you. Business growth depends on customers buying from you over and over. It is much easier to increase your income by keeping a current customer happy.
A 5% increase in customer retention increases profits by 25% to 95%.
Loyalty Programs are a typical way to grow customer retention. You can structure rewards for customers based on how much they buy from you or how often. When you cultivate relationships and stay in touch, you are building a community around your business offerings. When people feel they are part of something, it makes them more comfortable and willing to stay with that company.
Customer retention is not a one-time activity but something you must commit to and maintain, backing it up with education and resources. Different types of companies can do it differently. Memberships and monthly subscriptions are successful business models keeping customers happy with product-oriented businesses and changing inventory. For consumable products or concierge-type services, you might start a program aimed at making customers feel special. High satisfaction results from working with you and having a personal connection every month. They trust you to do what’s right for them and remain loyal longer.
The advantage of strong customer retention for you and your business is experiencing a better quality of life balance with the ability to save time, scale, serve more customers, and have more free time. It’s a win, win.
The Power of Niche
The best customer service can be delivered when you know your customers exceptionally well and target them specifically. The power of working in a specialized group or niche audience helps you fine-tune your messaging to the right customers. You can use language, content, and product selection that speaks directly to them to create a bigger impact. Knowing your customers and serving them well keeps them coming back. Here are a few successful examples:
Tony Hseih founded the online shoe company Zappos to create an experience that kept people coming back by offering free shipping and no cost for returns. People anywhere could buy shoes online and get instant gratification.
Other businesses that use the power of niche marketing are subscription boxes. Customers particularly like curated items that speak directly to their favorite things:
- Stitch Fix clothing boxes where stylists select items indicated by customer preferences and past purchases
- Hellofresh or Blue Apron personalized meal kits
- Birchbox personal care items offer customization
- Fabletics fitness clothing and gear customers can pick from new styles
- KiwiCo memberships give kids the ability to choose different science or art projects
The power to keep customers happy longer is in your digital marketing tools, message, strategy, and niche. Blue Zenith works with businesses across various industries and helps determine which methods work best to nurture your existing clients. We help you create engaging ads and promotions using your website, social media, and email campaigns with personalized messaging for different audience segments. When consumers feel you are speaking directly to them, they are willing to share their experience and act as loyal brand ambassadors. By retaining happy customers, you reduce your workload and provide a healthier environment for your team!
Contact us to learn more about caring for your customers and improving retention.