How to Retain Customers for Your Business

Businesses today have their priorities set in one department worldwide – acquiring customers and building relationships. However, many of you might not know that it costs approximately 5 times more to acquire new customers than retaining the already existing customers. Every business across the globe depends on its customers coming back to their establishment for repeat business. But, with the continuously growing competition across every industry, that’s easier said than done.

Why Do Businesses Typically Lose Customers?

There are many reasons why your business might be losing its customers. The primary thing to focus on here is self-evaluation and comprehensively analyzing customer patterns and their experience to get a better grip on why you might be losing them. Here are some of the most common reasons why your customers are not returning:

😊Putting Price Over Value

Having a lower price than your competitors will definitely give you an edge in gaining customers. But what many businesses do is that they focus more on the price of their services to advertise themselves, which conditions the customers to look for even lower prices. Segregating the price and value of your services can make a huge difference. Giving equal attention to also promote the value of your products will attract customers to do repeat business and intrigue new customers to try your services out.

😊Customer Experience

Customer Experience is not just industry jargon. It is a calculative norm that ultimately decides the fate of businesses. Keeping a constant check on your customers and the experience they are having, and working to improve the areas in which you lagged in their experience carries a make or break factor for customer retention. If customers are not satisfied with your services or had a bad experience in their engagement with you, over 60% of them won’t be vocal about it and just not come back, along with spreading bad word-of-mouth of your services.

😊Difference in the Treatment of New and Existing Customers

Many businesses often overlook their existing customers and only focus on providing various incentives like discounts or coupons to new customers. This can leave a bad taste in the mouths of existing customers, and they mostly will look for other businesses for getting the same services that your business provides. Making sure that the existing customers are rewarded for their loyalty is just as important as gaining new customers.

What Should You Do If You Keep Losing Customers?

There are many strategies that businesses come up with when they start losing customers, but most of them are for naught, as they don’t usually focus on the pain points which caused the customers not returning in the first place. Here are some customer retention tips you can use to increase your customer retention:

😊Taking Responsibility

Nothing in this world is perfect. Taking the higher ground when a customer is not satisfied, acknowledging their grievances, and ensuring better services the next time can take your business a long way. Moreover, this also establishes in the mind of the customers that their voice is being heard, and in turn, builds up their loyalty to your business.

😊Improving Customer Experience

Again, customer experience is one of the most important elements for customer retention. Many businesses overestimate their analytical capabilities and come up with half-baked strategies that cause more harm than good. Employing a customer experience software can help establishments in finding their weak points and working to improve them with valid data and reports.

😊Working on Resolving Problems Faced by the Customers

If you really want to leave a long-lasting positive impact in the minds of the customers, try to resolve their problems on priority. You can target problems that can be resolved while the customer is engaging with your business, and make the customer feel like royalty. This, in turn, will encourage them to do repeat business with you and will also encourage them to spread good word-of-mouth in their circle. The best form of free advertising is customers providing good reviews and attracting their acquaintances to engage with your business. Over 70% of the customers are willing to come back and engage with businesses again if their problems are resolved seamlessly.

😊Take Customer Feedback

The most important data points that you can get about the functionality of your business is from feedback from the customers. Over 75% of the customers are very open with their feedback after engaging with a business through an online survey, that can be taken through a customer feedback app or a customer experience software. Leveraging newer technologies to make changes that encourage the customers to return is the best way of customer retention.

How to Gain New Customers While Keeping the Existing Customers Intact?

The main question that businesses often get stuck upon is what to prioritize- gaining new customers or retaining existing ones? Treading this line often turns out disastrous for many, and it is not wise to choose one of both. You can have the best of both the world if you’re careful with your approach. Taking the aforementioned points in this blog into account, here are a few ways in which you can attain new customers:

• Testimonials: The main benefit of improving your customer experience is that you can use happy customers’ reviews to highlight your services, which ultimately creates an impact on people looking for the services you offer, and encourages them to engage with your business.
  
  
• Discounts or Coupons: This is the most effective tactic to gain new customers. Providing incentives to the people looking for the same services you provide and making sure that those discounts or promotions are made good use of by creating a positive impact in the midst of the new customers is the best way to create new loyal customers.
  
  
• Positioning Your Business as the Answer: This strategy is self-explanatory. Customers who have a problem statement don’t look for services, they look for answers. Putting your business out there as an answer to these problem statements can attract a multitude of new customers.

Conclusion

Retaining and acquiring customers is always the top priority of any business. Doing so by leveraging newer technologies and creating comprehensive strategies is the only way forward in today’s marketplace for any business. So, if you’re wondering how to retain customers for your business, try implementing the points mentioned in this blog, and see the significant change it brings in your business’ growth!