Customer Retention
Customer retention is the ability of the company or a product to retain its customers over a specific period of time. If the customer is repeatedly purchasing your product then it means that he is satisfied with your product or service and at the same time he is the retained customer of your business. High Customer Retention means the customer of the particular product is returning to purchase the product and continuing to buy without switching to another product or brand.
Example of Customer Retention: Consider you are purchasing a car from Maruti Suzuki and after using the car for 4 to 5 years, you decide to sell the existing car and purchase a new car. Now if you again buy the car from Maruti Suzuki then you are a retained customer for Maruti. Or else if you buy the car from Hyundai then it means that you have shifted your brand preference and Maruti have lost one customer.
How the customer retention can be achieved?
Usually, good service, quality products, and rewards programs will encourage customers to return back to purchase your products - we can encourage customers through rewards programs and points, special discounts, exclusive offers, and giving some exclusive access to the new products.
Let us understand the different strategies to Increase Customer Retention for your business:
1. Respond to the customer queries - We have to always respond to the customer queries as soon as possible and resolution should be given within very less time, this will definitely help in customer delight. The resolution should be provided within the stipulated time and if there is any delay then it should be communicated to the customer and acknowledged.
2. Consistently gather Customer Feedback - Feedback are the tools to know what customer think and feel about your product and service. This helps in cementing the bond that already exists between the customer and the service provider. When we give chance to customer to express then they will definitely open up and give proper feedback about our product and service
3. Surprise Gifts & Discounts on the Merchandise - Surprise gifts for customers who bill a certain grand value from your store should be treated with some gift. Treat these customers as VIP customers, this will make them feel special and happy, this will help in customer delight. Also when the customer is purchasing out of his way then they should be supported with some discounts. Regular and frequently purchasing customers should also be supported with some sorts of discounts so that they will stick with you for longer periods
4. Provide Excellent Customer Service - This is the first and foremost thing in customer retention, good customer service will definitely retain the customer for lifelong. We should always make customers feel that they are cared for and given attention. Assistance in shopping, resolution to queries, and after-sales service are all part of excellent customer. service
5. Building a Community - In today's age everyone is part of social media, building a community on the social platform will help us to stay connected with the customer. Whatever activities you perform can be posted on the community and stay connected with the customers. Suppose if your company is part of any social responsible activity then it can be posted in the community to build a positive image of the company.
6. Building Trust with Customers through building relationships - If the business has to be successful then there should be trust between two parties. If there is no trust then the business will not sustain itself for long. Here there are only 2 persons in your business i.e. you and your customer. Trust can be only built through transparency in the business. The moment your customer discover that you are not trustworthy then they will definitely shift towards your competitors.
According to the survey conducted by "Concerto Marketing Group" it is found that 83% of customers will recommend your brand to others if they trust the brand. While 82% will stick to your brand if they trust it. This means if you build trust among the customers then they will definitely advertise your product and service.
7. Using Automation to engage or engage with the customers: Automation means communicating or allowing some of the routines to be handled automatically by some software. Some of the examples of this activity are sending email newsletters to customers, as well as sending SMS to old and new customers about your new offerings in terms of product.
For Example: Most of the automobile dealers in most of the countries, send SMS to their customers about their car's service schedule or its insurance renewal date, etc.
Through automation technique, you can definitely manage your customer contacts details, newsletter &emails, schedule promotional emails, text messages, and event notifications.
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Customer Retention, Customer Retention Technique, Retail, Retail Mangement
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