In a recent article posted on the “WhatTheyTh!nk” website, industry analyst, Heidi Tolliver-Walker, discussed customer retention. While primarily aimed at those in the printing industry, her 5 tips for customer retention are useful for anyone who sells any product or service.
Her 5 tips are not limited by industry and can be applied equally to those engaged in B2B or B2C selling.
We wondered how our customer service practices aligned with those Tolliver-Walker identified as key to customer retention. In reviewing our own internal processes, we developed a few questions to help determine if we were on track. These questions can help any business review their marketing and customer retention practices.
Tip# 1: “Know why they love you.”
Ask yourself: What are we doing right that keeps our customers coming back? How are we delighting our customers with every interaction?
Tip# 2: “Know what matters to them.”
Ask yourself: What do our customers really want from us? Have we asked them? Note: Customer service surveys are great ways to tune into your customers' actual needs.
Tip# 3: “Make it personal.”
Ask yourself: Are we personalizing our communications? Are we targeting customers with relevant marketing that shows we understand their needs? Are we thanking or rewarding customers for their repeat business?
Tip# 4: “Be authentic.”
Ask yourself: Are our marketing efforts genuine and telling real stories? How do we communicate what we do in ways that don’t feel stilted or insincere? Do we market differently to existing customers than we do to prospects?
Tip# 5: “Don’t just sell.”
Ask yourself: Do we care about what our customers do? How engaged with them are we after the sale? Do we support their business in the community?
At AlphaGraphics, we know that 60% of our sales comes from repeat business. Keeping that segment of our customer base happy is paramount to our future success. Continually asking ourselves these key questions helps keep us on track with our customer retention plan. Our end goal is to keep repeat customers happy and coming back for more.
What are you doing to keep your existing customers coming back?
Read the article at: Tolliver-Walker, H., (July 24, 2019), Are You Walking the Customer Retention Walk with Your Customers? From http://whattheythink.com/
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