The best customer retention strategies
Customer retention is one of the key objectives of marketers as it keeps a brand afloat. Customer retention is the ability of a brand to keep its customers returning after making purchases. Marketers aim to achieve the ‘customer loyalty loop’, which is a cycle where customers continue to choose the products and/or services of a brand. To achieve high customer retention, marketers have to put certain strategies in place. These strategies will have a range of functions being to distract them from competitors and to heighten engagement. If you aren’t sure which customer retention strategies work best, we’ve got you covered:
Build a relationship with the customer
Once a brand has been able to build a relationship with a customer, the customer is likely to continuously support the brand as they feel a level of loyalty towards them. To build a relationship with the customer, the brand needs to focus on the customer experience. Ways to improve the customer experience are:
- Be transparent with the customer about the product or service they plan to buy
- Ensure to attend to all their needs, questions, and queries as fast as possible through multiple service channels
- Keep engagement high by consistently communicating with the customers via communication channels
- Offer the customer benefits like free shipping
Start a customer loyalty program
Many brands have started customer loyalty programs by now. If your brand hasn’t, it’s time to jump on board. Customer loyalty programs will differ depending on the type of brand, but all customer loyalty programs should contain:
- The rewards should work towards achieving the brand’s goals. For example, if the brand wants more visits, the rewards should be in the form of discounts or special offers.
- The rewards program should be tiered. Customers who show more loyalty than others should be the opportunity to receive more rewards than others.
- The rewards should be optimised to peak the interests and preferences of the customer base.
Utilise customer data
To improve the customer experience, a brand needs to know the needs, wants, and motivations of their customers. To determine this, brands can draw up surveys for their customers. Brands can also determine this by studying customer data. Examples of customer data are transaction histories, how the customers interact with the staff, and how well the customer loyalty program is received and utilised. This will shed light on which areas brands need to focus on to improve the customer experience.
Focus on personalisation
After the customer data has been collected and studied, marketers will be able to formulate offers and campaigns that the brand’s customers will find interesting and relevant. To ensure that the personalisation of the marketing is done correctly, marketers need to follow these steps:
- Focus on macro segmentation. This technique offers marketers the opportunity to market to the customer base in large segments. These segments are dividable by customer demographics.
- Focus on micro segmentation. This technique offers marketers the opportunity to market to the customer base in smaller segments. These segments are created by using customer demographic data as well as behavioural data.
- Focus on personalisation. This technique offers marketers the opportunity to create marketing content that is individually personalised to a specific customer.
Use games in marketing
Entice the inner child in each customer by introducing gamification into marketing campaigns. This has proven to be an effective customer retention strategy as it offers rewards, which everyone loves. Examples of gamification that marketers can incorporate are points, badges, progress tracking, and leaderboards. The gamification needs to be well-thought-out so that it achieves the business’ goals.
By implementing these customer retention strategies, brands are sure to see higher levels of customer retention. The key is to focus on the customer’s experience and to ensure that they leave the business with a smile on their face.