When you integrate a solid referral program it is a very cost-effective approach to generating more quality leads. You will also want to be sure to use modern strategies for customer retention methods for small businesses.
It’s always easier and cheaper to maintain your current customer than to generate a new one. It can cost 5x to 25x higher to retain new customers according to the Harvard Business Review.
What is customer retention?
Customer retention refers to a company’s ability to turn customers into repeat buyers and prevent them from switching to a competitor.
Table of Contents
Connecting With Your Customers
Email Campaigns With Promotional Offers
Email campaigns are an effective tool for customer retention. By sending targeted and personalized emails, businesses can stay connected with their customers and encourage them to remain loyal.
Through email campaigns, businesses can provide valuable information, such as product updates, exclusive offers, and relevant content, that keeps customers engaged.
Additionally, email campaigns allow businesses to segment their audience and send tailored messages, increasing the chances of customer retention.
By consistently communicating with customers through email campaigns, businesses can foster strong relationships and encourage repeat purchases, ultimately leading to increased customer retention and long-term success.
The key is not about giving them offer after offer, but you need to make your customers feel like this is an exclusive offer tailored to their needs.
There will be times you can gain an insight into your customers through their buying habits and their demographics.
Understanding the handful of different customers that purchase from you means you can tailor unique promotional offers that appeal to them on a one-to-one level.
A Customer Referral Program For Customer Retention
Customer referrals work in two ways. Rewarding your current customers can be incredibly valuable than many other types of marketing, but it also helps to encourage new leads.
When you integrate a solid referral program it is a very cost-effective approach to generating more quality leads.
Connecting With Your Customers via Social Media
Social media is one of the best approaches to communicating with your customers but it is also a fantastic method to share new products and create a culture that facilitates conversations between your followers and between the business and the consumer.
For example by asking questions and getting answers from them through the use of hashtags or grepping for keywords on Facebook pages.
This not only creates a more personal experience but also helps you engage your community which can lead to conversations about products they may be interested in buying!
The conversation is so important because this highlights the business actually reaching out to customers.
These days, it’s easier than ever because you can incorporate hashtags and very simply start asking questions.
However, by using a great social media listening tool you can find out what others are saying about your brand or yourself on multiple social media networks or on blogs or news websites.
Instagram DMs are a great way to connect with your current clients and future ones. Younger audiences prefer this method of contact over emails hands down.
SMS Marketing: Another Strategy
While this is a seldom-used practice, text messages have high open rates. However, it’s important to show yourself as a trustworthy source. Because of fraud, people are less inclined to click on links.
But have a solid text messaging strategy where you can send messages and encourage customers to come to your website by their own means. Either promotional codes or highlighting a sale that’s due to expire can increase the customer retention level.
This is another part of strategies for customer retention in 2023 and beyond.
Modern Strategies for Customer Retention – Optimizing Your Digital Marketing
Every marketing channel needs to be optimized accordingly to reach the right audience. These will cover a number of different components such as:
- Campaigns being mobile-friendly.
- Post promotions at the right time for your customers.
- Creating engaging content through video or written word that covers the right keywords.
These little modern components will make a big difference to how you promote yourself and who you engage with, as well as the retention levels.
Strategies For Customer Retention – Offer Added Value
Another great way to retain your current base is to offer added value. By creating something in addition to what you offer, give them something on top of it for FREE. (Make it so it doesn’t cost you much in time or money, but adds value at the same time!)
Even if it is something small, they will appreciate the added value. This can be anything from an email newsletter to a free webinar or an informative white paper.
Or, how about sending out a Facebook post every Friday with interesting things going viral throughout social media related to their business?
If you sell actual products vs services you may want to send out a FREE sample to your current customer base. Everyone loves something for free.
Surprise and Delight Your Customers
If you want to retain your customer base, it is important that they feel valued. One way of doing this would be surprising them with a thank-you note or small gift.
People love being surprised and sending something special can really make an impression on their behalf! People love being surprised and sending something a little special can do just that.
I LOVE getting these messages. They warm my heart and absolutely make my day!! They give me the feeling of #makingadifference in this world…and Lord knows, we need more kindness 💝 🙏❤💌📬…#itsneverjustacard #fromtheheart #mailboxlove #hugsinthemail #sendlove #promptings pic.twitter.com/RjiFrkZNmz
— Ilka Flood (@mybeachmoney) October 20, 2023
According to Psychology Today:
By doing something that needs doing and that the loved one may not have the time, resources, or skills to do, a surprise not only gets the task done but can bring the added relief of taking it off the to-do list. Unfinished business is a huge energy drain.
Respond Quickly To Clients
Another great retention strategy for customers is to respond quickly. In this modern world, we can respond via text messages within seconds, on social media, or via email within minutes.
Do not wait over 24 hours to respond to a client. The sooner you can respond, the better.
People love to get answers fast today! (The average response time is 12 hours and 2 minutes today from businesses.)
However, if you can beat 12 hours, that’s a plus for your small business.
The Conclusion: Modern Strategies for Customer Retention
Customer retention will always have a significant impact on your marketing, and the right strategies will help you to create an efficient and amazing solution. When you aim to improve your marketing, there’s a lot to choose from.
The importance of strategies for customer retention cannot be overstated. With every new client, you are creating opportunities for growth and success in your company’s future; but if they go away after just one visit.
Then, it would seem like all those hours spent on marketing were wasted
But having a customer that actually comes back to your business will not just bolster your relationship with them, but the right customer will always sing your praises.
Your Turn
What are your strategies for customer retention or your blog reader retention? I’d love to know what’s working or not for you in the comments.
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She has 30+ years of experience in marketing/advertising with 11 years of experience in content marketing, social media, blogging, and SEO.
You can purchase her eBook about Twitter on Amazon.
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This blog post on modern strategies for customer retention really hit home for me! As a small business owner, I understand the importance of keeping my customers happy and loyal. Your insights and tips have opened my eyes to new approaches and tactics that I can implement to strengthen relationships with my customers. It’s refreshing to see how technology and personalized experiences can make a significant impact on customer retention. Thank you for sharing these valuable strategies that will undoubtedly help me build a better business and cultivate long-lasting customer loyalty.
Hi Geasy, welcome to Inspire To Thrive. What type of small business do you run? I’m glad you found this post helpful. Happy customers are easy to keep and keeping your current base is much easier and less costly than obtaining new clients. Have a great day.
Hi Lisa,
Email is still such a powerful promo strategy when you email value then toss in the promo opportunity, here and there. Finding the inbox keeps customers because people check their emails quickly, in most cases. Excellent advice.
Ryan
Hi Ryan, it surely is! I think email is the most underrated marketing tactic out there today. Thanks for your input and have a great day Ryan!