Did you know that approximately one-third of American citizens say that they’re willing to switch to a different company after just a single example of poor customer service? In our competitive and fast-paced world, companies can’t afford to make mistakes as they can lose customers for life.
But then how to retain customers for a long period of time, preferably for life? This is a question most business owners ask. Is it possible to keep customers for life? The answer is yes! Keep reading this article to find out how.
Reward Your Customers and Give Something for Free
Everybody likes when they receive something for free. Whether it’s a promotional product such as a pen, notebook, cigarette lighter or T-shirt, receiving a reward or a gift can build a long-lasting relationship. That’s because people rarely receive something for free and when this happens, they will remember.
Therefore, make sure that you try to give something for free to your customers, particularly to the ones who buy from you regularly. You can offer them a free informative e-book, a subscription to a webinar or an Amazon gift card. This might make the customers stay with you forever.
Say Thank You on a Regular Basis
Don’t take anything for granted. Get into the habit of saying “thank you” to your customers. Expert businessmen advise on sending personalized Thank You cards. You can write them by hand and leave an insightful message of appreciation. Send a Thank You note every year to show your consistent gratitude towards your most profitable customers and they’ll probably stay with you for a long time.
Consistently Deliver What You Promise
The world is full of people who make big promises but don’t deliver on time or don’t deliver at all. You should be different if you want to keep customers for life. It’s important to remain consistent with your values and provide good service for your clients every year. The rule of thumb for many successful businessmen is “underpromise and overdeliver”. This should be your mentality as well.
Make Checkout as Simple as Possible
Involuntary churn is one of the main reasons customers become frustrated and leave your website. An involuntary churn happens when a payment process fails for one of your clients. As a result, the customer just abandons the shopping cart and goes to buy from a different website or vendor. Making the checkout process as simple as possible can prevent involuntary churn and all the profit losses associated with it.
Simplifying the checkout process is not complicated. You can do that by having just a few simple steps for your clients to follow. Make sure that your web pages load quickly and provide many payment solutions such as credit card, Paypal, etc. When you simplify the checkout process, you will never see drops in profits and your clients will come back to buy from you because it’s easy to do so.
Provide Excellent Customer Service
The type of customer service you provide to your clients dictates the future of your business. Provide bad or no customer service at all and your brand will gain a negative reputation. Offer excellent customer support and your clients will remember this. They say that a customer shares a positive experience with 3 people, but a negative one with 30 people. Make sure that you don’t give your customers a chance to talk bad about you.
What does good customer service mean? For starters, your staff should make a habit of actively listening to clients’ requests. Instruct your employees to provide helpful feedback in a polite manner. Make sure that they follow up with clients to see if their problems have been solved. Discourage hasty conversations when talking with clients and ensure that your employees treat every customer with respect.
Ask Your Customers What They Want
One of the best ways to find out how to serve your clients better is to simply ask them. You can do that online by creating polls and surveys on your web pages. Encourage your audience to provide answers and determine how you can provide solutions to their most pressing problems. By addressing the customers’ needs directly, you show that you care about them. As a result, your clients might become loyal to you and stay with your company for decades to come.
Acknowledge Your Mistakes Quickly
Companies of all sizes make mistakes. This is a normal part of learning. When you do make a mistake, don’t hesitate to apologize. Have a humane attitude and your customers will appreciate that. For example, if some of your delivery guys accidentally damaged a product, contact the customer and say that you’re sorry.
Offer to refund the product or send a brand new one in return. You can also provide customers with vouchers or discount codes for future purchases. Showing that you’re truly sorry sets you apart from other companies that might be very ignorant towards their clients.
Focus on Long-Lasting Business Relationships, Not Single Sales
Many companies tend to push for the first sale as vigorously as possible and when it finally happens, they simply forget about their customers. Don’t do that. Try to focus on long-term results, rather than short-term profits. Aim to consistently deliver value to your clients so that they can buy from you again and again. One way you can accomplish that is by constantly learning about your clients’ needs and coming up with solutions before they even express them.
Now You Know How to Keep Customers for Life
Although keeping customers for life is not the easiest thing in the world, it’s definitely possible if you have an open mind and a passion for work. They say that there’s no elevator to success and you have to take the stairs. This is true in every aspect of life, especially in business. In your case, the next step would be to create a plan or a strategy on how to serve your clients better and continuously improve it along the way.
In the meantime, make sure that you check out the other articles on our website to learn more about marketing strategies, improving your return on investment, and how to keep customers happy.
