Easy Ways to Encourage Customer Retention

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StrategyDriven Customer Relationship Management Article |Customer Retention|Easy Ways to Encourage Customer RetentionCustomer retention is one of the hallmarks of a successful business. When you have repeat customers and genuine loyalty, you know that what you have to offer is just what your customer base is looking for. And, when this happens, you don’t need to worry so much about figuring out ways to appeal to more people or different groups. You know where you’re pitching.

Designing a customer loyalty program is one of the most effective strategies to boost your business growth. It is organic and doesn’t require the same amount of resources or time as trying to locate and identify new customers. However, this doesn’t mean that you can be complacent about your customers at all. You still need to think carefully about how you can keep their custom and continue to raise the bar.

So what does it take to ensure customer retention?

Make it Easy to be Loyal

People like doing the easy thing. We prefer supermarkets because they offer everything we need under one roof, we prefer products that free-up our time and once we’ve found something we like, we tend not to keep searching. This is ultimately what customer loyalty is about – you need to make it as easy as possible for your customers to stick with you.

One way you can make it easier is to offer a subscription service with easy and accurate billing. Billsby is a great option for this and the software can even give you a greater understanding of your customers with a value score. For your customers, a subscription means that they don’t have to think about using your company, they can make their choice once and then roll with it.

Another good way to make it easier to be loyal is to offer your customers incentives to continue shopping with your business. Supermarket loyalty cards are some of the best-known programs and many offer their customers discounts and exclusive deals, often based on the customer’s shopping habits. This is why loyalty programs like these are so important – not only can you encourage your customers to spend more by offering small discounts, but you can also learn a lot about them.

The easier you can make it to be loyal, the more likely your customers are to stick by your business. Just make sure that you understand what your customers are looking for and continue to meet their needs better than your competitors!

Stay in Touch

Staying in touch with your customers is all about communication. If you can’t talk to your customers, you won’t be able to tell them about the latest deals you have for them or find out what they could be looking for. There are so many ways to stay in touch now that if you don’t have a social media account, you are already way behind the times! Don’t even bother to continue reading this article just yet – open a new tab right now and set those things up!

Welcome back!

So, now you have a social media account, you need to know how to use it. Social media is brilliant for showing off your brand identity and engaging your customers on a more personal level. You don’t need to be constantly advertising or showing off; you can ask questions, comment on industry developments or simply post things you find interesting or amusing.

Another crucial form of communication is the humble email campaign. Again, if you don’t have one already, you must start thinking about this as soon as possible. You can even use your social media presence to build up your list of email addresses. The key thing to remember is that your emails must be relevant to your audience and provide some value. This might mean sending a newsletter including links to your blog but it could be more tailored and include particular deal codes they can use with your business to get discounts or other incentives.

Staying in touch with your customers should also allow them to influence how you grow and develop your business. In other words, you need to be able to have a conversation, not just a one-way lecture.

Use a Customer Feedback Loop

And that’s where the customer feedback loop comes in. If you want to know what your customers think of your services and business, the best way to find out is to ask them. Yes, it’s really that simple!

Surveys are one of the best ways to ask a lot of customers about a specific aspect of your business and to find out what the majority think. However, you must ask the right questions to get the information you really need. Remember that even though you might really want positive responses to all the questions you ask, the reality is that you know that there are things you need to improve and you need to be neutral to find out what those things are.

Another way to gain customer feedback is to run a focus group. This is a brilliant way to gauge interest in new products or ideas you would like to experiment with soon. Customer focus groups also provide forums for people to give their opinions in a more open way. Though you should certainly keep the conversation from deviating too far from your requirements, allowing your customers to express themselves openly could be hugely beneficial. Asking a market research company to run these groups on your behalf will also remove any possibility of unconscious bias.

Customers want to stay loyal because it is easier than constant shopping around. However, you still have to make an effort to keep their custom and ensure that you don’t take them for granted. Shopping around might be frustrating but it doesn’t mean that your customers can’t be tempted away. Keeping an eye on the competition is one way to avoid losing customers but you should also be thinking about what unique services or products you could offer.

If you really want to keep your customers, the best thing you can do is keep them at the very centre of your business plan.

Keeping Your Customers Happy Throughout The Festive Period

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StrategyDriven Customer Relationship Management Article |Customer Service|Keeping Your Customers Happy Throughout The Festive PeriodRunning an online business is a fantastic way to earn a living. Online shopping remains popular and the coming weeks are likely to be your busiest of the year. The festive period can be make or break for your business, as how you cope with the extra demand can have a significant impact on customers’ perceptions.

Word of mouth travels quickly, so the service you provide at this time should make a great impression. Customers will remember the service you gave and will be more likely to make a return visit in the New Year.

So how can you keep your customers happy throughout the festive period? Take a look at some of the following suggestions that will have you laughing all the way until the end of the year.

Make sure your website is fit for purpose

With more and more people doing their Christmas shopping online each year, you won’t want to miss out on sales. Making sure your website is up to scratch will ensure it doesn’t crash during busy periods and can cope with the demand.

Not only do you need your website to be fast and reliable, but it also needs to be secure. Get professional help securing your eCommerce website so that you can make sure all of your customers’ details stay safe.

Promotions can boost your sales, but proceed with caution

Over the festive period, online stores can go crazy with discounts. Not only is there Black Friday, but various cyber deals are rife at this time of year. It’s good to stay competitive, but while offering deals and discounts could boost your sales, it could cost your company money. Only run promotions you know that you can afford. While you’ll want to keep up with your competition, a reliable and efficient service can mean much more to some shoppers.

Put measures in place to limit mistakes

Mistakes can happen easily with online orders, but when it happens at Christmas, people can end up very disappointed and angry. Receiving the wrong size, color, or even the wrong item can cause misery that you’ll want to avoid for your customers. There should already be measures in place to limit mistakes with online orders, but at this time of year, you should think about introducing tougher checks.

If a mistake has happened, do everything you can to put it right. When it comes to dealing with angry customers, try to find a resolution that will keep them happy. You might need to provide a discount, refund shipping or even refund the order to help keep the customer happy. This is something to consider adding into your budget that you might not have thought about before.

Think about reducing your shipping

One thing that can determine whether a customer orders with you or with your competitor is shipping. Free shipping is a good incentive to order something, especially around the festive period, and could be worth investing in for your business – even if it is just during this period.

To help give you the best shipping costs, you need to ensure your weights are accurate. You can get scales at 1800scales.com in different sizes that are suitable for your products. Being able to provide the correct weight for your products could save you money on your shipping, allowing you to pass the savings onto your customers.

Increase your customer care efforts

Christmas is the time when many people decide to increase their customer care teams. Providing good customer service is important all year round, but with increasing sales and more pressure to get things right, it’s even more important to provide a great service at Christmas.

It’s important that customer queries are dealt with as soon as possible. When people have to wait for a response, that’s when they start taking to social media and review websites to air their concerns widely. While some customers can be difficult to deal with, it’s important to remain calm, friendly and polite if you want any hope of retaining them as a customer in the future.

Use social media to your advantage

The holidays are the perfect opportunity to do some great things with social media. From a stand-out Christmas campaign to being able to have some fun with your customers, you can use the excitement around the festive period to increase your followers and increase your profile.

Get yourself in the festive spirit by taking a look at some of the best Christmas campaigns. While you might not have a huge budget for your own campaign, it’s a great way to get some ideas and think about ways you can make a big splash at this time of year.

Reward your loyal customers

While attracting new customers and increasing your profits is important to drive sales at this time, you mustn’t forget about your existing customers. Show them that you value their loyalty by offering incentives such as discounts on an order, or a free gift. You can find some excellent ways to reward existing customers that can be affordable and impactful for your business. Even sharing their content on your social media channels can make them feel valued and appreciated.

Why not add a special touch such as sending a Christmas card or a small gift with your orders? Your customers will appreciate the surprise and it’s a lovely gesture to provide at this time of year.

Think ahead to sale time

While it can feel as though you’re just trying to survive the Christmas rush, it is important to think ahead to your plans after Christmas. Most stores launch sales on either Christmas eve or in the days after Christmas, which can take a lot of work to pull off. Your employees will be working hard over this period, so you might want to give everyone a few extra days to recover before you launch your sale.

A post-Christmas sale is a fantastic opportunity to clear out your old stock and get ready for the new year. Be smart with your pricing strategy and you could do well during the post-Christmas period and give your customers another great reason to shop with you.

Do something great for others

The holidays are a time for giving, and as a business, you’re in a position to give back to others to spread a little festive cheer. From providing monetary donations to charities to helping out in your local community, there are different ways your business can do something to help others at this time of year. You can highlight your efforts through your news page, your blog and across social media. It’s important to demonstrate that you’re a socially-responsible company, and encourage your customers to give up some of their time this Christmas too.

Have fun with it

The best thing about Christmas is to have fun with it! Christmas is a happy time of year, and it’s great to get into the festive spirit and enjoy it. Get your office/warehouse decorated, put on some Christmas music and get ready to get festive! Your office can be a fun place to be at this time of year, which will reflect in the way you handle your customers.

Christmas can be the busiest time of year for your business, but it’s important to keep your customers at the heart of what you do. It’s a great time to build trust with your customers and show them that you value their business and support. Make sure your Christmas plans are in place to deliver the best Christmas to your customers, and have the best Christmas for your business too.

Why You Need Effective Customer Relationship Management For Your Business

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StrategyDriven Customer Relationship Management Article | Why You Need Effective Customer Relationship Management For Your BusinessEvery business organisation exists for and because of its customers. It is for this reason that they have to keep creating, establishing, and maintaining healthy customer relationships. They can do this with an effective customer relationship management. Here are the reasons why CRM is good for your business:

Provides a Deeper Understanding of Customer Characteristics

An effective customer relationship management system can help your business learn more about your customers. Your knowledge of your customers can help your company design better products. It also improves the services that you provide to your customers.

Take for example Effective Logistics. They have a good understanding of the different needs and wants of their customers. They use this knowledge to customise their product offerings. They are also more proactive since they now have an idea of what their customers are looking for in such companies. You can visit Effective Logistics website to have an idea of what we mean.

An effective CRM can help you gain a better understanding of the reasons why they purchase your products. You can use this information to further improve on their buying experiences. Customer relationship management also gives you an idea of who your loyal customers are. You can then create a programme that will further increase their loyalty to your brand.

Your business is in a much better position to anticipate their needs. This is because you have an in-depth knowledge of who your customers are and what they want from you. You can start creating a solution to these perceived needs before they become actual necessities. If your business is proactive enough, more customers will want to stay loyal with your brand.

Improves the Efficiency of Your Business

There is one very important reason why many successful organisations always employ CRM in their operations. It can improve the overall efficiency of the business. Whether you want to admit it or not, your main concern is to drive the profitability of your company.

Having more customers can give you the profits that your business needs. However, you should also not overlook the importance of minimising, if not eliminating wastage. Customer relationship management systems can help you create a more efficient workflow for your employees. You will never waste time and resources on things that do not have an impact in the experiences of your customers.

CRM systems promote efficiency in businesses. It allows them to organise certain aspects of their operations. They can also use CRM information in the automation of different things. Business analytics, sales processes, and marketing campaigns can benefit a lot from the information generated by customer relationship management systems.

Streamlining the different processes can save a company a lot of time, effort, and resources. They can focus more on what really matters to customers. This minimises wastage, making your profits more significant.

Optimises Your Interactions with Your Customers

Your knowledge of your customers can give you the advantage of creating more meaningful interactions with them. Being proactive gives your customers the feeling that you are looking out for their welfare. You are always looking for more ways to improve their experiences with your products and services.

Your marketing and sales team can use CRM data to customise their interactions with customers. They are more knowledgeable. It gives the impression that you know what they want and that your business exists only for them.

Fosters Brand Loyalty

An effective customer relationship management system can help you build brand loyalty by providing customers with more remarkable experiences. You get to streamline the different processes that each customer has to go through. You make it easy for them to avail of your products and enjoy the different benefits that such products provide. You also get to reach out to at-risk accounts and be more proactive in addressing their concerns. This is one way you can dissuade them from turning their backs on your company.

Keeping your customers happy will make them very loyal followers. They will serve as brand ambassadors. They will tell their friends and acquaintances about their experiences with your company. Not only are you building brand loyalty; you are also expanding your customer base.

These things can translate into more revenues for your business. Think about this. If you can reduce customer defection rate by at least 5 percent, you have the chance to increase your profits by as much as 85 percent.

An effective customer relationship management can help your business achieve your bottom line. It strengthens the very foundation of your company. After all, a business without customers is not a business at all.

The Customer Really Is Always Right

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StrategyDriven Customer Relationship Management Article |Customer Care|The Customer Really Is Always RightIf you are a new startup, the chances are that you are overwhelmed by the amount of things that you need to get done. While you were once a specialist, you are now having to be a Jack of all trades. As well as being the owner, you are now the marketing executive, the financial guru, the social media manager, the reprographics assistant, the web designer and the coffee maker. You have a business plan to write and you might not even know where to start.

While you might be obsessed by getting all of your financial ducks in a row, securing funding for your business and ensuring that you have a buoyant cash flow, you need to consider the customer experience that you provide.

Your new venture will live or die depending on the reviews it receives. Nowadays, people venture online in the first instance when they are looking to research a company. Consumers are now incredibly savvy and want to know more about the startups that they are looking to do business with. If you are keen to hone your positive reputation, you need to have a policy in place that recognizes that the customer is always right.

Under Promise And Over Deliver

As a new startup, you have an array of already well established rivals to compete with. This means you need to solidify your reputation immediately. Ensure that you have a policy of under promising and over delivering. If you know that you can deliver a product in forty eight hours, ensure that you state that you’ll have it delivered in seventy two. This is an effective way of trading. When your customer sees that their item is on their doorstep seemingly a day early, they will assume that you have gone the extra mile. This creates a positive buzz and warm fuzzy feeling about you. This emotive response is vital if you are to encourage positive feedback.

First Contact

When a customer first makes contact with you, they need to feel inspired and confident that your company will provide what they need whether this is legal representation or a custom made tee shirt. An answering service for lawyers is perfect for those legal firms that want a polite and professional representative for their potential clients. Outsourcing this sort of service also means that you are more free to deal with more pressing area of your business vision.

If customers contact you via Facebook or Twitter, respond speedily. You can also utilize a less formal and corporate voice. Converse with your potential customers in a chattier tone and enjoy selling and marketing your wares on social media. If this will take up too much of your time or you are not au fait with social media, consider outsourcing this to a professional. These professionals will work with you to achieve your online and customer service goals through analytics and market research.

StrategyDriven Customer Relationship Management Article |Customer Care|The Customer Really Is Always RightIncentivize

While you can’t pay for positive feedback as this is not ethically sound, you can incentivize your customers to leave a review of any kind. When people receive the services or goods that they expect, they aren’t inclined to leave a review. However, if someone is let down or feels hard done by when dealing with a company, they will be proactive in seeking out ways to get their voice heard. You need to incentivize those people who are happy with your service. When you deliver items, place little discount cards in the packaging stating that your customers can receive twenty per cent off of their next order if they leave a review. Ensure that you have a range of platforms that accept reviews of your company such as Amazon, Trustpilot, Feefo and your social media channels.

Social media is the key platform that your potential customer base will flock towards when researching your company. If they spot a swathe of negative feedback, they won’t do business with your startup and will move onto another company providing the service or product they need. You need to hone those positive reviews. Any complaint (and you will receive them) needs to be dealt with promptly. Keep the customer informed and say sorry. Anything aired on social media is public so respond professionally and remain committed to resolving any issues.

You could have all of the funding that you need, a perfect supply chain and incredible cash flow, but if you don’t have the customer backing and reviews, your company will not survive. Provide an exceptional customer experience and your business will thrive.

Why Your Customers Need Choice

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StrategyDriven Customer Relationship Management Article |Consumers|Why Your Customers Need ChoiceThe consumer world today is filled with options. Consumers no longer have to pay with cash or credit card. They don’t have a limited choice of high street shops to get the things that they need. They can choose from countless online shops, offering similar products. Ranges are enormous, and the options are numerous. It can be hard for a small business to keep up. But, you should make some effort to offer at least the basic choices to your customers. Here’s why.

Offer Choice Because Everyone Else Does

Because we’re so used to choice, we expect it, but we also need it. When it comes to paying, for example, there’s no longer just one way to do it. Shops, both online and in-store, give us options. We have different banks and kinds of card. Some people use Apple Pay for all online purchases. Others prefer PayPal. This means that your customers will have their own payment preferences. If you don’t offer them different payment gateway choices, you risk losing custom if they haven’t got what they need to complete a transaction.

Another area that you need to offer choice is the methods in which your customers contact you. Many businesses today speak to their customers via Facebook Messenger, but you may have customers that don’t have a Facebook account. Offer your customers plenty of options, and there’s no chance that someone will be unable to contact you if they need to. This can boost loyalty, improve the service that you can offer, and give you much greater opportunities to keep in touch.

You Need to Offer An Easy Service

If you want your customers to keep coming back, you need to make things easy for them. Offering them choices like how to pay, how to shop, product ranges and different services can make their shopping experience much easier.

More Choice Can Help You To Grow

When it comes to products, giving your customers choices of styles, colours, price points, services and sizes can help you to grow your business. It means that you’ll be able to offer something for everyone, appealing to a broader market. It also means that your customers will keep coming back for more. Say you sell clothes, if they love a dress, and you release the same one in different colors or prints, they’ll buy more, especially if it’s a great fit and good quality.

But There Is Such a Thing as Too Much Choice

While you want to offer exceptional service, an easy experience and enough options to keep your customers happy, you don’t want to dilute your brand, overwhelm your customers or make things confusing. Nor do you want to sacrifice the quality of your products so that you can offer more.

It’s vital that you work to find the right balance. Spend time finding ways to offer your customers the options that they need to make shopping as easy as possible. They should be able to find what they want and buy it easily, without having to worry about how they’ll pay. But, when it comes to products, listen to their feedback. Find out what people love, ask them what kind of options and extras they might want, and don’t offer too much. Make sure quality is your priority.