Customer Retention Strategies Small Business Owners Can Start Today

 

Customer retention is one of the most important parts of running a business, and it is something every business owner should constantly be trying to improve. Retaining your current customers gives you a solid base of repeat business that you can build on. Instead of using new revenue to fill in for lost business, your foundation of repeat business allows new business to go towards growth. Customer retention is not easy, but there are some strategies you can follow to keep customers coming back for more product.

Make it a Company Initiative

Customer retention should be something that is part of the job description for every person in your organization and not just sales and customer service. Everyone from the marketing team to the product packers in your warehouse should be constantly concerned with ways to give a customer the best possible experience.

Focus on the Customer Experience

One of the problems many small business owners have with customer retention is that they have a shallow view of how to handle customer issues. Instead of simply focusing on solving the problem, it is necessary to stay focused on the overall customer experience. For example, if a customer has a complaint about a product, you should analyze that complaint and anticipate issues with future products as well. By staying focused on the customer experience, you will create more loyal and dedicated customers.

Utilize Your CRM Platform

Even small businesses need to invest in a good customer relationship management (CRM) platform. With a proactive CRM platform, you can constantly learn about your customer base and find ways to provide better service. These days, CRM platforms not only allow you to take detailed notes on clients, but they can also reach out across the Internet and find information on your clients that you can use for retention purposes.

Stay Involved

As your small business grows, it will become difficult for you to stay intimately involved in the dealings with every client. But for those customers who are used to you being involved, you should consider staying involved and personally overseeing any transitions to new sales representatives or account managers. Staying involved in your business not only helps to retain customers, but it keeps you informed on consumer trends that are important to your business.

Add a Small Personal Touch

One of the things that a good CRM platform can do is help find customer birthdays and other personal information. While you do not want to overdo it with personal touches, the occasional birthday card or a handwritten note thanking a client for a big sale is always appropriate.

Small businesses grow into larger businesses because they retain their client base and use new revenue for growth. In the world of small business, retaining customers is one of the single most important business processes a business owner will ever utilize. If you want your small business to thrive, then you need to focus on your customers and make sure that you provide the kind of service that makes customers ignore your competition.