What is your customer retention strategy?
That’s the plan you have in place to retain your customers.
That’s the plan you have in place which delivers on the promises you made when you acquired them as customers.
That’s the plan you have in place, which helps you grow your business.
That’s the plan you have in place, which helps to build a sustainable business.
Businesses spend hundreds and thousands of dollars every year on sales campaigns. Flashy advertising to entice people into buying their products and services. Amazing offers of benefits, world class solutions and life changing results. We see these glossy pitches all day everyday, wherever we look. But what comes after we sign on the dotted line?
I’m not too concerned about the bells and whistles and the bright shiny lights. What I’m interested in is how the business will deliver on their promise. I’m interested in getting actual return on my investment. Hopefully you are too.
How can we ensure that this happens? That what we promise to our customers is what we actually give them.
Before you start advertising and marketing your business, make sure you have the following in place:
1. Systems and processes
Not as exciting and sexy as sales and marketing campaigns, but an integral part of your business. Systems and processes can be equated to a framework. When building a house you need a strong supportive frame, keeping the house together and from crumbling over time or during bad weather. The frame is eventually hidden with wall coverings, ceilings and decor, but it is still there, holding things together. That is what systems and processes do for your business. They provide a strong supportive framework.
Well-structured processes and systems allow you to spend precious time on the important things such as your customers and leading your team. Think about the following processes in your business, and these are just a few to get you started. Do they exist? Do they add value? Do they need to be streamlined because they are causing bottlenecks or do they need to be created? When you convert a sale, what systems and processes do you have in place to support you?
- Customer on-boarding process
- Customer feedback and enquiry process
- Employee onboarding and training process
- Invoicing and debt collection
- Standard operating procedures SOP’s
- Health and Safety processes
2. Trained team
There is nothing worse than engaging with an employee within a business and they have no idea what’s going on. I don’t blame them, I blame the business owner for putting this individual into the situation in the first place.
One thing that a business wants to achieve with their customers is to build trust and loyalty. The only way this can happen is if the customer is completely convinced that the team members looking after them are competent.
Lack of trust and confidence will cause the customer to look elsewhere. Who would blame them?
Before putting your team members in front of the customer, give them the skills and tools to perform. Set them up for success.
Oh and by the way, they don’t automatically know what you know. They don’t necessarily have your know-how and expertise, and throwing them in the deep end is not recommended. Don’t assume. Train them.
3. After-Sales service
I observe a lot of businesses from the sidelines, and the one conversation that comes up time and time again is “what is your competitive advantage?”. Here’s the thing, having a competitive advantage is not about gifting your customers flash pens and tote bags or having a loyalty programme. The competitive advantage or the secret to excellent after-sales service is having a special ingredient in your business. This ingredient is the ability to be authentic, to show genuine care for the customer.
Genuine care is a hand-written note of thanks in the customers parcel, a genuine smile and acknowledgment when they walk through the front door. A follow-up call to check in on them. An unexpected email to update the customer on something you think they may be interested in. Personalised service.
I like to ask myself the question, “if this was my best mate, what would I do differently?”
The quickest way to lose a customer is for them to lose trust in your ability to deliver on your promise. If your customer doesn’t trust you, they will move on. Build trust by showing them you are not just fancy bells and whistles. Show them you have a strong framework of processes and systems, which won’t cause bottlenecks or cause them to fall through the cracks. Show them your team is well trained and will take care of them. Think about including some after-sales service or personalised services initiatives to not just stand out from the crowd, but to showcase your genuine desire to care for them.
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