Focus on customer retention. It’s your company’s strongest asset. You may have an amazing product, but how strong is your business? One way to find out is to consider where you put your values. Your employees and the people you serve should be at the top. Of course, a quality product is important. But the success of a business depends largely upon the longevity of its clients. And your ability to prevent your customers from going to a competitor has a lot to do with your company culture and attitude. You’ll be ahead of the pack If you prioritize how your team interacts with clients. Think of customer retention as a company’s strongest asset.
So how do you build a company that’s customer-centric? It’s simple. To begin with, your whole team should engage in day-to-day connections. No matter what their role or title, everyone should spend time hearing both the pain points and positive testimonials firsthand. Next, be uber available. Leave no phone calls or emails unanswered. Don’t miss out on any opportunities to connect with clients. And lastly, take nothing for granted. Clients’ needs are ever evolving. Just because they’re your customers now doesn’t mean they’ll be your customers forever. Here are some ideas for how to retain your customers in today’s market:
Use Your Whole Team
Once you find the right mix of people for your team, prioritize training them. Team members at every level in your organization should be well equipped to represent your brand, mission, and values. Your employees are your most beneficial investment. Use them well! Try rotating who attends trade shows or business dinners to be sure everyone’s involved in customer interactions. Have all employees all pick up the office phone or respond to email inquiries. When your customers realize that it’s a group effort, they’ll feel more connected with your company. That’s how you’ll get customer retention.
Each of your employees has unique strengths and skills. Be sure to find your employees’ talents and use them to your advantage. Make it your company’s culture to roll up your sleeves and get in the action. Consumer loyalty is rooted in trust, and people trust people over chatbots, websites and emails. Clients want to feel valued, treated fairly, and appreciated by your business. Over time, personalized efforts with your customers will develop into deeper connections, and eventually loyalty.
“If the people who are serving the customer are not happy, committed, and passionate about what they’re doing, the whole experience is going to suck.”
~ Jeffery Hollender, Cofounder of the American Sustainable Business Network and former CEO of Seventh Generation
Always Answer the Phone
Response time is important. Slow service and support can kill retention, so pick up the phone, answer the email, pop in to say hello. Be sure you’re easy to contact. It’s like any relationship, and all these touch points matter for your customers. Building a culture of listening to and caring for customers will help you gain a competitive edge. And at the end of the day, what matters is how your employees engage with others.
It’s OK that everything feels like it’s always changing in business. These changes impact all of us. So, it’s key to work to solve any issues or concerns as soon as they arise. Pick up the phone and schedule a face-to-face meeting. If a process or product changes, be sure that everyone knows about it. When your employees are informed and available, customers can feel it. Educate your team on how things work — so they will know what to do if they aren’t working. And remember that customer feedback is crucial. If their needs are not being met, the business cannot survive. So, ask, ask, ask! And always be available to step in with assistance.
