Emily: (Sipping her coffee) Chris, have you ever noticed how some businesses, even startups manage to keep their customers coming back to them time and again? I believe there must be a secret recipe behind that.

Chris: (Nodding) You are right! It’s a puzzle that many entrepreneurs, including me, would like to solve. I agree that it’s quite important to attain new customers but retaining the existing ones is icing on the cake.

Emily: Exactly! Returning customers not only spend more, but they can also become your brand’s biggest advocates. But the question is how do we do that?

Chris: Well, it’s a combination of factors.

This conversation between two passionate entrepreneurs makes us think about a very important subject- Customer Retention i.e. How to turn one-time buyers into brand advocates. Let’s try to delve deeper into some strategies that can help you, as an entrepreneur, maximise customer retention.

Provide A Strong Onboarding Experience

When a customer visits your business online or offline, ensure that they have a memorable experience. If the customer is visiting the shop for the first time, the staff should be helpful, and if the customer is visiting the online shop, then the website experience should be smooth, from choosing the things they want to buy to payment. Other ways to ensure that the customer gets the best onboarding experience are – well-timed emails, follow-up messaging, and updates to excite and impress new clients.

Provide A Personalised Customer Experience

No two people are the same. Their choices and expectations can be totally different. To retain your customers, give them a personalised and tailored experience. Let’s take an example of a clothing store; customers coming to buy clothes are of different body structures with different body sizes. If they don’t find clothes that fit them, chances are they won’t return to your shop ever again. Offer personalised and tailored services to the customers, so that they feel more inclined to visit and buy from your store again.

Take Feedback From The Customer

To retain the customers, start asking for feedback on the services offered. It is where the customer feedback loop comes to help. It is a system that collects, analyses, and distributes surveys and customer reviews. Here are ways to collect customer feedback:

Run a survey
If you have a phone system, allow customers to give feedback after each interaction.
Feedback boxes

Once you have received the feedback, analyse it and make changes to enhance the user experience. Whenever customers provide product reviews, share them with the product team so that they can make the necessary changes to improve customer experience.

Send A Company Newsletter

A newsletter is a simple and cost-effective way to retain your customers, as these newsletters help enhance your company’s reputation and notability. You can use email automation to send emails to update your customers about the latest product releases, offers, discounts, and sales.

Reward Loyalty

Along with offers and discounts, customers love to receive thank-you notes. It makes them feel valued and appreciated. Brands like Lifestyle, Shopper’s Stop and others have cashback and loyalty points for recurring customers. They also provide coupons to their returning customers so that they can keep coming back to shop with them.

Provide Quick Delivery Options

There was a time when customers would wait for days to get the products they ordered. However, with the coming of online businesses like Amazon and Flipkart, customers expect faster delivery of their products. To make sure your customer comes back to the shop from a store again, make the delivery experience faster for them.

Foster A Positive Customer Connection

Corporate Social Responsibility is a vital part of any business, and customers would feel proud to be associated with companies that give back to the community. P&G- Proctor and Gamble’s programme named P&G Shiksha allows customers to give back to the community by buying P&G products. Every time they buy a product, part of the payment goes towards educating underprivileged children.

Provide Empathetic Customer Service

Every customer dreads talking to a customer service representative. The long wait can make the experience torturous, and some people don’t understand what the chatbots are trying to convey. So, if you want to retain your customers, provide excellent customer service to foster a positive relationship with them.

As an entrepreneur, you must understand that it is the customer who is the writer of your success story. Implementing these customer retention strategies will not only help in speedy success but will create a legacy that speaks volumes about the quality and value you offer to your customers. With the right focus on customer retention, you’re not just chasing success; you’re living it.