The difference between businesses that thrive and those that don’t do so well is their ability to retain their faithful customers.

The more customers you can keep as your business is growing, the more likely you are to achieve your profit targets using pos software

Some budding businessmen tend to focus too much on customer acquisition, but the old combatants know that customer retention is just as important. Latest research shows that selling to an existing customer is six to seven times cheaper than selling to a new one.

When approaching the subject of customer retention, the biggest question for many managers is where to begin.

In this article, I am going to share with you the top 5 practical customer retention strategies that you can use to keep your existing customers happy over the long-term and see your profits grow.

1. Customer Retention Is Something You’ve Got To Work For

The most delusion that businessmen around the world fall for is the idea that if they offer a great product or service, then customer retention will follow naturally over time.

And, while this might be the case sometimes, the harsh reality is that this strategy only works over a short period of time. Sadly, sooner or later, your customers may just … walk away!

My experience shows that as soon as you start taking your loyal customers for granted, they will come to think that you no longer care about them. Consequently, they will leave for good.

So, what’s the morale?

You need to keep on trying and earn customers’ trust and loyalty, while at the same time pay the due respect to the ones that have become more or less a fixture at your café or small restaurant.

Having an effective retention program gives the very identity of your retail business, be it a coffee shop or a fast food pavilion.

The businesses that “get this” consciously invest in customer retention, because they are aware of its mighty importance.

2. Never Underestimate the Power of Buying Out of Habit

Better conversion rates this is the scientific name of the trend we all share. To put it more simply, existing customers have already bought from you, so unless they’ve had a really bad experience, they will buy from you over and over again.

You’ve already earned their trust, inspired their confidence in your product, and you even know enough about them to identify their needs and predict their desired.

If you focus on retaining your existing clientele, you will not need to worry so much about fresh advertising strategies, because your old customers are already familiar with your brand and your logo. In addition, it makes much more sense to ask your old customers about a feedback if you see sales aren’t yielding very much.

Selling to existing customers is less focused on price, meaning that your frequent clients will buy your goods or services regardless of any seasonal promotions or discounts.

3. The More You Know About Your Existing Customers, The Better

The more you know about your existing customers, the better you can tailor your offers approach to each and every one of them and the more likely you are to retain them in the long run

It’s a good idea to review a customer’s purchase history, so that you can determine what kind of offer will be the most appealing to each of them. Thus, your brands image will remain forever fresh in their minds.

As a next step you should identify ways to revive their interest and convert it into actual profit! You can do it by offering them loyalty discounts, or something of that nature to show them that they are really special.

3. VIP Customer Isn’t Just a Name Tag

Most small and medium-sized business owners tend to give away VIP client cards, unheedful of the responsibility that the gesture entails.

These special tokens should only be granted to those of your customers, who you really don’t want to let go of, your key accounts. For this reason, they can rightfully be called VIPs.

Knowing who brings you the most of your profits allows you to allocate your time and resources to serving them, so that they can feel really important.

These guys buy on bulk from you and do it frequently. You can, and you should, encourage their loyalty with a free giveaway every time they come by. In reality, eighty percent of the profits of the small and medium sized businesses across the USA is generated by just 20% of their customers.

4. The Power of Personalization

Let’s say you are selling made-to-measure woodwork. Instead of staring your offer with “Dear Client”, start it with their first and last name.

A relationship is something that is established between people, and the more personal you get from the onset, the more likely you are to retain your customer for good

5. Keep Your Word

When you promise something to your customer, always keep your word. I remember that Domino’s once rose up the banner “30 minutes or free”, suggesting that customers get a free pizza if the delivery takes longer than half an hour.

Well, let’s just say their franchises in Southeastern Europe have never heard about that promise. So, do not promise something to your customer only because you think it sounds great, or because a friend of yours suggested it might hook up new clients.

If you want to retain all of your existing customers, you should always keep your word. If this means you’ve got to walk the extra mile for them, you’d better pull your socks up and do it without any delay.

If you are having difficulties right now, better spare your faithful clients any bombastic slogans and far-fetched, unattainable promises.

Final Thoughts

The importance of customer retention lies in our sentimental nature. We all are, to a greater or lesser extent, driven by our good memories of a place and the nice service we received there. Hence the importance of my top 5 customer retention tips to the success and prosperity of your business!

To read more on topics like this, check out the business category.