You Only Need 2 Customer Retention Strategies

This week I received an information piece offering me 30 customer retention strategies.

I was intrigued why do you need 30?

I downloaded and read the suggestions. Quite an eclectic mix. They’d included sending birthday cards, giving my office a make-over and firing D class clients.

Customer retention is crucial to any business but adding 30 things to your already busting to do list just isn't realistic.

A robust growth strategy for any business is customer retention alongside new customer acquisition. We all know that recruiting new customers is around five times more expensive than retaining them, so it makes financial sense to hang on to the ones you have; it saves a lot of effort too.

Assuming you want to retain all your clients, and that's not always the case, what should you be doing?

I believe there’s 2 things that should be the heart and soul of everything your business does. If you want to call them strategies that’s fine but it’s more about your ethos, your mission your Why. Get these 2 right and you won’t need 30 other customer retention strategies.

1. Do a Really Great Job For Every Customer, Every Time.

Make sure you add value, over deliver, give your client a great experience perhaps a few nice surprises. In the words of Seth Godin, “Be Remarkable”. Give superior customer service, every time without fail; be consistently consistent.

Do what you say you’ll do for the right price at the right time and make sure you get it right first time. If not have a fabulous customer compliant process that wow’s an unhappy client.

2. Treat your customers well.

My husband has a saying “treat everyone like the first time you met them”. This means treating them all with respect. Keep in touch and connected but remember it’s their agenda not yours. Be truly interested in their business, in their challenges, and in their problems. You’ll need to be proactive; don't wait for them to call you, show them you value them.

This is where you build the relationship which, over time becomes a trusted relationship. Learn about your customer, get to know them let them get to know you.

Know – Like – Trust.

Yes, there's lots of gimmicks that you could use but if you treat your customer well and do a really great job then you'll not only retain their custom, you’ll have fabulous brand advocates who’ll recommend you to others. A win-win and just 2 things to get right. 28 things you didn't have to put on your to do list!