Date: February 4, 2020
Category: Blog
Loyal customers are the back-bone of every business. Sure, bringing in new customers is important, but by retaining customers you can expect a lot…. With a 5% increase in customer retention, comes a potential increase in profitability of up to 75% (Bain & Co.). So, how do you prevent your customers from breaking-up with you?
Your relationship with your customer is just the same as any other relationship. If you want to keep your customer happy, steer clear of these pitfalls…
Not Being Attentive Enough
Being there for your customers when they need you is important. In a modern world, it can be easy to rely on technology and automatic processes to look after your customers, when in reality, your customer will be more appreciative of the basics…
• Personalise your customer interactions.
• Take the time to find out what your customer really needs.
• Appreciate and respect your customers.
• Go the extra mile.
Econsultancy found that 83% of consumers require some degree of customer support while making an online purchase.
You don’t have to pester your customer, but the option for them to contact you for help, at any point, should be there.
Being too Clingy
On the flip-side, as much as you need to be attentive and look after your customer, you also need to give them their space. Finding that balance is important.
Customers don’t want to complete survey after survey, to receive constant sales calls, or to be repeatedly asked if there’s anything wrong with their product/service. In fact, by prematurely asking your customer if anything is wrong, you could knock their confidence- ‘If you’re asking whether something is wrong, then you must be expecting something to be wrong?’…
Be present, but not clingy. Simply make it easy for your customer to come to you when they need to.
Making Promises you Can’t Keep
It’s important to take suggestions from your customers, and to ask for feedback, but there should be a line between committing to working towards resolving issues and committing to resolving them there and then. Customers will be able to tell when your Customer Service Team are just telling them what they want to hear, and once they have you sussed, they’ll rapidly lose confidence in your brand.
An open, honest approach is always the best approach to take. Ask for your customers’ thoughts and feedback, and then work on improving your offering based on this.
Being a Bad Communicator
It’s important to keep your customers up to date and notify them of any progress, or changes, in good time. Giving customers multiple communication channels to choose from when receiving messages is just as important as providing multi-channel customer service.
But the most important part of being a good communicator, is listening. If you’re asking your customer for feedback, then you need to take on board what they’re saying- and then act on it. If you’re speaking with a customer directly, don’t speak over them or cut them short. To create a personalised experience for your customer, you need to understand their exact situation.
To find out how we can help stop your customers calling it quits, simply get in touch.
