Top 10 tips for customer retention and relationship building
As difficult as it may be right now, it is vital to reach out to your existing customers to strengthen your connections and build a high level of trust using all the wonderful technology already at your fingertips. You may even capture new customers.
We have put together 10 customer retention tips for Parramatta businesses. The following are realistic actions that Realise Business advisors can help you implement now.
- Create considered communications – Support your clients and those relationships but be honest about what you can and cannot deliver right now. Keep service information updated across all platforms, highlighting reduced opening hours or possible restrictions and delays.
- Develop your digital offerings – Review your services and products and consider whether these can be moved online for contactless delivery and payments. For example, many restaurants streamlined their menus and transformed service offerings so that customers can order and pay by phone or online, then quickly collect the meal or stay home for delivery.
- Optimise your online experience – Think about how your clients interact with your business online and consider how you can make life easier for them to do business with you right now. Social media platforms like Facebook Messenger are a great tool where customers can ask questions or get clarification about your current service offering, opening hours, products and more. Develop a Facebook Messenger strategy and assign someone in your business to monitor queries and use it as a key customer communication tool.
- Put your values front and centre – In times of crisis people are prone to question values and mull over life’s meaning, so communicating your business values and purpose is worthwhile. A useful exercise is to revisit your vision statement and perhaps update it so it makes sense in the current crisis. When you have updated your vision statement let your customers know about it through social media by creating engaging social media posts using words and images. Use free tools like Canva to create social media graphics and share your vision on your website and through other digital marketing channels.
- Use social media to show up – You may need to dramatically scale back your business, but don’t disappear. Your loyal clients need you more than ever to give a sense of normality to their lives. Draw on nostalgia at this time and post old images of your products and your team to ensure you remain top of mind. Or, if you have been working on new products or services, create a bit of anticipation about exciting news to come. Also, engage with customer’s social media posts to demonstrate that you are thinking about them.
- Create trustworthy content for your customers – Many of your customers may be based at home for weeks and months. They will have more time to reflect, seek information and make changes to their healthcare, wellbeing, diet and home maintenance routines. Make sure your website, social media and other content reflects the COVID-19 realities but also offers ideas and support for your customers. For example, if you have a healthcare practice provide email bulletins or newsletters with wellness tips. Creating trustworthy content now will build up your business reputation and brand over the longer term.
- Keep your team informed – Strengthen your internal lines of communication too. Make sure everyone who works for the business receives updates on business changes promptly. Supporting the employees who directly serve your customers is key to business survival, as they will communicate responsible, proactive measures, such as new working processes and hygiene measures, and can convey positivity to your customers.
- Embrace the time to update your business plan – Pandemic shockwaves may have rocked your business foundations, but they have formed a situation where many business owners suddenly have more time. Use the time wisely and work with a Realise Business Advisor to review your business plan for the next 1 to 5 years. Doing so will help you to address current challenges and also set targets for the months ahead. A business plan helps with resilience, and planning will allow you to capitalise on new opportunities as they arise.
- Use free or low-cost email marketing platforms to update customer information – Now is the time to document everything you know about your customers so you can develop targeted marketing messages – now and in the future. Email marketing platforms like Mail Chimp allow you to break your customers up into groups based on their purchasing habits. That means you can target customers with messages and offers that are directly relevant to them in the future, improving customer engagement and your chances they will make a purchase.
- Organise a free business advisory session – There has never been a more relevant time to work on your business. Realise Business advisors are available to assist you with customer retention strategies that will build your business resilience and put you in the right place to capitalise on the opportunities ahead.
