Getting new customers is like going on a first date. But how many “dates” lead to customer retention? CRM might be your best wingman.
For a first date you have to make sure you gelled your hair enough to avoid an Alfalfa moment but not too much to cause the great oil spill of 2017. You have enough money to pay for the antipasto appetizer all the way to the fondue dessert. Finally, you have to be confident yet humble, personable yet mysterious, funny but not offensive.
It’s no small feat to put yourself out there.
When the first date is over, you go your separate ways and you can breathe a sigh of relief. You got through it without getting any spinach stuck in your teeth.
However, the real test comes a few days later. Was the introduction of yourself enough to convince someone else that they would like to explore more with you? That they share the same interests as you? Was it enough that it warrants a second date and perhaps beyond?
This is how your business should be viewing your initial and future relations with customers. The difference between guessing if there will be a second date, or in your case, if there will be a returning customer/ purchase, is that you have access to Customer Relationship Management software (CRM).
While CRM is universally ideal for conventional business functionality, it is even more ideal for generating leads on customer retention. CRM manages and tracks the demographics and responses new and returning customers have on your business and its marketing.
If you are unfamiliar with CRM, it is a tool that organizes a business’s relationships with those who engage with it albeit employees, contractors, and the customers. In other words, it’s a digital platform for streamlining support in various kinds of context.
Where is the value in customer retention?
Existing customers are the ones that viewed your company trustworthy enough to continue funding your work or products. With customer retention, you already have higher monthly conversion rates.
Because repeat customers tend to repurchase the services or goods required for their demographical needs, you know how and what to market towards them. This lowers your overall marketing budget cost because half of your demographic is already accounted for and designed for.
If you are interested in cross selling services to existing customers, you have a greater chance of doing so as compared to new customers. Because established customer retention indicates trust in your company, these same customers may be more inclined to venture in experimenting in your other offers.
The bottom line is that you cannot forget about your existing customers. New customers are exciting but old ones are dependable for long lasting revenue.
Are you taking your customer retention for granted?
Organizations can sometimes feel that having outstanding products or services is guarantee enough for customer retention. This may be the case in some scenarios, but assuming your products alone without a relationship is enough, is not a sustainable strategy.
The moment customers get the impression that there is nobody to look after them and listen to their criticisms, they may choose to take their loyalty and their money elsewhere.
In fact, a 2016 study found that 22% of market consumers are more interested in a company’s customer experience than they are in their content marketing, mobile services, and even social media. The industry response to that is by 2018, over 50% of business “will redirect their investments to customer experience innovations”.
What is the role of CRM in customer retention?
A CRM system helps build relationship by knowing how to engage and interact with different customers. A CRM software grants you access to a database of customers, their actions, and their reviews/surveys.
Here are 7 ways to ensure customer retention with CRM:
- Examine purchase histories:
If you really take care of your profitable current customers, there is no reason why they would leave you. All you need to do is be watchful of their purchase history: what they want, when they tend to buy, and how often their react to a prompted service/ incentive.
Examining a six- month purchase history of your customers should be sufficient enough to know who buys the most and most frequently from your business. CRM allows you to keep an easily accessible metric account those records.
- Track marketing campaigns:
CRM can give you direct access to your marketing campaigns’ results. You can measure the success of your campaign, which you can accordingly modify, add to, or drop midway if the results are not to your satisfaction.
You can also see which campaigns has the most effective on various demographics, including existing customers.
- Reward your loyal customers:
Your CRM system data can show you your most profitable customers or those making the most purchases. This kind of insight not only tells you how often and how much they buy your services, but who simply spends the most time on your website and with your brand.
Rewarding this interaction with your brand is wonderful for customer retention. It’s acknowledging them for playing a role in your company’s growth. Rewards can be incentives, discounts, points, and personal engagement, whatever is most valued for your industry.
- Customize your offers:
Your demographics are available in a CRM. This means you can manipulate your marketing campaigns to various regions, ages, and gender. You can usually help design these variations by viewing your customers’ related buying patterns on your CRM.
- Stay in touch with your customers:
The CRM system has a scheduler that reminds you of any appointments with your customers, whether it may be email, phone call or a meeting in person. CRM will remind that you or any of your company’s employees when to contact a customer. You customers should never feel forgotten and having a CRM system won’t let them.
- Improve customers’ overall experience:
With personalized and relevant communications, prompt services, value additions, and improved service offerings, you can enhance your customer’s overall experience. This is what makes them loyal to your product or services. A CRM software can provide the analytics and tools needed to make your customers feel valued at your company.
As previously stated, CRM cannot aid in the guessing game that is dating, but it can take the guessing out of customer retention.
eZnetCRM can help nurture meaningful customer engagement with existing customers. If you aren’t convinced enough, consider this- existing customers have friends and family. Don’t you want them to recommend your business to new customers?
Your customer retention through CRM is your gateway to continuous growth and continuous customer introduction. Find out how CRM fits into your industry.
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