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No business can expect to survive if it does not establish a loyal customer base. This is easier said than done, though. It can take years to build a solid foundation of customers who will continue to come back to use your service. For small businesses, this is especially difficult. You do not have the profile of larger companies in your industry.
There are steps you can take to both find and retain your initial customers, though. With the correct approach to customer service, marketing, and recruitment, it is much easier for your business to keep customers coming back for more. With that in mind, here are seven ideas to give you the tools to retain customers and build your reputation as a company worth working alongside.
Segment Your Marketing
Marketing segmentation is an excellent way to appeal to the needs of different customers. If you have a diverse number of services, not everything will appeal to everyone. Therefore, segmenting newsletters and deals based on their shopping habits will help keep them interested without spamming their inbox.
You can achieve marketing segmentation through a weekly newsletter. Your customers will need to sign up for the newsletter on your site, and you can adjust what information is sent to them based on their habits. While one customer may focus more on wholesale items, another might look at one-off products. Segmenting the marketing will only send products and services based on previous habits, cutting the fat and keeping them coming back for more.
Make Yourself Available
One of the most significant issues with retaining customers is not being available enough. This is challenging as a small business with few employees who can dip in and out of customer service duties. There is always something else to do, but focusing on other tasks means you could miss out on a sale and even drive potentially loyal customers elsewhere.
To avoid this, you need to give customers the tools to contact you whenever they need it. Some businesses opt to do this through social media, where they can get an immediate response. This is not the only option, though, and the likes of www.virtualoffice.melbourne can also give your customers a direct line for any queries and questions they might have.
Being available at all times will show your customers you care about them. It saves them looking for another business that might not provide high-quality service and ensures they will come back because they know they can trust you.
Reward Loyalty
Rewarding customer loyalty is a fantastic way to retain your valued customers. Any business that cares about bringing one-time customers back for more must consider the benefits of offers, deals, discounts, and loyalty programs.
If your customers feel valued, they will be happy to continue using your service. You can reward their loyalty with things such as free shipping after they spend a certain amount as well as general after-sales services, although this is something your business should consider regardless.
Loyalty programs can also convince customers to come back for more. The allure of getting something after using your service a certain amount of times, whether five, ten, or more, will encourage them to fulfill these offers. Even better, a discount on their first order will give them the drive to try your service again, especially if they deem it a high-quality experience.
Make The Experience Better
The overall customer experience is something every business needs to focus on if they want to keep their customers and even find new ones along the way. This experience often depends on the nature of your service. For online stores, simple navigation that allows them to browse in peace (so one pop-up offer at most) will keep them on the site and give them the chance to find whatever they need.
For retail stores, things are slightly different. A welcoming atmosphere is a must, as is a logical layout that will prevent people from getting lost in the store, no matter how small it is. You should also consider how to make it easier for customers to may. There is such a variety of payment options available that this should not be difficult. If you can appeal to all payment options, such as traditional credit cards as well as smartphone payments, you can appeal to customers on all sides.
Update Your Website
Your website is normally the first contact customers have with your business, and this is why it is always beneficial for you to update it and keep it regularly updated. A quality website is part of the overall customer experience, and there are other elements to consider besides simple navigation and a lack of bothersome pop-ups.
First, you need to make your website easy on the eyes. Consider calming colors such as blue, and make it easy to read. A contrasting font will do this. Second, you should think about webpage load times. Too slow, and there is a risk that your customers will go elsewhere. The optimal website load time is anywhere under two seconds. You can achieve this by optimizing your site through plug-ins and cutting down on bandwidth-strangling media.
Many businesses try to design the company website themselves. This is not always a good idea if you don’t have the experience. Instead, working with a professional web designer will ensure your website looks the part and keeps customers coming back.
Train Your Staff
Customers want to engage with respectful, well-train staff members. If your team is trained in every aspect of your business, your customers are assured excellent customer service from the moment they walk into your store to the moment they leave.
However, some businesses fail to do this and instead give everyone a rigid role within their department. While this can mean each department is entirely knowledgeable, it can also cause issues, especially when people are off on vacation leave or absent through illness.
Providing consistent training that spreads the knowledge throughout your small team will increase the chances of offering the best service possible, which is what customers want from a company. They will know that they can get the information they need whenever they come to your store without needing to worry about getting incorrect information that could affect the quality or success of their purchase.
Implement Feedback
Customer feedback is not just something you offer to customers to make them think they have a say in your business. This feedback can often show you weaknesses in your company that you hadn’t realized beforehand. If left unchecked, there is a risk that it will ruin the customer experience, which will drive them away from your business.
Post-sales surveys are an excellent way to get customer feedback, and you can see which issues continue to crop up before taking steps to change the way things are done. You needn’t listen to all feedback, of course, but you should focus on the most common problems.
You will need to do this as often as you can, especially if you want to retain customers. If they see you have made suggested changes (you can even send an email update about these changes), your customers will see you have their best interests in mind.
Service With a Smile
You cannot expect these customers to accept yours as the business where they can get everything they need from a service. Like many things in life and the sphere of business, it takes time and patience. However, by identifying which methods are most suitable for you, it will be much easier to appeal to loyal customers and ensure your business has a solid foundation to build the success you need.
