Customer retention is one of the most important ways a company can grow its business. While new customers are essential for a business’s success, existing customers that make additional purchases can provide more value to a company for a lower cost of advertising and outreach. A customer who has purchased your product may already be educated on your business and may be willing to purchase again with a small amount of encouragement. In this article, we provide a list of 16 strategies that you can use to help encourage customers to make repeat purchases.
Effective customer retention strategies
While working toward your goal to retain customers, consider using a combination of many different strategies. By using multiple methods for customer retention, you can analyze which methods are most successful among your target audience. You may discover that you lose customers at a certain point in the buying process and will then be able to focus your retention efforts on the area that needs it the most. The following strategies can support customer retention throughout different points in the sales process:
Onboarding
Self-service
Setting expectations
Collecting feedback
Newsletters
Referrals
Tracking customer communication
Providing incentives
Corporate responsibility
Convenience
Personalization
Specialized offers
Following through
Subscriptions
Using testimonials
Giving thanks
Onboarding
One way to avoid losing customers is to create an easy-to-use way for customers to learn about your product. To ensure your customers understand your product or service as soon as they begin using it, consider creating an onboarding system that familiarizes customers with the technical skills required to use what you’re selling and the uses for it.
These systems typically include instructional videos, downloadable PDFs or ebooks, or live customer service support. When customers understand the practical applications for what they’re using, they are more likely to achieve the goals that led them to buy your product.
Self-service
Another strategy for retaining customers entails making them feel empowered about their choices. To do this, you can provide methods for customers to obtain and trade information about your product with each other. For example, you could have a community forum on your website where users can post questions that other users answer.
Setting expectations
Be clear with your customers about what they can expect when doing business with you. Make sure you are offering a competitive service, but avoid making unrealistic promises. Customers whose experiences align with their expectations are more likely to continue using your product.
Collecting feedback
When customers feel that their ideas and feedback are appreciated, they may feel more positively toward a product or brand. Actively asking for and acknowledging feedback can strengthen your relationship with a customer. This strategy can also help customers share their expectations and allow you to evaluate areas for improvement.
