In today’s modern marketplace, gaining a customer starts with the Herculean task of gaining their attention – and then keeping it. With more options, more noise and more distraction, it has never been more important to gain highly valuable customers – and then keep them around.
Your company’s churn rate – the percentage of subscribers to a service that discontinue their subscription – is a key indicator of your growth. If that churn rate comes too close to your number of new customers, you’re in serious trouble. So how do you keep people around?
1. Know Who You’re Looking For
Sticky customers – those who have loyalty to your brand, who stick around year after year – are tough to come by. And they’re not always easy to identify in the wild. Advanced research into your customer database can provide you with the knowledge you need to identify those customers you want to stick around.
2. Know What They Want
Once you’ve identified your best customers, you need to figure out how to make them happy. You need to know what services or products they already have, which ones they’ve already researched, which they’re most likely going to pair with what they already have.
3. Offer The Right Offer
Targeting is nothing new for marketers. We’ve been tailoring marketing messages by demographics or buying history for years. But the key is synchronizing those offers, distributing that knowledge to all points of customer contact so that however the customer interacts with you, they’re receiving the optimal marketing offer.
4. Meet Customer Expectations
It’s easy to say – though hardly easy to execute – that your product and services should meet your customers’ expectations. But so should your marketing. Your customers expect a universal understanding of their experience with your brand. Whether they go into the store, call support or visit your website, your customers expect the same experience – and people who know who they are. Don’t let them down.
5. Remind Them Of Your Value
Marketing to your customers shouldn’t only include trying to upsell them on a bundle or adding to their latest purchase. Your customers shouldn’t feel like you want something from them every time they interact with you. Part of your marketing mix needs to be communication about the value your customers are already receiving from you – and your gratitude that they’re there.
Are you maximizing every interaction with your customers?
