{"id":6834,"date":"2014-03-13T15:06:45","date_gmt":"2014-03-13T15:06:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.123print.com\/blog\/?p=6834"},"modified":"2015-07-16T19:06:57","modified_gmt":"2015-07-16T19:06:57","slug":"5-more-customer-retention-tips","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.123print.com\/blog\/5-more-customer-retention-tips\/","title":{"rendered":"5 More Customer Retention Tips"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"5<\/a>Regardless of the specific products you sell or services you provide, competing within your industry likely requires creative and steadfast approaches to stay ahead of the game.\u00a0 Gaining customers is hard enough, but keeping them loyal to your organization calls for even greater focus, prompting a variety of customer retention strategies.<\/p>\n

Despite technological advances and changes in the way people communicate with one another, building loyal customers is usually accomplished by staying true to fundamental principles pre-dating social media and the World Wide Web.\u00a0 So what are some of the essential, proven approaches to retaining customers?<\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Deliver
\n<\/span>Precisely identifying your targeted customers’ needs is the first step toward building a loyal client base.\u00a0 Until you know exactly what your customers want, you’re ill-equipped to serve them for the long haul.\u00a0 While your products may be innovative; it is much easier to fill an existing need than it is to create a new one surrounding your goods and services.<\/p>\n

Start by delivering exactly what you promise every time.\u00a0 While you may not strike the perfect balance right out of the gate, refining your need-filling approach is impossible without a reputation for delivering.\u00a0 As long as you do what you say, customers are more willing to stick around as you evolve.\u00a0 And remember:\u00a0 Your clients’ needs change over time too, so don’t get too locked-in to your approach.\u00a0 Instead, be flexible to respond to your customers’ changing demands.\u00a0 They will recognize your commitment to their satisfaction and reward it with loyalty.<\/p>\n

Reflect Your Customers’ Values
\n<\/span>Consumers want to do business with organizations they feel comfortable with, so there is no better way to set them at ease than playing-up the similarities you both share.\u00a0 Consider examples in the clothing industry, where producers are called out for poor labor practices.\u00a0 More than one clothing manufacturer has learned the hard way that people don’t want to align themselves with making use of child labor or exploiting third-world production standards.<\/p>\n

Mirror the ethics of your customers, and they will return to you as a nod to their perception of shared values.<\/p>\n

Give Them Something
\n<\/span>One of the hardest concepts for bottom-line businesses to embrace is the value of giving things away.\u00a0 Coupons, frequent-buyer programs and other incentives offering discounts and savings land extremely well with value-oriented customers.\u00a0 The benefits extend even further as efforts to offer loyalty incentives ramp-up \u2014 but the monetary value of a gift is not always the linchpin for success.\u00a0 It is the thought that counts in most cases, so recognizing customers with gratis goods or services does not need to be a budget-busting endeavor.\u00a0 Freebies make customers feel appreciated, expanding their loyalty to your organization. And when free offers are unexpected, customers feel even more privileged. Cable companies operating pay-per-view movie services, for example, maintain loyal customers by extending unannounced coupons for a free movie with no strings attached.<\/p>\n

\"Promotional<\/a>
Give your customers a gift like these promotional pens to show how much you appreciate them!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Provide Ongoing Support
\n<\/span>The point of purchase is the beginning of a client relationship, rather than the end.\u00a0 Follow-through keeps the door open, increasing the likelihood customers will walk through again and again.\u00a0 In addition to information supporting goods and services, prudent organizations respond to inquiries promptly, answering specific questions from customers.<\/p>\n

Show buyers the best ways to benefit from the things they bought from you, increasing perceived value.\u00a0 And offer periodic updates related to products, keeping customers informed about advances.\u00a0 A new attachment for a vacuum cleaner or a tasty new recipe made with your company’s blender are each great reasons to stay in touch with buyers.<\/p>\n

Maintain Personal Relationships
\n<\/span>Social media and other channels make it easier than ever to stay connected with your best customers.\u00a0 Encourage your staff to address clients by name and reinforce personal connections with clients they service regularly. And to the furthest extent possible, focus efforts on your best customers, who most likely represent a lion’s share of your revenue.<\/p>\n

What are some ways that your favorite companies have reeled you back in time and time again? Have you applied those practices to your own business?<\/strong> We’d love to hear from you! Leave us a comment below, or connect with us on Facebook<\/a>, Twitter<\/a> or Google+<\/a>.<\/p>\n

About the Author:\u00a0This is a guest post by Sarah Brooks from Freepeoplesearch.org<\/a>. She is a Houston-based freelance writer and blogger.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Regardless of the specific products you sell or services you provide, competing within your industry […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1444,8],"tags":[336,1400,1401,1402,886,1403],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.123print.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6834"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.123print.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.123print.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.123print.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.123print.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6834"}],"version-history":[{"count":15,"href":"https:\/\/blog.123print.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6834\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8980,"href":"https:\/\/blog.123print.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6834\/revisions\/8980"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.123print.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6834"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.123print.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6834"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.123print.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6834"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}