$243.
That’s the global average value of one lost customer. $243 doesn’t sound like a lot, but let’s put this into perspective.
If you lose 100 customers in 6 months, it could cost your business a whopping $24,300.
It serves as a warning to small businesses who mistakenly focus a majority of their marketing resources and budget on acquiring new users rather than retaining current customers.
Today’s article shows 12 customer retention strategies that will help your business improve customer satisfaction and retention, and ultimately help you generate more revenue.
Post-Purchase Discount
Pro Tip: Offer a discount on an item or service in the same category as their previous purchase.
Educational Onboarding Email
Send an educational email that explains how others have used and found success with your app. It can help get them past a “how/why would I use this?” dilemma.
Unused Feature Email
The vast majority of your users probably aren’t even aware you have that feature, so showcasing it can solve a problem for them and keep them using your product for longer.
Live Chat for Customer Support
90 percent of consumers consider live chat helpful, 62 percent are more likely to purchase again from a site that has live chat, and 38 percent of respondents made their purchase due to the live chat itself.
Customer Retargeting Ads
After a first purchase, a customer has a 27 percent chance of returning to your store. Customers who return a second or third time have a 54 percent chance of returning again.
Comment Mention Alert
Alert users via a push notification or email when they’re mentioned in a comment by another user to get them to return to your platform.
How-To Guides
Pro Tip: Create multiple how-to guides with annotated photos, short videos, or animated GIFs to help guide readers through each step of your how-to guides.
Downsell on Cancellation
Try a downsell during the cancellation process to get them to sign on for a cheaper subscription that provides less of what you offer or provides them with a discount. This can keep price-conscious users retained.
Variable Rewards
Rather than predictable rewards for actions, offering variable rewards seems to make a product more addictive. Introducing variable rewards has proven time and time again to make a product addictive and therefore improve retention.
Additional Explainer Copy
What might seem obvious to you is not necessarily obvious to the user– so don’t be afraid to explain and give context for actions the user is being prompted to take. Give users a reason for what they’re doing and an explanation as to what their actions mean.
Handwritten Thank You Cards
It’s a small investment that can bring huge returns, decreasing churn and turning your customers into advocates for your business.
Pro Tip: You don’t have time to write hundreds of thank you cards. Instead, consider using an automated online service like Thanks.io or Bond.
Social Listening
Listen for customers complaining or praising your company on social media and respond. Take it a step further and leverage the topics that resonate with your audience to optimize content, SEO, and PPC strategies. Use a social media management tool like Hootsuite to monitor industry and branded keywords, hashtags, and brand mentions.
12 Ingenious Customer Retention Strategies For Small Businesses
PS. I would send you a handwritten card, but I don’t know your address 😁
