Customer retention is very challenging for businesses especially in 2020. The unprecedented times and business environment have made it uncertain for business leaders on what steps to take to retain customers. Budgets have been compromised and priorities have moved online. In this mix, it is necessary to find efficient ways to sustain your business.
According to Marketing Metrics, the rate of success while selling to an existing customer is close to 70%, while the same for a new prospect is 5-20%. In the times of the coronavirus pandemic especially, a primary meter that will set businesses apart is customer experience. What may not have affected a business earlier now poses a major problem. So, retaining customers becomes necessary for any company to sustain itself in this economic turbulence. The existing customer retention strategies may not work best in these testing times.
In this context, we reached out to business owners, influencers, startup founders to know what customer retention tactics they are using in the coronavirus pandemic.
What do Experts have to say?
The best way to know how to retain customers is to hear it from other business owners who do just the same.
Business owners like Reuben Yonatan, Paige Arnof-Fenn, Jayson DeMers, and 70+ others have shared their working, tried-and-tested strategies to retain customers during the pandemic.
1. Rand Fishkin, Co-founder and CEO, SparkToro
Rand Fishkin is the co-founder and CEO of SparkToro. He is a professional marketer helping companies improve their efforts in marketing through blogging, books, videos, and public speaking.
Here’s what Rand Fishkin shares when asked:
2. Reuben Yonatan, CEO, GetVoIP
Reuben Yonatan is the founder and CEO of GetVoIP. Equipped with an extensive background in ecommerce and entrepreneurship, he handles all marketing and customer success efforts. On customer retention strategies, his response was as follows.
“Survey your customers frequently to measure customer satisfaction and handle all shortcomings that the customers raise. Offer discounts to your long-term clients whenever it is viable. It will help increase brand loyalty which translates to customer loyalty and retention.”
Paige is a marketing and branding expert at Mavens & Moguls. The global strategic marketing consulting firm has employees dispersed across the globe. Paige says, “Long term relationships are gold.”
“Focusing on retention makes sense especially during a recession. Ideally you allocate money in your budget to stay relevant and grow. Keeping customers and clients happy is harder now than ever before.”
“To stay connected to your audience seamlessly through the synchronicity of e-mails and connect so easily anytime is amazing.”
Jayson DeMers heads EmailAnalytics, a firm that has created an email analytics tool to visualize data and metrics. “Be friendly, respond quickly, and respond thoroughly.”, this is the mantra of Jayson.
He adds, “According to one study, the top cited reason that customers switch vendors is “feeling unappreciated.”
“Another study found that 67% of customers would be willing to pay more for a great customer service experience.”
Bruce Hogan is co-founder and CEO of SoftwarePundit, a research firm that offers tools to help businesses thrive. He says, “It’s all about the customer onboarding experience.” “New customers are excited to try your product or service but can be quickly turned off if their expectations are not met. In contrast, customers who have a fantastic first experience are likely to have a high retention rate and become brand ambassadors.”
Jason Parks heads The Media Captain, a digital marketing agency located in Ohio
Jason from The Media Captain says, “To avoid having a lot of clients drop-off, we lowered our pricing for a lot of clients during COVID-19. This allowed the client to save money and recover from the pandemic.”
7. Andrei Vasilescu, CEO, DontPayFull
Andrei Vasilescu co-founded DontPayFull, a coupon website to help shoppers save more. In response to providing customers value during the COVID-19 pandemic, he said, “Personally addressed email newsletters are working exceptionally well to build stronger relationships with your customers.”
“Ask your existing customers about their present requirements in this crisis and offer them special deals from your business. These personalized email messages are capable of building great relationships with your customers and your customers will remain loyal for a long period after the pandemic.”
8. Allison Chaney, Chief Digital Training Officer, Boot Camp Digital
Allison Chaney is the chief digital training officer at Boot Camp Digital and has over 20 years’ experience in digital marketing.
“Thank you for your feedback” are the five words she swears by. When asked about customer retention during COVID-19, she said, “Video! I can’t stress enough about it.” “With this pandemic, we saw a huge uptick in our audience taking advantage of the office hours. They are hungry for that connection and that is why the video is so critical.” “It has been amazing to see how connected our clients become, and once you build that relationship, they are loyal for life.”
9. Brian Lim, founder and CEO, iHeartRaves
Brian Lim is an expereinced ecommerce entrepreneur with many startups in his kitty. To retain customers during COVID-19, he mentioned some interesting points.
“We are shifting our marketing from mostly festival clothing to focus on other uses of our clothing such as lingerie or loungewear.”
“Secondly, we have started designing face masks. For each mask that is purchased, we will donate one face mask to nonprofits supporting those on the front lines. We are receiving thousands of orders and are excited to help anyone we can.”
“In addition, we have a #RaveFromHome series which is a direct response to the virus outbreak. Every Friday, we deliver tips for raving at home and ways to pass the time in style. We include Spotify playlists that our team has put together filled with some of our favorite feel-good dance music. Customers use the hashtag #RaveAtHome to tag us in their living room parties, at-home photo shoots, and light art skills.”
10. Sonya Schwartz, Founder, Her Norm
Sonya is a dating and relationship expert who founded Her Norm. The aim is to provide actionable tips to help improve relationships in life. She says, “If there are changes in your company, make sure you let your client know ahead of time.”
“You don’t want them thinking you’re taking advantage of them, do you?”
She adds, “During a pandemic, it is hard to retain customers especially if your business is not under the basic needs of people. So, businesses must exert effort and time to observe what could be the best ways to retain customers during times of recession.”
Benjamin Walker is a CEO, entrepreneur, and founder of Transcription Outsourcing. The company provides high-quality, user-friendly transcription services for legal, medical, and financial industries.
He says, “We continue to communicate with them on every level possible except in person for obvious reasons. We are emailing them updates to make sure they can hear our voices occasionally. It has solidified our relationships better than I could have ever imagined.”
Aqsa is a growth marketer at Boster Biological Technology founded in 1993.
Aqsa shared her insights, “Keep them in the loop. Reach out to such customers by maintaining a communication calendar. You should make them feel like the company does not treat them as a customer but as family.”
13. Monica Eaton-Cardone, COO, Chargebacks911
Monica is the chief operating officer of Chargebacks911 , a risk mitigation firm. When she was asked about retention, she said, “One of the best ways to retain customers is to build a relationship with them. Trust plays a huge role in the relationship between you and your customer, and it is important that you always stay true to your word.”
“When a customer trusts you, they will be more likely to continue using your service as well as recommend it to others.”
14. Shayan Fatani, Digital Marketing Strategist, PureVPN
Shayan Fatani is a marketing strategist at PureVPN. We asked him about customer retention strategies during COVID-19, and he spoke his mind.
“As a SaaS company, customer retention is important for us to keep the flywheel active since existing customers are what keep every other process in our business self-sufficient.”
“Customer retention in the case of our company is majorly reducing refunds and increasing subscriptions could reflect customer retention.”
“The nature of your business/product would determine how you can differentiate your efforts from your competition during a crisis such as the COVID-19. Our company took the initiative to provide 24/7 customer support globally considering we sell a technical product with a high demand amidst the crisis.”
Shelley Grieshop leads the creative writing efforts for Totally Promotional, a source for all custom printed products. She says, “If you want to keep loyal customers coming back, you have to stand out in the crowd.”
“Hand your loyal clients a customized koozie or chip clip printed with your logo and they’ll be back. Bulk-priced promotional products work best when customers are searching for a better deal. This is your opportunity to keep the customers who already trust your products and services.”
16. Hung Nguyen, Content Marketing Manager, Smallpdf
Hung Nguyen leads content marketing efforts for Smallpdf, an innovative document management platform, based in Switzerland. He also supported Smallpdf as Marketing and Customer Satisfaction Manager for three years prior to taking over content management.
We asked Hung about the importance of customer retention and churn reduction. His response was insightful, “You can incentivize users through offering a discount, or annual plan including only features. With a discounted version they have more time to test out the product.
“This will allow them to understand the value it brings, such as streamlining their workflows. Once they see the value involved, they’re more likely to see the potential value of upgrading to a higher tier plan. And naturally, the longer the customer uses your service, the lower the chances are of them canceling.
“To increase retention organically, businesses should listen to their users, implement feedback, and build a product that appeases customer needs.”
17. Chioma Iwunze, Marketer and Writer, Time Doctor
Chioma Iwunze, a writer and marketer at Time Doctor writes about productivity, time management, and customer satisfaction. Vouching for simple processes, she said, “Trial plans are designed to give potential customers an opportunity to explore the unique features your product has.”
“Ensure that a customer support personnel is available to swoop in when the customer needs help. Simplify the process of migrating to new plans. Use a good system that stores as well as protects customer information. This way the customer will only need to enter new important information required for a plan switch.”
18. Nikola Baldikov,Digital Marketing Manager, Brosix
Nikola Baldikov is a Digital Marketing Manager at Brosix, a secure instant messaging software for business communication. On customer retention, he said, “The best way to retain customers is to provide the best customer service possible.” “No one wants to feel like they are ‘only a number.’ That’s why it’s crucial to treat customers as individuals.”
19. Ashwini Dave, Digital Marketing Expert, Acquire
Ashwini is passionate about Business, customer service, and Digital Marketing. She says, “Retaining customers should be a top priority for the company, no matter what the industry.”
“One need to focus on customer service factors like personalization, Integrity, empathy, efforts, expectations, resolution, customer feedback etc. to design the right strategy.”
John Frigo of Best Price Nutrition, a vitamins and supplements company feel that customer retention is not rocket science.
“Keeping customers coming back is as simple as offering a good customer experience,” said John. “Having a well laid out website that’s offers a good customer service is important.”
Joyce spearheads growth & strategy at Contact Pigeon, a campaign automation platform. In response to customer retention strategies, she says, “Nail your Customer Experience (CX).”
“The Customer Experience is among the top priorities among retailers for 2020 as Gartner revealed. Nearly 5,000 business organizations have a CXO (Chief Experience Officer) confirming that investing in Customer Experience is a top priority.”
22. Jack Wang, CEO, Amazing Beauty Hair
Jack Wang is the CEO of Amazing Beauty Hair that specializes in beauty and hair products. As an e-commerce leader, he said, “The best tactic for customer retention is providing good, honest customer service.” “This is what’s worked for me: put up a loyalty program of some kind, where your returning customers are rewarded. It is a tactic that helps provide that encouragement to your customers to support the product or service you offer. “
23. Emily Carroll, Marketing Coordinator, Drive Research
Emily Carroll is a market research professional at Drive Research. She says, “What better way to gauge customer satisfaction than to ask them?” “Customer retention surveys are a cost-effective and strategic way for businesses to improve customer churn rates.”
24. Liam Pickard, Marketing Manager, Klood
Liam has over 15 years of experience in lead generation and marketing. He works with Klood Digital, a growth agency for SaaS businesses.
Liam says, “It’s a fine line between being a valued contact or a pestering salesperson. Keep customers coming back by maintaining a helpful approach to your ongoing communications. Speak to existing clients, learn about their experiences with you.”
25. Jane Flanagan, Lead Marketer, Tacuna Systems
Jane Flanagan says, “Communicate regularly with customers to update them about any updates. This creates a sense of loyalty. We also offer loyalty discounts to let them know the offer is exclusive.”
26. Mert Aktas, Marketing Manager, UserGuiding
Mert Aktas is a marketing manager at UserGuiding, a product walkthrough software for product adoption and customer onboarding.
He says, “After applying the rules of product adoption to our business, our retention rates have increased by 70% vs last year. And we’ve positioned our product to be ‘the easiest-to-use no-code product adoption software’.”
27. Alexandra Kovaleva, Marketer, DDI Development
Alexandra Kovaleva is a marketer at DDI Development, a customer software development company. In her words, “Follow up with customers to make sure you’re meeting their needs and expectations, see how your product or service works for them. Customers are more likely to trust you if they see you reaching out to them.”
28. Jeremy Harrison, Founder, Hustle Life
Jeremy Harrison of Hustle Life says, “Personalizing your approach to each customer goes a long way in making them remember you. You can even reward them by creating a loyalty rewards program.
29. Adeel Shabir, Outreach manager, Gigworker
Adeel Shabir, outreach manager at Gigworker has recognized the importance of customer retention. He says, “Provide support on the right channel. If you have social media channels working for promoting your business, make sure that your business has a channel for support also. Customer loves when they are listened and act on what is required. This way you can start word of mouth marketing as well. When the customer is happy, he or she will become loyal to your business, hence the retention comes in the play.”
30. Alexandra Cote, Freelance Digital Marketer, and Consultant, Alexandra M.Cote
Alexandra is an SEO strategist, and she says, “Given the current economic situation, focusing on retaining customers is more important than ever.” “The first thing you can do is offer help and maybe even a free product, subscription, or service for the time being for customers.” “Another thing to keep in mind is that you should focus one educating customers more than simply promoting offers and sales. As an idea, start an email list to send regular informative content to your clients without being overly promotional. This allows you to position yourself as a thought leader in the field and stay top-of-the-mind without really selling.”
Kevin Miller, founder and CEO of The Word Counter, a dynamic online tool used for counting words, characters, sentences, paragraphs and pages in real-time, along with spelling and grammar checking.
In order to retain customers and keep them engaged with you during the coronavirus outbreak, there is a myriad of things you can do. Here is my list of five below:
- Communicate proactively with your customers
- Promote your gift cards
- Stream or video chat your services
- Hold an event online
- Use discounts to your advantage
32. Shel Horowitz, Consultant, Frugal Marketing
Shel Horowitz is a social entrepreneurship profitability consultant at Frugal Marketing. Some insights offered include, “Be seen not just as a transactional provider of products or services but as someone who cares deeply about the well-being of clients and their companies. You are the trusted advisor they can rely on–even if it means referring them out to a competitor for something, they can provide better than you do.”
Tyler Brooks is a digital marketing expert at Jam Paper and Envelope. In business since 1954, the company is family owned. He advises the following to retain customers. “Constantly be on the lookout for ways to make your site cleaner, faster, and easier to use.”
“Simply changing your “add-to-cart” button color can increase your conversion a large amount, as can adding a guest checkout option. Make sure you are keeping up with other websites when it comes to usability.”
34. Jacob Sapochnick, Immigration Attorney, H1B.biz
Jacob is an immigration attorney, a serial entrepreneur, digital marketer, author, podcast host, social media influencer and international speaker.
As a law firm owner, he says, “We are a type of business that would like to handle all clients’ legal concerns as much as we can.”
“In this case, customer retention enables us to establish long-lasting relationships with clients. They may spread the word about your business, and this will become free marketing for you.”
Mark is the founder of Protax Consulting, an accounting firm. He says, “We try hard to cultivate a companywide culture of individualized executive level customer service. We are always willing to go the extra mile for a client any time of the day or night.”
“We believe in always under promising and over delivering. We want our clients to always be surprised and delighted at the level of service they receive.”
Christopher Prasad is the marketing manager at JookSMS, an easy platform to send SMS messages.
He says, “My top tip for maintaining customers at the moment is to focus on community engagement. In a period of information overload, people aren’t looking for hard marketing pushes.”
“Use this opportunity to put focus back on the consumer, ask how your community are, offer tips and show them that the company ethos is one that cares for its community, and isn’t all about sales.”
37. Keller Tiemann, Founder and CEO, Leadsurance
Keller Tiemann of Leadsurance says, “The best way that we have found to improve customer retention at Leadsurance is to provide one on one onboarding demos. This has been working great during Covid-19 since most of our customers are accustomed to video call meetings.”
38. Walt Capell, President, Workers Compensation Shop
Walt Capell works with Workers Compensation Shop, a company that champions small business owners. The company looks into workers’ compensation, personal or professional liability and more.
He says, “The best thing any business can do is to take care of your current customers according to the issues they face now. Meet the customers where they are and give them the best option you can. This may mean moving your customer to a smaller package.”
39. Jase Rodley, Founder, Jaserodley
Jase Rodley is the founder of jaserodley.com and says, “Customer retention is one of my favorite business topics.” “I believe that in order to retain customers you need to create a relationship which is not only professional but on a personal level.”
40. Chris Riley, CEO, USA Rx
Chris Riley is the CEO of USA Rx. The aim of the company is to make healthcare affordable with discounted prescription medication.
He says, “The best thing you can do to retain customers is include smart and consistent branded touchpoints from both email communications and social media platforms.”
“You have to make sure your customer fully understands your mission, your brand, and what you stand for as a company. You are building trust in your brand.”
Ryan is the founder of Bead the Change, a company that created bracelets from recycled materials.
He says, “Live social media posts have really helped our firm stay connected to our environmentally aware customer base.”
“When we engage with our audience and they see that our passion for protecting the environment matches their own, they respond and help us drive sales.”
42. Samantha Moss, Editor and Content Ambassador, Romantific
Samantha Moss is an editor and content ambassador at Romantific, helping women with their relationships.
She says, “We try to reach out to our repeat customers by sending them e-mails on what’s new and what’s hot with our brand. We also send out e-greeting cards on special occasions to let them know that we care as a brand.”
43. Jack Choros, Blog Editor, Iron Monk
Jack Choros is an editor at Iron Monk, an SEO and Web Development agency. He says, “The most important thing you can do to retain customers is talk about what you’re going to do for them next. Do it in your verbal communication.”
“Do it in your written proposals and contracts. This does two things. It instils confidence in your customer, and it gives you the opportunity to always be closing.”
44. Allan Borch, Founder and Blogger, Dotcom Dollar
Allan Borch is the founder of Dotcom Dollar, a site dedicated to help entrepreneurs create successful online businesses.
He says, “The biggest thing that’s working for us is having a customer feedback loop. We created a process for obtaining customer feedback and sharing that information with everyone in the company.”
“Our feedback loop system also allows us to spot pain points and address them, whether through improving customer service or coming up with a product/blog article that solves their dilemma.”
Manny Hernandez is the co-founder and CEO of wealth growth wisdom. He has over ten years of experience in direct response marketing.
This is what he says, “It’s much easier to lose trust than building it. All it takes is a simple mistake to change a customer’s perception of your business.”
He also says, “By offering churning customers a glimpse of what’s coming down the line, you can excite them about future releases. Things that inspire people to stick around are usually features that save time, increase adoption or efficiency.”
46. Matt Scott, Owner, Termite Survey
Matt Scott of Termite Survey, Maryland has first- hand experience with customer retention in his 10 years of experience.
He said, “There’s a lot of ways to keep your customers coming back but one of the easiest things you can do is to always be transparent and honest with them.”
“If they have questions about your products or services, make sure that you answer them honestly. By doing this, you’re showing your customers that they can trust you.”
47. Alina Trigub,Managing Partner, SAMO Financial
Alina Trigub is a managing partner at SAMO Financial. She says, “The most important thing is to show empathy. In other words, show that you’re treating them as individuals rather than a number in your database.”
“Be fully transparent; make occasional calls or go for in person appointments.”
48. Diane Helbig, ChIC – Chief Improvement Catalyzer, Helbig Enterprises
Diane Helbig is the Chief Improvement Catalyzer at Helbig Enterprises. She says, “The best way to ensure customer retention is to deliver on your promises consistently. Customers will continue to buy when they know they will receive a quality product/service at a fair price.”
49. Gintaras Steponkus, Blogger, Solid Guides
Gintaras Steponkus is a blogger and Marketing Manager at Solidguides. Solid Guides offers the best research-backed reviews on the internet for shoppers.
He says, “Try to sell the products that can meet current consumer demands and address their concerns immediately. Most enterprises have shifted their business models quickly to create new value, protect the brand, and survive.”
Hamna Amjad is a Project Manager at DSRPT. She manages the content marketing efforts and customer engagement strategies. She says, “Ask for feedback from your customers to see how happy and satisfied they are.”
“Review and analyze the feedback regularly to identify the areas which need improvement. Use periodic customer satisfaction surveys and discussions to check your customers’ satisfaction levels.”
51. Aleksandar Pesic, Growth Manager, InvoiceQuick
Alexandar manages growth at InvoiceQuick which focuses on simplifying customer management, expense tracking, and taxes.
He says, “The most important thing for keeping your customers happy is to find out why some of them are leaving.”
“Chasing new customers without fixing the existing issues is like pouring more water into a leaky bucket. The revenue will increase short-term, but you’ll end up losing more and more customers in the long term.”
“Create a strategy for getting feedback from customers who stopped buying from you. You may even manage to win some of them back.”
52. Norhanie Pangulima, Digital Marketing Executive, Traffic Truffle
Norhanie works in the content and digital marketing wing of Traffic Truffle. She says, “Engage with customers. Respond to their messages. If customers feel that they are being acknowledged chances are they will support, you all the way.”
Bruce Harpham is the owner at BruceHarpham.com. He says, “Don’t take long to respond to a customer messages lost a client in 2020 when I took a few days to respond to their message. It was a timely reminder for me to resume my habit of responding to all customer messages within one business day.”
Khris Steven is the owner at Khris Digital. He says, “One effective technique that helps in keeping your existing customer base loyal and faithful in doing business with you is offering an amazing onboarding experience with a great customer support service.”
“First impression always matters in business. And how you treat your customers determines if they will stay a repeated client or not.”
“Onboarding process teaches and puts new customers through on how to use your product or service. Rather than learning it all by themselves.”
Brian Robben is the CEO of Robben Media, a digital direct response firm. He says, “Under promise and overdeliver is the key to retaining customers. They have to feel like they’re getting the sweeter end of the deal, every time, compared to the money exchanged. This dynamic will create forever customers who feel lucky to have found your company. To execute this, it’s time to think outside the box.”
56. Sara Gilbert, Strategist Business Development
Sara Gilbert works with Strategist Business Development. She says, “Have deeper conversations and connect with them on what’s really important to them. They will stay with you to become your greatest ambassador and attract other clients.”
57. Carlos Castelán, Managing Director, The Navio Group
Carlos Castelán is the Managing Director of The Navio Group, a consulting firm that advises retail executives on business changes.
He feels, “At its core, customer retention is about customer satisfaction. And never has customer satisfaction been more important that in our COVID times when so many businesses are endangered and just trying to maintain customers.”
“To retain customers and develop loyalty, companies should focus on providing excellent service in every interaction. For some businesses, that might mean being as speedy and convenient as possible via their customer service.”
“In other businesses, this might mean taking a high-touch customer service approach to exceed the client’s expectations. Understanding the customer’s unique needs and ensuring they walk away satisfied from every interaction creates a sense of loyalty. It also fosters an environment where you have the best possible referrals: from customers themselves.”
58. Amit Gani, Founder, Business Waste Guru
Amit Gani is the founder of Business Waste Guru. His expertise lies in the waste management, renewable technology, and innovative methods to reuse technology.
He says, “Provide an enjoyable and personable journey to sale. Put yourself in the customer’s shoes and ask yourself what would you want? It may be giving customers a call to give them a helping hand to make their choice. Go out of your way to make the customer experience as personable as you can.”
He also says, “Do not try and fix any unhappy customer issues via technology. Fix the issues manually, human to human. The customer will feel important and is also much likely to recommend you to others through word of mouth- perhaps the most powerful form of marketing.”
David De Haan works with ‘stand up Paddle Boards Review’. On customer retention, he says, “Repeat customers are important since that is where most sales come from.”
“As long as your product or service is great, making them come back isn’t that hard. Say Thank you and stay in touch.”
60. Mazen Aloul, Founder and CEO, WebQuest
Mazen Aloul is founder and CEO of WebQuest. He says, “The best strategy for this is through loyalty rewards programs. Tell your customers that you will give them freebies and discount vouchers to re-avail your products and services. Believe me, they will love it.”
“During this pandemic, we made our brand more visible than ever and tried to offer help and assistance to our clients that need them most. Instead of prioritizing our promotions, we thought that it would be better to serve our loyal customers first.”
61. Saher Shodhan, Founder & CEO, Traktion.ai
Saher is the founder & CEO of Traktion, a freelancing platform for top marketing talent. He says, “Don’t over-promise. If your product is not as feature rich as your competitors yet, be sure to own that and clarify that early with your customers. Customers appreciate honesty. This better manages your customer expectations and reduces churn.” “We’re adding value to our existing clients by providing a higher level of customer services through analytics, reviews and demos when required.”
62. Beithoven, Digital Content Creator, Beithoven.com
Beithoven is Singapore-based full-stack digital content creator, writer, and social media strategist who has been helping businesses worldwide grow through the power of goal-oriented marketing.
She says, “I try as much as possible to provide a great customer experience. This starts from giving them a clear, itemized quotation to an easy digital signing of the proposal.”
Scot J Chrisman, founder and CEO at The Media House. He is an entrepreneur who is building a media and marketing empire.
He says, “I offer services through subscriptions, and that ensures that I will have clients for a fixed period. This is because I am focused on building long-term relationships with them.”
“I do this so that I can also present them with a timeline of how my company will help them. It is a lot easier to come up with a plan if there is a timeline.”
Isaac Hammelburger is the founder and owner of Search Pros. He says, “To build a solid customer base is to maintain good relations with repeat customers. This can be done through various means, such as social media, email advertisements, or even direct conversations with them.”
“The important part is to establish continuous communication with them, through promotional videos, posts, or even voting polls. The important part is that customers feel the presence of the company in their lives without having to market themselves.”
65. John Gaskell, President, Professional Value Books
John Gaskell is a retired electrical engineer, author, and marketer. He says, “Produce the assignment on-time and within budget. Stay in touch with the client and make sure that they are satisfied.”
Michael D Brown is the director of Fresh Results Institute. He says, “One of the best techniques that can work in ramping your customer retention is personalizing their marketing, especially in the form of storytelling.”
67. Khabeer Rockley, Director, The 5% Institute
Khabeer Rockley is the director of The 5% Institute, a company designed to help sales professionals grow. He says, “Give customers products and services that’ll enhance their initial purchase and show them appreciation by recognizing them without the expectation of them needing to buy again.”
Bill Joseph is the owner of Frontier Blades. It is an e-commerce agency for survival and self-defense equipment. He says, “In order to maintain customer retention, we are prioritizing communication and complete transparency with our customers. With any business, responsiveness and receptivity to customer concerns is the foundation for success – as it is critical for providing satisfactory service.”
Carolyn Cairns is a Marketing Manager with Creation BCI. She says, “The most important thing to do to keep you customers is by building relationships through trust. Trust should be the foundation of a customer – business relationship.”
“You have to show your customers that they can trust you with the products and services they avail from your company. Seeing how important trust is to your business, you’ve to consciously make attempts to promote trust. As you initiate relationship with new and existing customers, you give them the opportunity to trust you.”
“If you are consistent in satisfying your customers, they will come back for more of your products and services. They can even promote your company through word of mouth. They will vouch for every product and service your company offers.”
David Garcia is the CEO of ScoutLogic, a pre-employment background check company.
He says, “For B2B companies, one of the best methods for improving customer retention is the breadth & depth of your solutions usage within a client company. Companies with low churn have a regular pulse on how many and how often their clients are using their solutions.”
“When those usage statistics dip down, a customer success manager immediately can reach out to the client to diagnose the situation and offer remedies to improve usage. In this Covid-19 budget environment, if multiple clients are not using your solution, you have an emerging retention issue.”
71. Steve Snyder, OMG
Steve Snyder works with OMG. He says, “Consistency is key in any industry when working with clients. You’re forging a relationship with these individuals, and whether you work with them daily or infrequently, you want to provide a consistent, positive experience with every interaction you have so they know what to expect.”
Oliver Andrews is the owner at OA Design Services, website and search engine operating services.
Oliver says, “Customer retention is important to any growing business because it measures not only how successful they are at acquiring new customers, but how successful they are at satisfying existing customers.”
“If you pay attention, you can always spot the signs of your client’s impending departure. To capture these “warning” signs, you must identify key variables in customer behavior, such as purchasing patterns, product usage, and customer service query history.”
“Then, you’ll need to analyze these signals and take steps to stop your customers before they quit.”
73. Rob Stix, CEO, DirectNet
Rob Stix is the CEO of DirectNet, an independent wholesale provider of cloud-based telephony services. He says, “Building effective strategies that will aid with customer retention is a crucial part of running any successful business.”
“Building trust is essential for customer retention. The most successful businesses have mastered trust-building skills between their customer and the company. Customers who trust you will be willing to listen to your insights and will stay committed to your company.”
“By building trust between your company and your client, they will remain loyal to your brand and continue to appreciate the work you’ve been accomplishing for them.”
74. Caleb Pearson, CEO, Topsheet
Caleb Pearson is the CEO of Topsheet Inc. They are a Film/TV Production Payroll Company that has simplified the process of Production Payroll. Since it is a very tight-knit industry, a big part of their job is retaining customers.
He says, “A relationship is potentially the most important thing for any customer.”
“Great customer support will turn an upset customer into a company champion and keep the customer for life. Our company gives customers many ways to contact us, phone, email, or chat to build a relationship.”
Ivan Harris heads a blog on Salesforce service cloud and sales. He says, “A prerequisite to customer retention is ensuring that a product or service offers sufficient value relative to competing offerings. Superior customer experience can then be used to differentiate a brand, and even compensate for shortcomings in value.”
“That is you can retain customers even if your product or service does not provide the most value in the market. My tip for customer retention is to provide an omnichannel, joined-up, and hyper-personalized customer experience.”
Bottom Line: Necessary for Business Growth
The right customer retention strategy will ensure company growth. Keeping your customers in mind is essential to retain your customers. If you enhance customer experience, the chances of customers coming back are high. Customers when satisfied will become increasingly loyal to the brand.
Kruthan Appanna is a Customer Success Analyst with 5 years of experience. Passionate about leveraging data-driven insights to drive customer satisfaction and retention. Skilled in building strong client relationships and providing strategic solutions.
Published November 02, 2020, Updated June 07, 2023