Thee Tips To Improve Client Retention 

Here are Thee Tips To Improve Client Retention

 

Contributed by: Jane Sandwood

Customer retention and the cultivation of brand loyalty is a priority for all businesses regardless of size or industry.  With a steady rise in customer acquisition costs, businesses need to invent and adopt a proactive role in order to improve client retention. Studies conducted by the US Chamber of Commerce revealed that acquiring new customers can cost as much as 7 times more than retaining existing customers. The fact that client profitability tends to escalate over the life of a customer that has been retained is an incentive for companies to allocate more resources to improving their client retention strategies.

According to a range of studies conducted on the topic, there are 3 main reasons why a client will leave you for a competitor. 68% of clients leave because they are unhappy with the level of service you deliver while 14% are dissatisfied with the actual product or service on offer. A further 9% leave because they are curious about what a competitor has to offer. By following a few uncomplicated strategies together with implementing customer loyalty initiatives, you will be able to significantly improve your client retention rates as they address issues at ground-level and offer actionable tips that can be integrated effortlessly into your daily operations.

Set customer expectations

The first step to improve client retention is to set customer expectations early. A great way to foster client loyalty is to under promise and over deliver on your original expectations. By setting your expectations early and a bit lower than what you can actually provide you will eliminate uncertainty as to what level of service is needed to ensure your clients are happy. This strategy enables your company to always over-deliver on their promises.  It is important to remember that despite your best efforts, clients tend to remember bad experiences better than good ones.  Even if you have over-delivered on 30 occasions your client may choose to remind you of the one single time you under-delivered as a way to get out of a contract.

Become a Trusted Advisor

Regardless of the industry you occupy, if you can be an expert adviser you are more likely to retain your clients.  By becoming a trusted adviser to your clients you will build customer loyalty and significantly reduce customer churn.  If you want to build trust with clients you need to identify industry-specific problems those clients are currently faced with. Make a quick courtesy call to your clients informing them of any upcoming changes while providing them with insightful recommendations as to the best way forward.  It can take some time to become a trusted adviser but if you continue to put your clients’ interests first you will be rewarded with their trust, which is by far the most important part of a long-term business relationship.

Always go above and beyond

Many companies tend to overlook the importance of this strategy. Going the extra mile for your clients is a sure-fire way to build strong and lasting relationships.  As a service entity you possess countless opportunities to woo your clients and go over and above the call of duty.  By simply paying attention to what your clients want and being proactive in addressing their issues you can build significant long-term loyalty. Isolate any potential issues and fix them before they become real problems.

Your clients are the true heartbeat of your organization and it is pivotal to always keep in mind that your livelihood essentially depends on them. By rendering consistent exceptional service and ensuring your clients’ needs are met on a daily basis you will be able to breed and retain their loyalty indefinitely.