Retaining clients is as crucial to the health of your business as acquiring new ones. Perhaps even more so. The best clients, and the ones you can reliably count on to run a successful company, are the ones who keep returning to do business with you.
Acquiring new customers is always a good idea, of course, but client retention should also be a top priority, backed by a management strategy that begins the minute a client signs a purchase order. Your customer retention strategy should be an intrinsic part of your corporate culture, from the CEO on down.
Retention Strategies
Know your customers — It’s a simple concept but a critical one. Find out as much as you can about your clients, both as professionals and as people. Use both human engagement and a good CRM platform to collect and analyze purchasing habits and other interactions clients have with your firm. Talk to them about their goals and their pain points and use that knowledge to offer relevant products to help them and to cement the relationship.
Don’t overlook the benefits of using artificial intelligence to help you develop comprehensive profiles of your customers’ businesses. These tools can save lots of time. Always check the “facts” that AI presents, however.
Ask for feedback — Always keep the lines of communication open and regularly ask for feedback from clients about their experiences with your shop. You can do this informally over a lunch, or in a more structured way with surveys. Listen and pay more attention to the constructive criticism than the praise. Then follow up and implement as many of their suggestions as possible.
Keep abreast of technology — When you see a new printer, a new ink, or a new process, bring it to the attention of a client who can benefit from it. Leveraging new approaches lets them stand out from their competition. Also keep abreast of software that enhances managing client relationships.
Create a great customer experience — Make sure clients have a great experience every time they interact with your company. Make onboarding easy, communicate regularly, always respond swiftly, be approachable, and customize client service as much as possible. Locating special paper, storing inventory, or simply staying open an extra hour can mean a lot to a customer. And remember, everyone makes mistakes, but it’s how quickly and how well you fix errors that sets you apart.
Always be reachable — This goes hand in hand with a great customer experience. We live in a 24/7 world and clients should be able to reach you whenever and however they want. Younger clients, for example, might prefer a self-serve online platform to track their jobs, ask questions, or place new orders. Learn about and experiment with generative AI chatbots to create a seamless experience with tools that use more natural language.
Marketing and content — Develop a marketing strategy for existing clients. Use all the same channels you exercise to attract new business, but adapt your pitches to the needs of existing customers. Content marketing is a proven approach for engaging clients if you provide a steady stream of relevant product news, tips, and other useful information.
Hire and keep the right people — Some companies are establishing customer success teams who work directly with customers to ensure high satisfaction. This may be beyond your budget, but you can train staff about customer retention and make sure there’s a good fit between important clients and sales managers. Again, younger clients will look for different things from their suppliers, including intangibles like value alignment, so be aware of generational and other distinctions.
Also, once you have good people, do everything you can to keep them, as high employee turnover can frustrate clients.
In the end, your goal is to make your company hard to replace. It doesn’t just happen, but when customer retention is an active goal, you’re well on your way.
Boost Your Business with Effective Client Retention Tactics
The following post was originally published by Printing Impressions. To read more of their content, subscribe to their newsletter, Today on PIWorld.
Acquiring new customers is always a good idea, of course, but client retention should also be a top priority, backed by a management strategy that begins the minute a client signs a purchase order. Your customer retention strategy should be an intrinsic part of your corporate culture, from the CEO on down.
Retention Strategies
Know your customers — It’s a simple concept but a critical one. Find out as much as you can about your clients, both as professionals and as people. Use both human engagement and a good CRM platform to collect and analyze purchasing habits and other interactions clients have with your firm. Talk to them about their goals and their pain points and use that knowledge to offer relevant products to help them and to cement the relationship.
Don’t overlook the benefits of using artificial intelligence to help you develop comprehensive profiles of your customers’ businesses. These tools can save lots of time. Always check the “facts” that AI presents, however.
Keep abreast of technology — When you see a new printer, a new ink, or a new process, bring it to the attention of a client who can benefit from it. Leveraging new approaches lets them stand out from their competition. Also keep abreast of software that enhances managing client relationships.
Create a great customer experience — Make sure clients have a great experience every time they interact with your company. Make onboarding easy, communicate regularly, always respond swiftly, be approachable, and customize client service as much as possible. Locating special paper, storing inventory, or simply staying open an extra hour can mean a lot to a customer. And remember, everyone makes mistakes, but it’s how quickly and how well you fix errors that sets you apart.
Always be reachable — This goes hand in hand with a great customer experience. We live in a 24/7 world and clients should be able to reach you whenever and however they want. Younger clients, for example, might prefer a self-serve online platform to track their jobs, ask questions, or place new orders. Learn about and experiment with generative AI chatbots to create a seamless experience with tools that use more natural language.
Hire and keep the right people — Some companies are establishing customer success teams who work directly with customers to ensure high satisfaction. This may be beyond your budget, but you can train staff about customer retention and make sure there’s a good fit between important clients and sales managers. Again, younger clients will look for different things from their suppliers, including intangibles like value alignment, so be aware of generational and other distinctions.
Also, once you have good people, do everything you can to keep them, as high employee turnover can frustrate clients.
In the end, your goal is to make your company hard to replace. It doesn’t just happen, but when customer retention is an active goal, you’re well on your way.
In 2001, Roger Gimbel founded Gimbel & Associates, an international consulting firm providing business and market development services, skills training, and expert public speaking in the graphic communications and digital solutions industry. The mission of Gimbel & Associates is to help clients identify new business opportunities and implement leading-edge solutions using expertise in organizational development, technology selection, implementation, and work processes.
Roger oversees a team of Consultants with expertise in sales training, workflow analysis, MicroModeling, multichannel marketing, marketing plans, transactional printing, trans-promotional applications and creative strategies for mergers and acquisitions, business development workshops and seminars.