Holding On To What You Have

Customer retention is an important part of your business, especially if you in a highly competitive market. There are many strategies to help assist you in retaining your client base. Many of which include interacting regularly with your customers on a personal level. Building strong rapports with customers will help to boost your brand authority and marketing; positive messages of word of mouth and a strong reputation will develop reflecting a good image for your business.

Some of the strategies that can be implemented to manage your client base are:

• Loyalty/ VIP Members:

Creating a loyalty program or asking customers to sign up to become a club member, can be a win-win situation for both parties. Customers will receive information about sales or are eligible for certain in store sales, while the business owner has recorded information of their customers and can also track their expenditure. This stored information will help you review and analyse marketing campaigns, stock and target audience. By offering certain incentives for those that do sign up during a particular period, will also help you to gain a wider consumer audience, i.e. Friends of customers sign up, or consumers sign up family members etc.

• Rewards, Gift Vouchers:

Offering incentives to shoppers who spend over a certain amount is a great way to boost sales and remind your customers about your business. Handing out gift vouchers for those that have spent a certain amount during a season is a great way to show appreciation to your customers. This rewarding can be done on a personal level and can be only exclusive to certain customers.

• Customer Service:

Poor customer service accounts to a 70% in loss of customer. There is where all the hard work needs to come into play. Make sure your staff are well trained, informed and suit the personality and style of your business so that each customer will be well looked after and receive the correct information about your products or services.

To retain your client base, you must maintain any strategies that have your business has implemented. Customers and consumers want to feel valued, especially after they have spent what sometimes could be copious amounts of money with your company.

Acknowledge and reward them and they will be sure to return.