Venturing into entrepreneurship after school or several attempts at employment can be both a refreshing and challenging experience. You want to enjoy the freedom that comes with entrepreneurship, but then you realize there’s more work than freedom in your first few years in business than you anticipated. The clients you recently acquired are on the brink of leaving your business for a competitor offering better packaged solutions, and you don’t know how to retain them. Here are a few tips to help you improve customer retention and grow your young business.
Offer Excellent Customer Service
Excellent customer service is the key to customer retention. Customers will always come back where they feel prioritized and their needs respected. If your customers raise tickets and concerns, it’s best to have them attended to within 24 hours so they don’t wait too long to look for answers elsewhere. Integrating relevant technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) and virtual reality (VR) is a great way to improve customer service.
AI solutions like on-premise ID-scanning and recognition from OCR Studio can help record your customer data so they can receive personalized, efficient services in subsequent visits. You can use VR to give customers a visual illustration of your solutions or products when they’re unsure how a new product or solution works. These two technologies can help you offer reliable, timely help and solutions to keep your customers returning.
Simplify Return and Refund Processes Where Applicable
In reasonable situations, make it easy for customers to return products they may not feel content to use. Complicating or denying a return and refund process is the fastest way to send your customer away forever. The best way to go about it is to have a returns policy and reason with your customer in case the policy is violated.
Listen to their point of view, and if the product is intact, sealed, and unused, you can always take it back and get a refund of a fraction of the cost, depending on what’s covered on your policy. If customers learn they can count on you to be kind to them beyond the sale, they’ll become loyal customers who can easily refer your business to their friends and family.
Offer Value Beyond the Product
Once your customers buy from you, it might take some time before they come knocking for a new product or service. To keep them engaged between purchases, offer value-added services such as free webinars, educational content, and exclusive industry insights. With the right employees, you can always manage a steady supply of valuable resources that will remind your loyal customers of your existence even when they don’t need your services at the time.
Provide Fast Delivery Options
For various reasons, some customers may need their products delivered soon after purchase. To accommodate their needs, you can provide the option to deliver their products weeks or days earlier. Doing this might be the edge your company has over the competition, encouraging customers to return as they know they will get products quicker from your company.
As you grow in business, you’re better placed to understand your customers and tailor solutions to their needs for their maximum satisfaction. Some of these approaches may work better than others, depending on the type of products or solutions you offer. Ensure you define and know your customers, then optimize these approaches to meet their needs.
