Existing or repeat customers are the ‘pillars of success’ of any business. In fact, when improving your customer happiness and retention rates by 5%, it increases your business’s profits by up to 25% to 95%. Plus, finding new customers cost five times more than retaining current customers, making existing clients crucial to any business.
Small changes can have a significant impact on how people perceive the quality of your products or services — either turning your leads away from your business or converting them into satisfied and loyal clients.
There are many relatively simple ways to ensure your client’s happiness, and here are six tips to get you started.
Become an Authoritative Figure in the Field
As a business owner, you should always strive to be the best in the sector, not only to attract new customers but also to retain your existing ones. When people see your organization as a leading brand in the industry, they’re likely to stick with you since they have the confidence knowing you’re one of the best providers.
It’s best to hire a consultant specializing in industrial marketing to help you through the ins and outs of becoming the best in your field.
Pay Attention to Your Clients
To ensure long-term customer happiness and loyalty, you’ll need to anticipate their specific needs. You can do this by getting to know their expectations and communication styles. For instance, if your business’s emails are always short, your clients may prefer to talk through ‘weightier’ ideas. Instead of sending emails, send them a quick notice for scheduled phone calls to discuss ideas or issues. Paying attention allows you to make tailored adjustments to each client, making them feel happier and appreciated.
Create Valuable and ‘Shareable’ Content
A simple way to retain customer happiness is by sharing valuable and shareable content that allows your clients to see you’re up-to-date and are on top of your game, improving brand awareness and customer relations. Plus, your consumers will likely share your content or recommend you to their networks based on your organization’s publicly available content.
Stay Ahead of the Curve
It’s wise to prepare in advance for ‘predictable’ chaos. Doing this helps everyone in your organization aware and ahead for contingencies, allowing your operations to continually run without an issue. It gives you more room for strategic and creative thinking, coming up with different plants to bounce back when needed, helping you address potential problems with customers fast, keeping them satisfied.
Own Your Mistakes — Fast
No company is perfect, and making a mistake is inevitable. So when your organization does make one, make sure you own it and fast. If you made a wrong decision, apologize, then adjust your operations. Not everything can be a guaranteed win, no matter how efficient your team or system is. Be accountable and understand that even the best plans don’t go the way they’re supposed to. Doing this helps ensure seamless operation, keeping your employees and customers happy.
Go Above and Beyond For Your Clients
It’s best to go above and beyond for your customers, ensuring optimal happiness and loyalty long-term. You can do this by doing more than what’s asked of you or what you planned initially. After all, you may discover that your current skillsets may be more than what’s scoped for you — so go beyond your assigned role.
Your customers not only generate your organization’s revenue, but there’s also that unique feeling of accomplishment when contributing to their happiness. The tips mentioned are just some of the many ways you can ensure customer loyalty and satisfaction long-term.