Getting a customer to start using your product is the first step. Keeping them around for the long haul, however, is a different story altogether says Saivian. Businesses that fail to understand their customers and optimize around this risk churning out a large number of casual users instead of dedicated ones. This article provides some interesting insights on how you can keep your customers happy and retain them for longer.
Architecture:
1. Know what makes your customers tick.
2. Offer more than just a product.
3. Keep it personal and humanized.
Knowing what makes your customers tick:
Most businesses go about customer retention in the wrong manner right from the get-go; they try to treat every customer exactly the same way by using the same generic template of marketing messages, newsletters, and offers for everyone on their list no matter how different they might be as individuals or as groups of users (demographics such as region, industry type, etc). This is not only ethically questionable but also gives rise to another problem – lack of understanding or insights into individual user behavior which means you will never really know what makes them tick. This information is crucial to devising a retention strategy that will strike the right chord with users because without this it will be impossible to create personalized marketing campaigns which are relevant, useful, and provide real value to the user.
2. Offer more than just a product:
When you retain customers using only your product or service it’s likely that you are not retaining their attention for very long or providing enough reasons for them to come back frequently. Customers get bored if they have access to limited features during free trials of premium products or get charged low tariffs for services that do not include all the bells and whistles of paid plans explains Saivian. Offering complimentary products or services can help expand your customer base creating an ecosystem where they have no reason to not come back because they will be interested in the added benefits of using multiple products or services.
3. Keep it personal and humanized:
It’s always better to create user personas that capture their information, interests, preferences, etc so you can communicate with them on a more individual level via your marketing messages and newsletters instead of speaking about ‘user demographics’ generally. Saivian says this way users feel valued by the company because they are being communicated with as real people instead of nameless/faceless entities who look no different from an Excel sheet.
Asking for feedback is another good way to keep customers happy. Because this makes them feel involved in the product development process. Which gives them a sense of responsibility for the business, leading to brand loyalty over time. You can also send those personalized messages with product suggestions or recommendations based on their feedback and activities to keep them engaged and coming back for more.
Empowering customers to take part in the product development process is a great way of building trust and encouraging brand loyalty which often leads them to become your regular customers explains Saivian. It also helps if you provide multiple touchpoints for communicating with your users such as email newsletters, chat/messenger, or community forums to enhance their experience. You can also send personalized messages asking for feedback. So users feel more involved and invested in what’s going on at the company. Thus less likely to churn out. Another good strategy would be to offer complementary products and services. To expand your user base and boost revenue. Because when customers try out additional benefits it makes it more difficult for them to leave your ecosystem.
Involve users in product development: It’s also crucial to keep customers updated. About what changes are being made to the product or platform they use. Especially if it impacts their workflow. Because this could cause inconvenience and frustration with the user experience which might lead them to churn out. One way of doing this is by sending personalized messages asking for feedback. Make suggestions and improvements on how things should be taken forward etc. So you stay ahead of the curve and retain loyal users who put their trust in your company. It would be helpful if you invite other users (even those who aren’t using your products). To participate as well via email/messenger/community forums. Which will help generate new ideas to expand your user base and enhance product performance.
Conclusion:
According to Saivian, Loyal customers are always more likely to stay with you for a longer time (even if they face minor hiccups). Which saves you money and time on the acquisition of new users. Keeping your customers satisfied will not only help them grow but it’ll also improve their opinions about your brand. Whilst encouraging others to try out your products/services as well.
So instead of focusing all energy on attracting new customers think about how you can retain existing ones. By keeping the experience personalized, humanized, and keeping them involved in product development processes. So they feel valued and have no reason to churn out. This way your revenue will increase at a much faster rate because user retention is directly proportional to company growth.