Customer retention has not really been a focus of marketing programmes in the past, which tend to focus on new customer acquisition.
But all that is set to change as businesses realise the power of upselling and cross-selling to customers that already know and trust you.
Follow our tips to improve customer retention and improve your profitability by an incredible amount.
1 - Develop a warning system for when customers display signals of being unhappy.
Signs to look for include:
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Increased customer service calls
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No longer answering account manager calls
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Stopped actively using your product or service
Make sure you also have strategies and content in place to try and stop them leaving. Check out these B2B customer retention strategies for some ideas.
Get more ideas from this blog about creating brand advocates and in this one about keeping online communities engaged.
2. Learn how to apply the 7Ps of marketing to customer retention strategies.
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People
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Product
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Place
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Price
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Promotion
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Processes
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Positioning
It's important to get it right as, according to Gartner, 80% of your future profits will come from 20% of your current customers.