We will discuss the significance of customer retention, how to determine your rate of customer retention, and the definition of customer retention in this article. Additionally, we will provide you with four strategies for long-term customer retention.
What is retention of customers?
The capacity of a business to keep customers returning for future purchases over time is known as customer retention. Retaining a customer’s business shows that a business’s product, service, or brand is appealing enough to the existing customer to keep them from switching to a rival.
How many of your clients stay with you?
You must benchmark your performance in this department before you can concentrate on enhancing your current customer retention strategies. You might have a feeling about how you’re doing, but you need a measurement that is objective and doesn’t include your feelings. And measuring your customer retention rate is one of the best methods for accomplishing this.
While there are various retention calculation formulas, the most common one is as follows: If that seems a little complicated, don’t worry. Retention Rate = ((CE-CN)/CS)) X 100 It will be very easy for you to understand once it is explained to you.
Calculation of the customer retention rate These are the names of the variables:
Customer retention rate calculation example Let’s use an example to show how this equation can be applied in the real world. CE is the total number of customers at the end of the period. CN is the total number of new customers you gained during the period. CS is the total number of customers at the beginning of a period. You begin the year, month, or quarter with 1,000 customers in this scenario. You lose 200 en route, yet you likewise gain 300. You will therefore have 1,100 customers at the conclusion of the period.
This is how the math would look:
1,100-300 is 800 divided by 1,000, or.8 x 100, which equals 80 percent.
Presently, you’re presumably inquiring: Is a retention rate of 80% acceptable? And the response is that it varies!
80 percent would be incredible in some fields. It would suggest that something is seriously wrong in other industries. You must now contextualize the situation, assess your performance, and determine your objectives.
But there is always room for improvement, regardless of whether your retention rate is 95% or 10%. And anything you can do to keep your customers will help your business a lot.
TIP: Customer churn, or the number of customers you have lost over time, is the opposite of customer retention. Learn how to lower your churn rate and increase your customer retention rate by reading our guide on customer churn.
Why customer retention is important No business wants to lose a customer, but how crucial is it to have a high rate of customer retention?
Onboarding a new customer costs between 5 and 25 times more than retaining an existing customer, according to data compiled by Harvard Business Review. Profits can be increased by 25 to 95% with just a 5% increase in retention rates.
These data points make perfect sense when you consider it. At the point when you increment client maintenance, you don’t need to use close to as numerous assets on showcasing, deals, client preparing (contingent upon the business), and all of the other client securing costs. In addition, customers who remain are more likely to be satisfied with your product or service, making them virtual referral sources.
In the end, good customer retention is a game-changer that makes running your business cost-effective and efficient in every way.
4 effective ways to keep customers coming back Are you convinced that keeping customers coming back is important? If this is the case, you are probably considering the steps necessary to improve your balance sheet by increasing your retention rate from below average to healthy. We have a few easy but effective ways to keep customers coming back:
1. Ensure a smooth onboarding process to retain customers. First impressions count. The majority of customers will default back to their initial encounter with your brand after the excitement of acquiring the new product or service. They are much more likely to remain if it was beneficial.
A crucial customer retention strategy that can position you for long-term success is a well-designed onboarding procedure. It ought to be hands-on, as personalized as possible, and focused on reducing as much friction as possible.
2. Establish a feedback loop for customers Knowing how they feel is one of the most important factors in customer retention. You can respond to customer feedback, improve your approach, and better meet their needs if you know how they feel and what they like and dislike.
Send client studies
There are a lot of client study formats to utilize while social event input, however the most famous brand unwaveringness metric is known as Net Advertiser Score. The beauty of the NPS methodology is that it only requires one straightforward question to be answered: How likely are you to tell a friend about [your brand name]? on a 0-10 rating scale.
The customer can then provide a comprehensive explanation for their rating in an open-ended feedback question using their own words.
You can send NPS surveys to customers via email, link, in-app, or kiosk with Delighted. Because of this, you will be able to continuously collect data whenever a customer interacts with your brand, giving you the assurance that you are “in the know.”
[ruby_related heading=”More Read” total=3 layout=6]
Close the loop It’s important to note that closing the loop with your customers is just as important as gathering feedback for your customer retention strategies. Consider personalizing a thank-you message for your survey and responding directly to customer feedback to demonstrate to them that you are paying attention to and making use of their suggestions for improvement.
By sending survey feedback directly to your customer service team, who are on the front lines of your support channels, you can also provide a great closed-loop experience for your customers. Your customer service or customer success teams can quickly respond to negative feedback in real time by integrating your surveys with communication platforms like Slack.
A thoughtful and prompt closed-loop process helps you make an impression on customers and strengthens your relationship with them.
TIP: Check out the close-the-loop guide in our Help Center for more in-depth recommendations on how to close the feedback loop for customers.
3. Keep your products and services front and center. Just because a person is a customer doesn’t mean you should stop marketing to them. You must remain top of mind in today’s market, where loyalty is low and competition is high.
This can be accomplished through a variety of customer retention strategies. Weekly email newsletters, social media contests, and the creation of high-value content (such as blogs, videos, podcasts, or resources that can be downloaded as PDF files) are all viable options.
4. Reward promoters and devoted clients If a client doesn’t feel valued, one mistake or a “better opportunity” with a competitor can cause them to leave. It is essential that you do not disregard your devoted clients. Reward them for remaining.
Remunerating faithfulness might look like grandfathering-in costs when rates increment or sending rewards and shocks when a client puts in their 10th or 20th request. If you look at a customer’s level of loyalty by how long they’ve been with you, you might think about giving them bonus gifts every six months or a year. A loyalty program can also be set up at any time.
[ruby_related heading=”More Read” total=3 layout=6]
Alternately, incorporate discounts and rewards directly into your survey feedback to express gratitude to promoters and entice them to recommend you to their friends. With the Delighted + Friendbuy integration, you can easily incorporate reward information and referral links into your individualized survey.
TIP: Our guide to creating a successful referral program contains additional information.
With Delighted, you can increase customer retention. Do you want to gather feedback from your customers so that you can determine their level of satisfaction and, ultimately, enhance their overall experience? We’ll provide you with the feedback you need to increase your retention rate and your bottom line if you sign up for a free trial of our experience management software.
