6 Tips to Ensure Lasting Customer Relationships

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Every company wants to retain its customers for life. But, acknowledging lasting customer relationships is easier said than done.

There are many factors that prevent you from retaining your customers. Enticing offers from your competitors, changes in customer preferences, and you taking customer loyalty for granted are a few important ones worth knowing.

Long-term customer relationships are essential for your survival, especially when running a small business. With that said, the cost of acquiring new customers is 5 times more than retaining the existing ones.

So, it’s best to look after your customers and keep them engaged to ensure higher customer retention.

Here are the 6 tips to ensure lasting customer relationships.

So, without further ado.

Let’s get started.

1. Always Be There for Your Customers

Whenever your customers come across a problem associated with your product or service, you’re their first point of contact. People don’t make buying decisions on a whim anymore. They take their time and research different solutions before making up their mind.

Technically, you have beat dozens of competitors in your respective niche when a customer buys your product or service. And it’s not wise to throw all that away because of an unresolved concern.

So, be there for your customers and be swift in answering their queries. One of the best ways to do that is by enabling a live chat feature on your site. You can also take calls and resolve your customers’ queries via email.

And that’s not all. Around 63% of customers expect their preferred brands to offer support via social media. So, be creative. There are a number of ways to be in touch with your customers. All you have to do is find what works for you.

2. Stay Up-to-Date With Customer Preferences

Customer preferences change over time. So, if your customers love what you offer today, don’t be complacent. You never know what the future has in store for you.

What’s relevant today may not be in demand tomorrow. So, it’s best that you stay tuned to customers’ preferences and keep an eye on their changing demands.

The more preemptive you are in identifying the needs of your customers, the easier it would be for you to improve your product or service. Continuous improvement is the key here. And it enables you to acknowledge lasting customer relationships.

3. Consider Personalization

To acknowledge lasting customer relationships, you have to make sure that your customers are satisfied with your offerings. And this has become a bit more intricate than it used to be.

Today, customers want more than just mainstream attributes. They seek special privileges. So, to build trust and establish a lasting bond with your customers, it’s best that you consider personalization.

It’s reported that 80% of customers prefer businesses that offer personalized solutions to the ones that don’t.

Customers want to feel special when using your product or service. They seek bespoke solutions that are designed to help them solve their problems compared to the generic ones. So, be very careful when presenting your solution to a relevant audience.

4. Ensure Seamless Customer Experience

Customer experience is one of the key components that dictate the longevity of customer relationships. Around 50% of customers choose brands that offer inclusive experiences over others that don’t.

Customer experience is an end-to-end journey, from the point your customers start using your product or service to the point they start leveraging the solution to its full potential and even beyond.

Your goal here is to ensure that your customers face no roadblocks that prevent them from driving the maximum value from your solution.

A seamless customer experience enables you to build trust which in turn breeds customer loyalty. Furthermore, happy customers are more likely to recommend you to others which fuels your sales funnel with quality leads. So, it’s highly recommended that you prioritize customer experience above all else.

5. Reward Customer Loyalty

People can be indecisive when it comes to making purchases. They often rely on the recommendations of friends and family to make informed decisions. It’s reported that around 72% of customers make purchase decisions after getting reviews from others. Yet, businesses often take loyalty for granted.

Your loyal customers are your brand advocates. They fuel the word of mouth for your company which in turn enables you to get more traction. So, it’s best that you treat them well.

There are many ways through which you can reward your customers’ loyalty. Special discounts, cash back, gift cards, and giveaways are all great ways to express gratitude. Even a handwritten thank-you note goes a long way and shows your customers that you value them.

6. Value Customer Feedback

Customers are generally reluctant when it comes to sharing their feedback about a particular product or service. If their experience is positive, they’d keep using the solution, if not then they’d silently switch to a better alternative.

So, when your customers share their feedback with you, consider it as a blessing and don’t take it for granted. Most businesses just throw customer feedback under the rug and move on. That’s one of their biggest mistakes.

Listen to what your customers have to say as they’re your source of meaningful insights. They have first-hand experience using your product or service. And since they’re not on your paycheck, their feedback is generally unbiased.

Customer feedback paves the way for you to right your wrongs and helps improve your solution for the better.

It’s a Wrap

There you have it. The 6 tips to ensure lasting customer relationships. If you’ve been struggling to retain your customers, try out the recommendations prescribed and see if they work out for you.

Thomas Griffin
Thomas Griffin is the co-founder and president of OptinMonster. He is an expert software architect with a deep knowledge of building products for the mass market and consistently works to delight his customers.

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