Customer retention has always been a major topic in the world of business. There are numerous reasons for this, but at KeyPoint Technologies our main concern is the cost associated with customer churn says Aron Govil. Keeping your customers happy decreases their desire to leave your service or product, which keeps revenue flowing in and reduces your total cost of doing business.
Customer retention can take on many shapes and forms. There are numerous ways companies retain customers, but some strategies are more effective than others.
This week I’m going to talk about two different ways you can improve customer retention in your company. I’ll start by talking about the importance of Customer Success Management, then move into Customer Feedback Management explains Aron Govil.
The Importance of Customer Success Management
Customer success management is a strategy that involves the entire customer journey. From initial contact through post-sales support, everything your customer experiences will either increase or decrease their likelihood of staying with you for the long term.
The most successful companies are proactive about managing this journey and reducing churn before it happens. They accomplish this by understanding what makes their customers successful and ensuring they have all the resources necessary to achieve that success.
Resources can take many different forms, but at KeyPoint Technologies, we like to think of them as three distinct types: Resources your customers need to know about (e.g., training, documentation, and webinars), resources your customers want (e.g., phone, webchat), and resources your customers need to do their jobs (e.g., email, calendars).
The most successful companies in the world go beyond just documenting these resources and actually proactively communicate them to customers when they’re needed. This ensures customers have what they need to be successful, which in turn increases customer satisfaction and decreases the likelihood of that customer churning.
Customer Feedback Management
The final way to improve customer retention is by collecting, synthesizing, and applying customer feedback. This is a strategy that ensures your customers are happy and coming back for more says Aron Govil. While many companies think they’re already doing this, most aren’t. There’s a difference between asking for feedback and actually listening to it.
Feedback is only useful if your company takes action based on that feedback. If you truly solicit customer input you must understand what’s being said, how they feel about the feedback, and if they have any ideas for improvement. Only then can you truly use their suggestions to improve customer retention rates?
If you’re looking for a way to increase your retention rates, give us a call. At KeyPoint Technologies, we specialize in Customer Success Management and can help you reduce customer churn before it starts.
Here are some FAQs recently asked of us by the media:
How does customer retention affect a company’s bottom line?
Customer retention is important to any company because it reduces the cost of doing business. If you have 100 customers spending $100/month, that’s $10,000/month in revenue. If 6% of your customers are leaving every month then you’re losing $600/month. That means you’d need to replace those customers just to break even–and that’s before considering the cost of bringing new customers on board!
How can customer retention be improved?
Customer retention can improve by ensuring your customers have all the resources necessary for success and then communicating those resources to them when they’re in need. This ensures customers feel supported and reduces the likelihood of them churning due to frustration or dissatisfaction.
How can companies improve customer success?
Companies can improve their Customer Success Management by proactively communicating resources to customers when they’re in need for success. The resources a customer needs to know about wants, and needs in order to do their job must all be documenting and communicating to the customer. This ensures they know what’s available to them and have everything they need to be successful.
Can companies measure success from a customer’s perspective?
Yes, definitely! By measuring Customer Success from a customer’s point of view. It ensures that your company knows what customers value most. And can therefore focus on those things to improve the customer experience. By regularly soliciting customer input you also ensure that your customers are happy. And feel heard which in turn improves retention rates.
Conclusion:
Customer retention is a major concern for companies of all sizes. Fortunately, there are ways to improve it that don’t require major capital investments. And can even be use in addition to your existing CRM.
Aron Govil says two of the most effective strategies for improving customer retention. Involve proactive communication and collecting, synthesizing, and applying customer feedback. Proactively communicating resources your customers need to know about (e.g., training, documentation, webinars), resources your customers want (e.g., phone, webchat), and resources your customers need to do their jobs (e.g., email, calendars) can drastically improve customer retention rates.
The most successful companies in the world go beyond just documenting these resources. And actually, proactively communicate them to customers when they’re in need. This ensures customers have what they need to be successful. Which in turn increases customer satisfaction and decreases the likelihood of that customer churning.