Adapted from Tricia’s Customer Service Success Blog. Did you know that returning customers spend 33% more that new customers? How about that it costs six times more to sell something to a new prospect than to a current customer? Or what about that just a 5% reduction in the customer defection rate can increase profits by 25 to 85%? Learn how to retain customers and add significant value to your company. Read more of Tricia's blogs at www.parature.com/blog.

1. 5 Ways to Keep the
Originally Posted on
December 20, 2011 Customers You
by Tricia Morris
Already Have

2. According to Marketing
Insights from A to Z author, 70% of
Dr. Philip Kotler, most marketing
businesses spend budget
approximately 70% of their spent
marketing budget on attracting
attracting new clients rather
new clients
than investing in improved
relationships with the ones
they already have.

3. BUT CONSIDER THE VALUE OF KEEPING
CURRENT CUSTOMERS HAPPY
• Repeat customers spend 33% more than new
ones.
• It costs six times more to sell something to a
new prospect than to a current customer.
• Depending on the industry, just a 5% reduction
in the customer defection rate can increase
profits by 25 to 85%.

4. According to global consulting firm, Protiviti,
the top business challenge for non-financial
service companies in 2012 will be improving
customer loyalty. Businesses have learned
that no matter how great they think they are,
their customers will be the ones to say
whether or not that’s true.

5. For companies with thousands or hundreds
of thousands of clients, showing true
customer care is no small task. Savvy
customers can detect insincere efforts,
especially when customer appreciation
efforts seem to coincide with contract
renewal dates.

6. Don’t wait until a client is
halfway out the door before
you ask them to stay. Here are
5 ways to ensure your
customers remain where they
are, and realize that they’re in
good company:

7. NUMBER ONE
LISTEN
Listening is a must for both attracting and keeping
clients, but it’s something businesses and
organizations often find challenging. Many
companies have trained their sales staff and CSRs
to reply with rehearsed answers when it comes to
responding to their customers’ common
challenges. But to build customer affinity,
companies must truly listen to each customer’s
unique questions and conversations and reply with
a custom response.

8. Organizations must also make an effort to
listen across more channels. As customers
become more connected, so must
companies. Be a part of online
conversations across a variety of venues,
and proactively engage your customers with
feedback requests and customer service
satisfaction surveys.

9. NUMBER TWO
RESPOND
Make a concerted effort to effectively
engage with customers across all
70% of
major touch points, including social
media. A 2011 Maritz Research study customer
shows that 70% of customer complaints
complaints on Twitter go unanswered. on Twitter
An organization’s social media go
presence should involve two-way unanswered.
conversations, especially when
initiated by a customer complaint.

10. Go the extra mile to ensure customers
receive the most helpful answers possible.
Involve all departments in customer service,
because not every customer question on
your website or on Facebook can or should
be answered by marketing or your PR firm.

11. NUMBER THREE
MAKE IT EASY TO BE A SATISFIED CUSTOMER
Give your customers the information they
need in clear and easy-to-understand
language. How-to videos are becoming
increasingly popular, as people no longer
want to spend time reading detailed
descriptions or instructions.

12. Provide more customer self-service options,
and improve personal customer service by
giving customer service reps access to
each customer’s complete service history.
When a CSR thanks a customer for staying
with their company for five years, or knows
that a customer has had service problems
before and needs extra TLC, that can make
all the difference when it comes to customer
retention.

13. NUMBER FOUR
REACH OUT
Nurture your customers with an attitude of
gratitude and an exceptional customer
service experience every time they make
contact with your organization. Through
blogs, social media and e-newsletters,
provide them with content and tips that they
will find interesting or helpful.

14. NUMBER FIVE
KEEP IT REAL
Automated responses are no longer
acceptable. Real customers want to do
business with real people. Build customer
relationships through conversation and
showing the human aspect of your
organization.

15. Through numerous studies,
behavioral psychologists
70% of have shown that more than
consumer and 70% of consumer loyalty and
loyalty and spending decisions are
spending
based on emotional factors.
decisions are
based in In relation, a Core
emotional Communications study found
factors that consumers are more
likely to be loyal to a brand
based on the charities or
causes it supports.

16. Even the biggest companies have begun
focusing on the human aspect of their
organization, as witnessed by personal-
care-centered ad campaigns such as Flo
from Progressive, Charles Schwab’s Talk to
Chuck, and State Farm’s friendly Jessica. In
a world focused on technology, customers
still need – and want – a human touch.

17. So in 2012, make a resolution to
listen, respond, reach out, keep it real,
and make it easy for your current
customers to stay loyal to your brand.
Appreciating and keeping the
customers you have is the key to
sustained success. Winning new
clients (especially through customer
referrals) is an added bonus.

18. MORE CUSTOMER CARE CONTENT
YOU MAY BE INTERESTED IN
• BuilderMT Success Story: Building Customer
Satisfaction from 66% to 90%.
• White Paper: Five Trends in Social Media for
Response Management and Customer Engagement
• 6 Simple Tips for Collecting Better Customer
Feedback
FIND THIS CONTENT AND MORE AT http://www.parature.com/blog/