Strategies and tactics to improve your customer retention.

2. Customer Retention
Customer retention refers to the activities and actions companies and
organizations take to reduce the number of customer defections. The
goal of customer retention programs is to help companies retain as
many customers as possible, often through customer loyalty and brand
loyalty initiatives.

4. Reward Behaviour
A buyer rewarded for his or her purchase decision is 1,000 percent more
likely to repeat that behavior.

5. Reward Behaviour
You’ve been persistent, maintained your tone of voice and turned a one-off purchase
into a potentially high-value lifetime customer, all because you’ve successfully added
value and rewarded the first behavior.
As a marketer, your value proposition skyrockets when
you deliver on your promises.
These promises should include products in your
inventory being in stock, prompt delivery, and the
opportunity to achieve rewards on next purchase.
These are the basics of product merchandising you’ll
see in any brick-and-mortar store, and should be no
different online.

6. Reward Behaviour
Furthermore, the value of a retained customer increases the longer the
relationship lasts, meaning a 2% improvement in retention might be as
effective as cutting costs by 10%.
The bottom line: hang on to your people! They are your tribe.
A long term customer can also become a
valuable source of referral and
recommendation. Never underestimate
the value of word of mouth. It’s why you
should be asking for a review of the
service you’re providing, and maintaining
your presence on social media, where
people can talk about you.

7. Establish a Loyalty Club Program
Better than just a one-off reward, why not start a club for your growing
list of high-value customers?
There are so many examples of Loyalty Clubs
that work, and just as many that don’t, but
before you establish one, ask yourself:
Does this add customer value?
Does it intrude upon the original purchase
process?
Is it easy to use?

8. Reward Behaviour
In 2017, the average household was said to hold membership to an average of 29
loyalty programs, but were only active in less than half of them, meaning that the first
question; ‘Is this adding value?’, becomes extremely important.

9. Use a point system
Think of any ‘frequent flyer’ club you’ve ever heard of, or any credit card
rewards system.
Keep it simple and easy to understand. Complicating it will ensure a low
rate of sign-up, especially when the cost of that includes an inbox full of
promotional material.

10. Introduce a tiered reward system

11. Charge for it
Amazon Prime does this. They charge an
annual fee for a service that expedites
delivery and in doing so encourages
repeat purchase behavior. Why would
someone pay $79 for a service unless
they were going to use it? They
wouldn’t. Make sure the offer you make
is also going to be worthwhile.

12. Don’t be obsessed by profit
There’s a turn-off factor about money-hungry companies. Don’t fall into the
trap. If you know your audience and can offer value other than simply more
savings or more discounts, take the initiative and do something bigger than
yourself.

13. Partner up
Again this is about knowing your customer. What else do they want? Where
else are they likely to shop? Partnering up also extends your reach, and tells
your customers that you care about them. Are you a supplements company?
What gyms can you work with? Do you sell eyeglasses? Where can I get my
eyes tested?

14. Make it fun
If Pokemon GO proved one thing, it was that we all love games! Make it fun to
build points and win tangible rewards. Create a leaderboard and encourage
repeat purchase, but remember to;
a. Keep it legal
b. Ensure it fits with your brand personality

15. Incentivize Customer Accounts
If you want your customers to become return customers, setting up an easy to
use account is worth your time, and more importantly, theirs.
Who wouldn’t want to skip through the hassle of entering the same
information time after time, and be eligible for one-off discounts or coupons?
Proceed with caution, however.
The last thing you want to do is get in the way of the initial purchase behavior,
so we recommend a guest checkout procedure for the first-time buyer,
especially if your product is of a retail nature.

16. Get Better at Cross and Upselling
Amazon, attributes up to 30% of their business to their supremely well-honed ability
to cross and upsell their massive customer base.
This means selling a customer something extra (complementary), or something
different (better), and generally work well on lower priced items.
At the checkout, offer related products or perhaps a discount with the chance to ‘pay
it forward’ to a friend.
Again, tread carefully.
Suggesting that customers increase their total order value by an amount more than
25% of the original order could easily become an obstacle and obstruct the original
purchase behavior.

17. Use Transactional Emails
Transactional emails refer to the order and
delivery confirmations that establish trust,
show professionalism and instill confidence in
your service.
Sending these is a sure-fire way to encourage
repeat purchase. Even if they don’t get
opened, their existence is reassuring.
Via email, customers can be made aware of
new release items, exclusive sales, and receive
coupons to redeem for value. Once again, it’s
about creating value and enhancing the user
experience.
Additionally, these types of emails should be
automated or triggered.

18. Surprise & Delight Customers
Whatever niche you operate in, an
unexpected gift is a great way to remind
‘lapsed’ customers to come back. Based on
the simple philosophy of every positive
action creating another, it gives the
opportunity for customers to respond in
kind.
Digital gift certificates are a great, simple
example used by many, but you might like
to go further to show how important your
customers are to you.

19. Surprise & Delight Customers
the post was eventually shared 16,000 times on facebook
and twitter when Mortons showed up at the airport with a
free steak.

20. Be active on social media
The last example leads to this.
An engaged customer is much more likely to be
a repeat customer.
Social media is about building relationships and
taking advantage of what marketers might
consider ‘low-hanging fruit’.
Creating fans is important.
These people are often your most loyal
customers and brand ambassadors.
They’ve given you permission to speak to them,
so it’s important that you remain socially active
where they are – on Facebook, Instagram,
Linked In and Twitter, etc.

21. Send Personalized Newsletters
As much as possible, increase the
personalization of your newsletters.
Remember, your subscribers have asked to stay
in touch with you, so they literally want to
receive these, but make sure the content you
deliver adds value.
Track cookie data on your site and wherever
possible make recommendations that take into
account purchase history, related products and
browsing history. A personalized newsletter
always encourages longer site visits and
increase the likelihood of conversion.

22. Impact on repurchase or recommendations

23. Strategies to increase customer retention
• Stand for something (clear value proposition)
• Use positive social proof (testimonials)
• Position around the before and after (This your life before our product, this is your life after)
• Don’t just sell – educate
• Use surprise reciprocity – Do something nice for customers unexpectedly
• Never underestimate the power of “Thank You”
• Reduce effort before delivering delight – The drive of retention and loyalty is ease of problem solving

24. Final Thoughts
Finding new customers is every businesses biggest
challenge. Once we have them, our money and
focus is best served on retaining the customers we
have.
The methods discussed here will begin improving
average order value, purchase frequency and by
default, attract more customers.
These retention multipliers will supercharge your
performance.
Don’t get blinded by your customer acquisition
cycle.
Stay focused on your existing customers and the
quality of the experience you’re delivering.

25. Bernard Charlebois
bernard@boumstrategies.com
text “retain” 613 900-2070