You can spend countless hours and unlimited finds perfecting your product or service but your company’s growth ultimately depends on two things- your ability to acquire new customers and retain them. Acquiring new customers is the first step in growing your business. However, while there’s a certain allure with capturing new customers, keeping your customers coming back will eventually result in a greater ROI. So, how do you create a customer acquisition and retention strategy that keeps your customers happy and engaged? Consider the following strategies and tactics for getting new clients and keeping them.
1. Content Marketing
One of the best ways to spread the word about your business in today’s environment is through content marketing. You can publish blog posts, articles, eBooks, guides, or videos and promote it through social media and email. Not only does content marketing cost less than traditional marketing methods, but it generates 3x as many leads. Consistently publishing new content keeps your brand relevant and keeps customers engaged.
2. Create a Loyalty Program
If you want to keep customers coming back, give them an incentive to do so. A customer loyalty program rewards customers and incentivizes them to come back and shop with you again. Once your customers sign up for your loyalty program, you can make them feel special by giving them special offers, providing sneak peeks, and offering exclusive deals. This is one of the best customer retention strategies.
3. Focus on Quality Customer Service
Companies that have excellent customer service are more likely to boost sales and retention. You can do this by providing service that far exceeds the customer’s expectations. This might be timely and personalized responses to customer questions. It means expressing genuine care and concern when a customer has complained. It means providing prompt solutions to customer issues. All of this is part of the customer experience and a positive customer experience leads to long-term trust and loyalty.
4. Engage with Customers via Social Media
Social media engagement is critical. You can target specific customers and buyers with Facebook and Instagram. You can also use social media to target past customers. Use various social media platforms to announce new products, deals, or other updates. Invite customers to share in the experience by posting their own pictures to your social media page using a unique hashtag. This is also a great place to post videos, tutorials, or other engaging content to connect with customers.
5. Implement a Customer Feedback Loop
It’s hard to know what you are doing right or wrong if your customers can’t tell you. In order to retain customers, you need a process for obtaining feedback and sharing that information with the rest of the company. A feedback loop allows you to collect, analyze, and distribute customer reviews and surveys. Once you have gathered feedback, review it with the right people to address flaws in your product or service.
6. Build Trust with Your Customers
You should never assume that a customer trusts you just because they buy from you. Trust is one of the most important factors when customers decide who to buy from, so you can’t take it for granted. Your customers need to find your products or services to be reliable, consistent, and valuable. You can build this trust by following through on your brand promise and doing what you say you will do over time.
7. Offer Deals and Promotions
People love feeling like they are getting a good deal. They also love feeling like they’re getting access to something exclusive and limited. Offering deals and promotions are a great way to attract new customers and also keep old customers coming back. You can do this by running coupon ads on social media, creating an email campaign, throwing in freebies, and also encouraging people to share the offers with family and friends.
8. Show Testimonials
Another great way to acquire new customers is to highlight existing ones. People like to see proof that your products or services are worth their investment. So, when you have customers who have had a positive experience, ask them to provide a testimonial in return.
9. Host an Event
A huge number of consumers agree that they prefer to experience brands, not just read about them online. Hosting an event is a great way to give people the opportunity to learn more about your products or services in person. For example, a new local coffee shop might host an event with a local live music event where people can socialize and try their new coffee. If your business cannot host an in-person event, consider hosting a live webinar where people can still get a personalized experience.
10. Implement a Referral Program
What better way to attract new customers than to use existing ones? Encourage customers to share your brand with family and friends with a referral program. Your incentive might be a gift, discount, or credit. Customer referrals are valuable so give them something back in return.