Customer loyalty can play a huge role in making a business successful. That’s because enhancing customer retention by just five percent can increase a company’s bottom line by up to 95 percent. Apart from that, it is five times less expensive to retain an existing customer than to acquire a new one.
Yet, as per recent studies, only 18 percent of businesses focus on retention while 44 percent focus on acquisition. In the competitive time and changing customer habits, customer retention is more crucial than ever before.
At LoyaltyXpert, we have helped many businesses enhance their customer retention rate with our innovative and customized loyalty programs. In this blog post, we discuss the seven tried and tested post-purchase engagement strategies that can boost customer loyalty.
#1. Send follow-up emails
Some businesses believe that communication with customers ends after a sale. That’s why they have an excellent pre-sales strategy but flimsy or no post-sale engagement. But successful brands know better. They have an exceptional after-sales communication strategy and send follow-up emails to their new customers to show their gratitude. They also send emails with how-to-use guides as well as the best functions and features of their products. Some also send repurchase emails after a certain time frame and show useful recommendations based on the previous purchase(s).
#2. Request for feedback and reviews
There are several ways a business can show its customers that it cares about their experiences. One of them is by requesting feedback after completing every sale. The simplest way to ask is by using feedback request emails. It is an effective and efficient way of requesting feedback using personalized and short emails. After getting the feedback, promptly respond to the customers and take necessary actions. Apart from feedback, ask them to leave reviews. The latter plays a huge role in attracting new customers and enhancing brand equity.
#3. Respond to the reviews
After getting the feedback and reviews, the next step is to take the necessary actions. It’s easy to respond to positive reviews. A business can express deep appreciation and gratitude with a heartfelt message. Or a thank you paired with a warm smiley is good enough. But when it comes to negative reviews, the way a business responds can make all the difference. Some businesses tend to cherish the positive reviews but ignore the negative ones. That can be extremely detrimental. A business that doesn’t acknowledge and resolve its customers’ problems can never win them over. But those who do, tend to retain their customers for a long time. Be the latter. No matter what the reviews you get, respond to them and address customers’ problems.
#4. Offer easy returns and refunds
No matter how hard you try, not all customers will have the same experience with your products (or services). Even the most successful businesses cannot claim to satisfy 100 percent of their customer base. There will be some who will have below satisfactory experiences and among them, only a handful will complain. As per a recent study, only about four percent of unhappy customers are likely to complain. The rest 96 percent don’t bother to do that but share their experiences with their friends and never return. So, after receiving the complaints and feedback do whatever you can to resolve the problem. If it can’t be resolved, then provide easy returns and refunds.
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#5. Leverage social media
With more than four billion users all over the world, top social networks enable businesses to engage with many people including prospects and customers. Social platforms play a huge role in post-purchase engagement and post-sale service. A recent study revealed that over half of the customers prefer social media service over any other channel. Businesses can influence their customers’ after-sale experience and enhance their brand loyalty by getting in touch with them using social media. They can also share user-generated content and posts relevant to their brands. Apart from that, they can build online communities, which is an excellent way to build brand loyalty and encourage the members to interact with brands and each other.
#6. Create engaging and personalized loyalty programs
Customized and innovative loyalty programs have become the holy grail of customer retention. As per Accenture, nine out of every ten American companies have some type of loyalty program. As per recent data, about 50 percent of small businesses around the world use at least one loyalty program. The adoption of loyalty programs has increased in the recent past and many more businesses will use innovative and personalized programs to attract new customers and retain the existing ones. As a business, you don’t want to be left behind so it is extremely necessary to invest in at least one attractive and personalized loyalty program. That will incentivize your customers to make repeat purchases and engage with your business more often.
#7. Celebrate birthdays, anniversaries, and other key milestones
Successful businesses leave no stone unturned to make their customers feel valued and special. One of the most effective and encouraging methods to win their hearts is to celebrate their birthdays by wishing them and offering special deals such as free shipping, discounts, and other attractive offers. Many customers provide their date of birth in their account information and it can be used to delight them on their special day. Apart from that, some businesses celebrate their customers’ first purchase anniversaries. They note the date when every customer makes their first purchase and they send messages and exciting deals to them.
All things considered,
To enhance their customer retention rate, businesses need to focus more on post-purchase communication and after-sale engagement. Strategies such as using various channels to stay in touch with customers and creating personalized and innovative loyalty programs can go a long way.
At LoyaltyXpert, we have helped all types of businesses in retaining more customers by providing them with our loyalty programs. If you are looking to adopt a customized and sophisticated loyalty program in your business, contact us to get in touch with one of our team members.