The year 2022 marks eight years in business for me. Some days I think it feels like it’s been eight years and others I am absolutely amazed by what I and now we have accomplished. Back then I was super committed to being behind the scenes and I loved doing short projects with clients. While I loved the chance to meet and mingle with so many business owners, the natural consequence of that is that you are always in search of revenue which quickly resulted in fatigue and really prevented me from growing any lasting relationships in my business.
My business model changed over the years and I began building infrastructure that was more conducive to long-term relationships. As a result, many of my clients have been with us for many many years. We have loved being a part of their business journey and they have been a big part of our growth as well.
While the desire to build the business around long-term client relationships was initially selfishly motivated, we knew we had to create an environment where it was mutually beneficial to our clients. Once that was accomplished, we needed to replicate the process for all of our clients.
Here are some tips we came up with that promote customer retention. It is far cheaper to retain customers than attract new customers. Estimates of acquiring new customers range from 5 to 25 more times the cost than that of retaining current customers. Customer retention alone puts more money in your pocket and with far less effort.
Productize Your Services and Create a Value Ladder of Offerings – This may not be a natural link, so let me explain. When you have clear systematized service offerings, your clients see you as an expert and leader in your specialty. They are able to see and understand what you do and make a natural progression into increasingly more expensive/valuable services.
Always Be of Service – Someone told me a long time ago that as a business owner, I should always be selling, but in this case, you’ve already sold them. Now it’s up to you to give them a reason to stay. Increase your value in what you have to offer by being of service. For example, you may decide to work with Confluence Business Solutions to implement your Keap automations, but we do so much more than that for our customers. We are sales and marketing experts. The expectation is solutions that work, but we are also going to teach, coach, and consult on aspects of your strategy so you reach your marketing and sales goals, giving you the best experience possible.
Ask for Feedback – Asking for feedback gives you great insight into how you are doing on service delivery. Feedback should not be something to fear. Do it right and you will get both great testimonials and also exposure to blindspots you do not see in your business. Getting honest feedback from your clients gives you an opportunity to ensure satisfaction. Happy customers tell their friends!
Build Strong Teams – When Confluence Business Solutions began growing in 2021, there was a lot of trepidation around making the transition from me to we in the client relations. Team members are an extension of the brand. Build systems and processes that make how you work and communicate with clients consistent and clear. A well oriented team member and clear systems will shape the continuity of your business model.
Incentivize Customer Loyalty – Give them a reason to stay! Recognizing there is competition out there we want our clients and customers to stick around. If they are happy and are rewarded for their loyalty then why would they want to go elsewhere? Keeping a customer is easier than getting a customer when you make that customer journey a reading experience. At Confluence Business Solutions, we reward our most loyal retainer clients with a great rate as we strive to over deliver. Keeping them happy is of keen importance.
Which of these customer retention strategies are you currently using? Let us know!
