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The quickest way to get customers to ignore you is to not stand for anything. A study by the Corporate Executive Board that included7,000 consumers from across the U.S. found that of those consumers who said they had a strong relationship with a brand, 64 percent cited shared values as the primary reason. If you want loyal customers, you need them to care about you ... so what do YOU stand for?
While negative social proof ("Nearly90 percent of websites don't use heat mapping software!") has been proven to dissuade customers rather than encourage them, numerous studies on customer motivation have shown that positive social proof ("Join20,000 of your peers!") is often the most effective strategy for getting people to listen.
Despite what we often say, most people like things that resemble them in some way. This cognitive bias is called implicit egotism, and is an important thing to keep in mind when communicating with customers. In order to attract the sort of customers you want, you need to identify your target customers down to the last detail and then craft a brand message that perfectly matches their pains, goals and aspirations. It's easier to fill this existing demand than to create one.
SellingIf customers don't enjoy your selling process, they'll likely never do business with you again. Thus, selling to customers the "correct" way is an integral part of creating customer loyalty. Below are a few studies to help you improve the process.
Not all words are created equal. Certain persuasive words encourage customers to buy more than others, in particular: free, new and instantly. When customers hear these words (and the promises they imply are backed up), they'll enjoy their purchases more than they would have otherwise.
All businesses, no matter the industry, are going to have to sell to the three types of buyers that are out there. According to neuroeconomics experts, nearly a quarter of these buyers will be conservative spenders, or "tightwad" customers. George Lowenstein of Carnegie Mellon University recommends using bundles, reassuring words (e.g., change "a $5 fee" to "a small $5 fee") and reframing as strategies to better sell to these conservative buyers.
ReciprocityReciprocity is the social construct that makes the world go 'round ... or in your case, keeps your customers coming back. The premise is simple: Go above and beyond for customers and get rewarded with repeat business. The execution, however, can be trickier, so below is a compilation of interesting research on how to improve reciprocity with your customers.
Giving back to customers can appear incredibly costly, but it doesn't have to be. Instead, embrace the art of the frugal wow by understanding that reciprocity is built even with small gestures. In fact, psychologist Norbert Schwarz found that as little as10 cents can create reciprocity between two individuals (it really is the thought that counts!).
Although reciprocity works incredibly well on it's own, research shows that it is even *more* powerful when started by surprise. For a simple example, recall a time that someone did something nice for you unexpectedly; the gesture probably wasn't all that unusual, but the fact that it came out of nowhere left a strong impression on you.
In a study from the Journal of Applied Social Psychology, researchers found that waiters could increase their tips by 23 percent by the simple act of returning to tables with a second set of mints. So do mints have magic powers? Apparently not: The researchers concluded that the mints created the feeling of a personalized experience among the customers who received them. So it was the personalized service received that made them enjoy their experience so much more.
SupportThis one is a no-brainer: You can't create a tribe of loyal customers without an exceptional customer service experience that keeps them coming back. In this section, we're going to bust a few customer service myths wide open, as well as tackle some important things you need to keep in mind when offering support online.
When it comes to customer service that keeps people coming back, the research shows that quality matters more than speed. According to a study by the Gallup Group, customers were nine times more likely to be engaged with a brand when they evaluated the service as "courteous, willing, and helpful," versus the "speedy" evaluation, which only made customers six times more likely to be engaged.
Telling your employees to spend more time with customers might seem like folly, but smart entrepreneurs know that isn't the case. Numerous behavioral psychology studies have shown that everybody views their service experience as more positive when they don't feel rushed or ignored. Don't spend time idly, though; have employees attempt to find out key customer traits, just like Derek Sivers did with his employees at CD Baby.
The best way to improve your online customer service efforts is to utilize the channel your customers most prefer. Although recent research has shown that a majority of people still prefer and use email more than other services (including social networking), you need to pick the channel that makes the most sense for your business. Hosting companies know that online chats are critical when their customers’ sites go down, but other businesses may have customers who are just fine using email as their primary method of contact.
Countless case studies have made one thing clear when it comes to creating an efficient support system: You need to keep everybody in the loop. At Help Scout, we use tools like Campfire to access real-time notifications of what's happening on the customer end; we were able to improve our response time by 340 percent by enabling a support room that all employees can access.
Loyalty ProgramsThe key to creating customer loyalty programs that work is to know why customers use them and what gets customers to keep using them. Below you'll find consumer research that answers these questions.
Consumer researchers Joseph Nunes and Xavier Dreze are known for their studies on The Endowed Progress Effect. Their results have conclusively shown that the biggest wall that prevents customer loyalty programs from sticking is getting people started. They've shown through their notorious "car wash study" that people are twice as likely to finish loyalty cards if they are automatically started (or rewarded) as soon as they sign up. Read more about this process here.
Additional research by Nunes on loyalty programs has shown that people just love being VIPs or gold members of programs. There is one caveat, though. This only works when people know there is a class below them on the totem pole. Speaking to human nature, Nunes saw a notable increase in gold members’ participation as soon as he implemented a lesser silver class.
A research study on voting patterns conducted by Stanford University conclusively showed that people are more likely to participate in something if they are labeled with a positive trait. Our friends at Buffer refer to their premium customers as "awesome" members, and even label their upgraded payment plan as the "Awesome Plan"—a much easier phrase to embrace than "paid member."
For a business/business house to retain its customers would have to stick to the basics of sales and service. The deal is to be closed only after hearing out the customer requirement fully and understanding it. Customer should be given options to finalize the right product/service matching his requirements. If there are any underlying conditions attached to the product/service, that also needs to be explained to the customer before sealing the deal. once the selling part is complete, there should be proper after sales service with lowest possible TAT and highest possible accuracy level. These basic steps will do the maximum to help a customer retention.
I fully agree with the answers been added by EXPERTS......................Thanks.
I agree with the experts answers. Thank you
We all know that 20% of our existing customers generate80% of profits. However, the customer retention efforts of many companies still leave a lot to be desired.
According to a report by the Harvard Business Review/Bain & Company, “increasing customer retention rates by5% increases profits by25% to95%.”
Additionally in a Retention Science study it was noted that:
So, what should companies do to improve customer retention? Here are three actions that can help:
1. Know Your Customers
According to the Email Marketing Census three quarters of companies (73%) carry out basic segmentation. However only22% said that they currently implement ‘advanced segmentation’.
It is essential that you adopt strategies to engage customers and prospects with communications that are relevant to their individual interests. It’s time to move away from “mass personalization” (an oxymoron), to true personalization driven by the needs of individual customers.
Case in point; traditionally, the Kentucky Derby was marketing based on assumptions about their customers. They knew little about their email subscriber file, people’s interests and what would make them want to engage.
To turn things around, they implemented a new strategy to learn more about their fans and cultivate engagement with the race and venue. The program included:
As a result of these actions, the Kentucky Derby achieved an average read rate of37.35%, an average clickthrough rate of19.44%, and a reduced opt-out rate of64%.
2. Develop Opportunities to Engage
When you make it a priority to understand what your customers want from your business and what is important to their personal or business lives, you can create authentic and powerful opportunities to engage with your brand and product.
UK fashion giant ASOS, voted the Awards for Excellence2014 winner by the Marketing Society of the UK, developed a loyal following via retention marketing campaigns on Twitter and Facebook which generated excitement about the brand and cultivated a community experience.
The company used a social app to drive users to the website via a virtual “queue” which allowed users to gain access to digital sales previews. Points were gained by users engaging with the app and sharing their experience on their social media posts.
The app received715,745 shares and was seen more than1 million times, resulting a32% increase in Facebook fans and174,000 people joining the virtual queue. This resulted in an increase in traffic and conversions on the ASOS website.
The company is also very active on another social platform frequented by their target customers, Pinterest, where they generate an average7,202 pins a week. In2012 the company had8,000 Pinterest followers; that number rose to49,458 by December2013; and quadrupled by2014 to220,784 followers.
3. Prioritize Personalization Strategies and Technology
A study published the Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) Council and Tealium, a marketing solutions provider, noted a strong link between improved marketing performance and a strong digital marketing technology plan. It determined that:
“…those with a formal strategy contribute more to overall revenue and value creation.50 percent are able to achieve more targeted, efficient and relevant customer engagements, and39 percent achieve greater return and accountability of marketing spend.”
Gilt, a top internet retailer has invested in technology to deliver a high level of personalization and relevance that drives customer engagement and retention. Results from their efforts have included increased orders, decreased email and mobile push notification unsubscribe rates and higher repeat purchase rates.
When customers return to the company’s home page they are presented with highly customized content based on that individual’s past history.Variables that drive this level of personalization include previous browsing, purchasing, favorite brands and wish lists. Additionally, customers receive personalized “Your Personal Sale” offers. These feature the most relevant brands and products based on their shopping patterns and self-stated preferences. This allows Gilt to further refine their personalization algorithms.
Building on this success, Gilt recently took this approach to the next level with their Concierge Service, a high-touch and personal concierge program that captures customer’s preferences at every touch point (phone, email, chat). Through this Concierge program, Gilt has achieved double-digit reactivation and a10% + increase in additional orders from their best customers.
Customer retention is a difficult process in a scenario where you may have various distributors for a product. Proper service, after sales attention, proper offers and bonus, listening to his queries and issues along with proper affordable solutions, interest in developing the business for the customer are basic keys to retaining the customer.
There are Number of Factors that will increase customer retention rate.
1. Issuing customer loyalty cards to all those customer who visit frequently.
2. Reduce the price of product
3. Giving rebate
4. Discount of bulk purchase
5. Customer oriented strategy.
6. Good marketing plan etc.
Thank You all very much for your participation, i agree with you Sirs/Madams.
1. Stand for something.The quickest way to get customers to ignore you is to not stand for anything.
2. Utilize positive social proof.While negative social proof use heat mapping software!"
3. Invoke the inner ego.Despite what we often say, most people like things that resemble them in some way.
4. Use the words they love to hear.Not all words are created equal.
5. Reduce pain points and friction.All businesses, no matter the industry, are going to have to sell to the three types of buyers that are out there.
6. Realize that budget is negligible.
7. Utilize surprise reciprocity.
8. Make it personal. The personalized service received that made them enjoy their experience so much more.
9. Speed is secondary to quality.
10. Customers enjoy businesses who know them.
11. Choose the right platform.
12. Make it a communal effort.
13. Get ideal customers to be VIPs.
14. Label your customers.
Taking suitable suggestions into mind will help make customers happy and increase retention rates.
by giving customers satisfaction and treat us a king and queen.
Looking at the posts of others, I have nothing more to add
