Marketing can be a lot like romance: you chase the customers, you get the customers, and then – crucially – you have to work on keeping the customers. In the business world, that’s called marketing retention, and in this article we’re going to get into the specifics of exactly how to keep your customers once you’ve got them.

We’ll be covering what marketing retention is, how to calculate it, and the best strategies to keep those customers exactly where you like ‘em – with you.

WHAT IS MARKETING RETENTION?

Any good marketer will know that it’s not just about getting the customers, you gotta keep ‘em if you’re gonna make the big bucks. That’s essentially what retention is. Keeping your customers happy as Larry so they subscribe, keep coming back for more services, and don’t go to someone else instead.

In business terms, it’s a metric used to measure customer loyalty over time. It’s a good way to work out your overall success. It’s not always easy as you’d expect to keep customers loyal though, but don’t worry – that’s what we’re here for.

HOW TO CALCULATE MARKETING RETENTION

There’s legit a formula here, so bear with us. Before you start, there are four pieces of information you need to collect:

1. Choose your time frame – anything you like: yearly, monthly, weekly – hey, even daily if you fancy it

2. Find the number of existing customers at the start of the time frame – this will be S in the formula

3. Find the total number of customers at the end of the time frame – giving us the E for the formula

4. Find the number of new customers added within the time frame – rounding us out with the N for the formula

I bet you didn’t think you’d be doing math when you started reading this article, huh. Well, every day is a learning day, friend! Let’s get into it. The formula you need is:

[(E-N)/S] x 100 = Customer Retention Rate

Check out this video which goes through it!

The number you come to will be a percentage and that will be your retention rate – congratulations! And don’t worry if it’s not as good as you’d like, we’ve got ya.

THE BEST WAYS TO IMPROVE YOUR CUSTOMER RETENTION RATE

1. Reward Loyalty

We’re talking discounts, gifts, previews, freebies – anything you can think of. Customers want to know they are valued, and you know what they also like? Rewards, baby! Company loyalty rewards programs have long been a tactic and the fact that it’s still around today speaks to its power! Don’t underestimate the power of rewards.

You wanna make your customers feel like a VIP and that they are more valued than a new customer. And that should be the truth! Be creative with your incentives and keep them coming back for more. Especially with social media reigning power over us all; make sure your reward earns a positive social media reaction and you’ll be set! If it goes viral, even better!

2. Give Great Customer Service

Dishing out customer service shouldn’t end as soon as the customer is on board, it needs to be a running part of the culture in your business. Customers can see through it if it’s fake, trust us! The essence of retaining customers is all about making them feel heard and valued.

One particular thing to focus on is response times. When a customer has a query, a problem, or feedback of any sort, you need to show that you are welcoming of it and that you want to help. You can be the friendliest people going, but if you don’t help a customer in need urgently, that could be the straw that breaks the camel’s back!

3. Communicate: Apologize, Thank, and Ask for Feedback

This goes hand-in-hand with good customer service. Keep in good, regular contact with your customers and let them know you are available should they need anything. And when you mess up – because you will mess up – apologise! You wouldn’t think it needs saying, but you’d be surprised. Most customers aren’t demons, they understand we’re all human. Owning up to a mistake you’ve made and doing all you can to fix it will do more good than you could know.

Aside from that, make sure you thank them for their custom – it’s only polite. Then get making that survey and ask them for feedback on how well you’re doing. The easiest way to find out what your customers think and want is to ask them – watch this video to see what we mean!. It’s just like what we said in the beginning – it’s like romance: communication is key!

4. Under-Promise and Overdeliver

Tale as old as time, am I right? Doing this will put you so far ahead because it looks like you’re going above and beyond. It’s all about illusion, my friends! That’s not to say you shouldn’t be going above and beyond anyway, but this is a foolproof tactic. Whether it be for completion time, a quote, or anything else you can think of, providing more than you said you could will make it look like you’re going out of your way to do a deal especially for them.

5. Be Convenient

When working on your roadmap for future developments or features or ideas, make sure you consider customer convenience. One of the greatest gifts you can give to a customer is to make their lives easier. If you can streamline a process, make delivery quicker, give the customer the ability to access something themselves that they have always had to go through you for… you’re onto a winner.

THAT’S ALL FOLKS!

It’s true there’s no easy street, but what we’ve just provided is probably the closest you’re gonna get! We’re always trying to give you the best ways to look after your customers’ needs, so if you need anything else just give us a shout!

After all, friends don’t let friends lose customers, right?!