ManyRequests is a client portal and client requests management software for creative services.
Customer churn is a struggle we are all too well familiar with.
Ideally, you want your clients to say with you for as long as possible, or at least until they bring in substantial profit.
So how should you go about keeping your clients' business?
Not all strategies work for all industries—but in this article, we’ve got 10 surefire tips to help you reduce customer churn and increase client retention.
When you expand your business, churn will be the main reason for higher customer acquisition costs. Make sure you're prepared by reading through our post.
How to increase client retention: 5 strategies
The probability of an existing customer buying a product is 60-70%, while the chances of you selling to a new prospect are 5-20%.
The best strategy to increase customer retention is to make it easy for the customer to do business with your company. The trick is to do this in a way that you can still make a profit and grow your business.
Here are five client retention strategies to get you started:
1. Stay at the top of your customer experience
One-third of customers say that they would consider switching companies because of bad customer service.
You can make loyal customers out of your one-time buyers by giving them exceptional care when they run into a problem. Remember that customer loyalty is directly linked to the customer experience.
Offering a good user experience with excellent UI/UX is all the more important in software or digital products and services. You should try to exceed expectations with your services to urge the customers to keep coming back.
2. Build personal relationships
You can send personalized follow-ups, trigger emails in the different stages of the customer’s journey, reward loyal members through a client loyalty program, and surprise customers every now and then with freebies to retain them.
You should try to stay in touch even after closing the deal to ensure a long-term business relationship with the customers.
3. Keep to your promises — and deliver outstanding products & services
Keeping your word about your services and product quality is a surefire way to retain customers. It shows professionalism and builds trust in your brand.
Remember that just because they buy from you doesn’t mean that they trust your business. You’ve got to actively work towards gaining their loyalty.
The same goes for your company values. Your customers might be loyal to your company because they identify with your values. So always stay true to those if you want to improve client retention.
4. Start an educational program
If you want your customers to keep coming back, then you’ve got to offer new products or information. Creating an educational hub for your users is a great way to achieve that.
It can also help you to establish yourself as an expert in your industry. You can keep your customers hooked with tips on how to use your product, secret features, and answer frequently asked questions.
The best part? This is also great for SEO.
5. Offer conveniences
If you want your customers or clients to stick around, make it convenient for them to do so.
Offer easy payment methods, swift checkout forms, quick intake, and coupons. You can offer all that and more to your clients through ManyRequests.
Tips to reduce customer churn
How to build client loyalty is one of the most common questions business owners ask. According to an Ameyo survey, companies can prevent up to 67% of customer churn by resolving issues promptly.
Here are some tips on how you can reduce churn:
1. Improve your onboarding experience
Sometimes, all it takes are 27 seconds for customers to form an impression of your business.
So you need to take advantage of this time and offer customers an unforgettable experience that keeps them engaged with your brand for the long term.
You can do that by using checkout forms on ManyRequests, providing a roadmap to customers of what comes next, and making the clients’ onboarding experience a breeze.
2. Offer incentives
You can offer discounts to valuable customers and clients to keep them coming back to do more business. Create loyalty programs and offer points for shopping over a certain price limit, or give vouchers for special occasions to keep your customers interested in your company.
3. Reach out regularly
If you don’t want your customers to forget about you, then you first need to show them that you didn’t forget about them.
For that, you can ask for feedback about how your product/service is working out, check in to see if they have any questions, and create a community where customers can interact with each other or your company representatives.
Be proactive, identify those who might be on the verge of churn, and catch their attention again before you lose it for good. You can also keep customer engagement high this way.
You can automate follow-up emails and maintain a calendar with tools such as ManyRequests to always stay on top of check-in messages.
4. Keep innovating
The markets are always evolving. Customers often leave either because your product doesn’t solve their problems or because they find something better—quality-wise or price-wise.
To reduce customer churn, you have to stay competitive and always offer better services than your competitors. And innovation is a great way to achieve that.
5. Don't ignore complaints
79% of customers’ complaints get ignored. You can’t do that.
Responding to complaints straightaway is one of the best client loyalty strategies you can have—and will absolutely set you apart from the competition.
No one likes long waiting periods, so you need to actively listen to what your clients are saying and be truly invested in resolving their issues.
When things start falling through the cracks, that’s when you begin to lose customers.
Examples of companies' creative ideas to reduce customer churn & increase retention
Here are two examples to inspire you to create your client retention program in 2022.
Starbucks
A big reason for Starbucks’ incredibly loyal customer base and success is its innovation.
They keep adding new fun drinks to the menu. And attract repeat customers through their Starbucks Reward Program where you earn stars with every purchase and get to redeem them later on.
Lesson for you: Reduce customer churn by keeping customers excited with new products that your competitors don’t have and create client retention programs.
R&G Technologies
This company is highly focused on customer satisfaction.
They use feedback forms to ask clients what the company is doing well and what they can improve. Then, they use the data to improve their services and show customers that the company values its clients’ opinions.
It ensures that their services are focused on customers’ needs. And that their customers always gain value by being R&B’s customers so they don’t consider other options.
R&G Technologies (now CodeBlue Australia) also has a quick response time for complaints. These techniques have earned them many long-term clients and business growth.
Lesson for you: Customer care goes a long way in client retention. Double down on listening to your customers and reshape your business model to truly put the customer first.
What you can do next
There’s no one best way to increase client retention and reduce customer churn. But a mix of different strategies might get you the results you want.
ManyRequests offers multiple features that small and large companies need to impress clients and make things easier for them. These include client portals, client forms, automation, and much more. Check out these features in detail to see how you can leverage them to reduce churn at your company.