Customer Retention Q&A

Would love to hear your thoughts @Ryan Jones @Ryan Jones 

I have had three clients that were 'difficult' in the past year.

Two were because I offered a discount or free service at one point.

The third was unforeseen.

I now do my best not to attract 'difficult' people to my business. I have clear processes in place and do not advertise discounts or provide free services.

Hi Amanda,

Another way to get around this problem in the future is to create a mobile business card. As it is digital you can make changes whenever you want and everywhere it is located it will be updated.

I have one myself and have been so impressed bought the software to be able to do it for others.

Cheers, Lisa.

Ananda, as Lisa sys, it may be semantics, but the problem lies in the way the question is framed.No-one can "create" trust. You can't "make people believe in your products." Depending on the value of the product or service, people will only buy from vendors who are trustworthy. Low value, less trust required. High value, greater trust level needed.Trust is earned, not bought.I'm curious as to what kind of resistance you are finding amongst customers (or prospects) that is causing you to question your sales techniques?

I believe that some of the most basic building blocks of customer loyalty are honesty, transparency and timely communication.

It only takes one mishandled bad experience (notice the word mishandled) for a long time customer become a so long customer. One bad experience doesn't mean a good customer will leave, but how you handle that bad experience could drive them out the door. If user data was compromised send a communication, that explicitly lists what information, when it was accessed and how you resolved (or are resolving the situation). That is also a good time to offer a discount, special sale or complimentary identity theft protection.

Customers want to know you are also listening to their feedback. You should communicate your appreciation for their feedback and let them know when customer feedback has been implemented (even if it wasn't theirs). That will drive home the point that you are listening to your customers.

Actively involve your customers in what you are doing. Have a contest to let customers send in photos of them using your product or service then have your team (or your customers vote for the winner). Make your content easily shareable on social media and other outlets. You want your loyal customers to spread your message if they are passionate about it.

I am only scratching the surface here. Think about what you appreciate for companies and services you use yourself. Why do you like those brands so much? Brainstorm on those thoughts and start integrating those ideas into your business as they make sense. The last thing to keep in mind is be willing to continuously adapt. Your customers and business will change over time, so should your approach to your customers.

If you use gmail, you should give Streak a look,

https://www.streak.com/

I've used it before and found it helpful. But it isn't an entire CRM ecosystem, so pick one based on your specific needs.

As both Greg and Jef mentioned, you need a plan in place before you talk to soeone from these companies.  They are "hard sell" sales people and will pressure you into a deal you're not happy with. "If you sign up today, I'll give you an extra 5% of the commission" type thing.

The only way to make this work for you is to offer a service that requires minimal manpower to provide.  Offering a massage for $30 is not going to help - your staff will get angry as will your other clients when they can't get a spot because you are full. Now, an infra sauna on the other hand requires minimal manpower to prep/clean and would still give a reasonable profit margin (assuming you already had the asset).

Offer something that requires them to buy something or return.  Using the massage example again, You voucher could be for $50 massage with a voucher redeemable for a second massage at $50.  This way your margin is higher and you are enticing them for a second visit, where YOU get all the revenue, not the group buying site.

Be aware, depending on which company is used, the % revenue they take can be from 30% to 70%, giving you the raw end of the deal.  

My last piece of advice is set a limit to the number of vouchers sold and stick to it.  Do not let them talk you out of it.  There is noting worse than waking up and finding you have sold 3,000 vouchers, in a service based business, knowing you can not fulfil them before the expiry date.  Asking for the deal to be stopped early will fall on deaf ears.

I've seen many businesses close after trying to provide these deals, but I have seen a few run very smart campaigns.  As long as you know what your usual cost per acquisition is and stick to that, you should be fine.